Choosing a free WordPress theme for your website can be difficult. There are so many great templates available that may appear to offer a great solution for your specific need. But do they?  If you are going to build a website for your business, chances are that you are looking for a theme that fits your style, personality and your business.

If you are reading this article, chances are that you are looking to build a WordPress website or even looking for guidance and that’s awesome.

Today I will be giving you some tips and tricks on how you should choose a theme. If you follow these tips, I am pretty sure that you will be able to choose a theme that is really going to serve you for a long time. One that is going to ensure that your time and money was worth it.

So, let’s go right ahead and see exactly how to choose a WordPress theme, shall we?

 

 1. Make a List

 

Before you start selecting themes off the shelf, make a list. The list will include what you want your visitors to do when they visit your website. Do you want them to fill out a form? Read a blog post? Go through your awesome gallery?  What exactly do you want them to do?

What we are looking for are action items. Now, as you make this particular list of action items, I would like you to be as specific as you possibly can. The more specific you are, the more focused your website design is going to be. It will also be more effective when it’s focused and when you know want you want people to do when they get there.

So try and make a list and also try and make it short as possible. One to three items is fine, four is okay. More than that, your website will most likely feel disjointed and a little less focused.

 

 2. Sales, Satisfaction and Support

I like to call this the 3 S’s. You need to pay close attention to sales, satisfaction and support. Anywhere that you might shop for themes, these three items will pretty much have these things available for you.

What I mean by this is that you should pay attention to the number of downloads for the theme, the reviews they have gotten and how well they respond to questions from various buyers. WordPress customer service is crucial for business success. If the theme has been downloaded or bought only a couple of times, my advice would be to wait until it’s gotten more downloads. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not saying that the theme is bad. I’m just saying that you need to wait until some other people have purchased it and it gets a chance to be used to get some of the kinks out.

You can also check for the version, how many times it has been updated. This can be found in the change log. If they are on version 1.0, you might want to consider waiting, especially if their sales are low.

 

 3. Pay Attention to Structure

 

One of the mistakes beginners in the website building space commit is falling for “flashy” stuff. It is really easy to look at demos of a particular theme and fall for the theme. You need to pay close attention to the structure, and how well the theme has been built in overall.

I say this because the content shown on the demo might not be the same content as what you want to put out on your website. So, while going through the demos, try and picture your content in those demos. Will your content fit in that theme? Will your content make that theme come alive?

Also, look at the flexibility of that structure. Can it accommodate various layouts? Don’t make the mistake of falling for “flashy” stuff and then later regret it.

 

 4. Look Outside your Topic

Many times we tend to look for solutions in our space. We are not willing to look outside the box yet that is probably where we might find the best solutions. When I say that you should look outside your topic, I mean that you should look for themes outside your area of specialization.

Let me paint a picture for you. A salesman will want to look for a theme that is related to business, a doctor will look for a theme that is related to the medical industry and so on. While this might really good, it would be better if you tried to look outside your area to see whether there are other themes that can fit the bill.

There are themes out there are so dynamic that they can be used in almost every industry. A lot of times when we focus on one particular industry, we might not get the best solution.

 

Conclusion

With the above tips and tricks, I am sure that you will make a better selection of a WordPress free theme to use on your website.

The next time you are building a website and you need to select a theme that will capture everything that you need to put out in your website, remember these four tips. You will be in a better position to make an informed decision.

For more tips, feel free to contact us here and we will deliver quality WordPress customer service like no other.