Choosing your website’s look isn’t just about picking what’s pretty. A great WordPress theme should offer flexibility and functionality, and be able to grow with you as your business grows. That’s why this post walks you through six essential questions to ask before choosing a theme. These straightforward checkpoints help you cut through the choices and find a theme that works for you.
As of now, the official WordPress.org theme directory offers nearly 13,000 free themes – and that doesn’t even include the thousands more premium themes available across marketplaces and independent developers. With so many choices, you can definitely find the right WordPress theme, but you’ll want to know what to look for.
Watch Video on Evaluating any WordPress theme:
But you might be wondering:
“Christina, I don’t even know what to look for when choosing a theme. Can’t I just pick a pretty one I like?”
It’s a great question! While it’s natural to be drawn to attractive designs, a good theme needs to do more than just look nice. Before committing to one, you’ll want to ask a few key questions to make sure it fits your needs now—and in the future.
I cover all of this in my video below, so here’s a quick summary of the 6 things to ask when picking a WordPress theme:
Makes sense? Read below for what I covered in that video:
Here are the 6 Things to Ask When Picking a WordPress Theme Design:
1) Does the Theme Offer Multiple Layouts?
Think about your page structure. Do you want your homepage to look different from your blog posts? Would you like some pages with a sidebar and others without? The more layout options your theme offers, the more flexibility you’ll have.
2) How Many Page Templates Does It Include?
A page template is a ready-made layout for a specific page type – like a full-width page, landing page, or contact page. More templates mean more design flexibility without coding.
3) How Many Widget Areas Are Available?
Widgets are blocks of content – like search bars, newsletter signups, or social feeds – that you can place in sidebars, headers, or footers. Different themes have different widget locations, so pick one that works with your content plan.
4) What’s the Homepage Design Like?
Your homepage is often your first impression. Choose a theme that lets you feature your most important content (services, blog highlights, or calls to action) front and center.
5) Is the Theme Mobile Responsive?
More than half of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. A responsive theme adjusts automatically so your site looks great on any screen size.
6) Does the Theme Company Offer a Pro Version?
Often, we look for a theme on the WordPress.org website, but to be confident that the theme will be well supported, it needs to have a “pro” (paid) version of the theme. That way, you know the company will be in business for the long haul.
Final Thoughts…
Picking a WordPress theme can feel overwhelming with so many options, but if you run through these six questions, you’ll quickly narrow down your choices to the best fits. And remember, if you choose a theme and later realize it’s not working, you can always switch. And if you want to know more about the difference between a free theme vs. a premium theme, read this article here.
Have fun exploring, testing, and customizing!
For this site you are reading now, I use the Extra theme, which is a magazine-style version of Divi—both from Elegant Themes. It’s one of the most flexible WordPress themes you can find!
And don’t forget to join the Website Creation Workshop to learn WordPress. It’s an investment in the success of your business.
