How do you choose a WordPress theme? Read this article to find out.

One of the most widely spread misconception about WordPress is that it is just a blogging platform. Although WordPress started off as a blogging tool, it has developed throughout the years into a powerful website builder as well as a strong content management system (CMS).

One of the features that users love about WordPress is that it’s easy to use and adaptable enough to create different types of websites. This is the main reason why WordPress has increased so much in popularity. A recent survey states that WordPress powers 32.3% of all websites on the Internet. Owing to its robust features, many of the top brands worldwide  use WordPress to power their websites. These big brands include Time Magazine, Facebook, The New Yorker, Sony, Disney, Target and The New York Times.

Other features which users love about WordPress is that:

• The software itself is free however, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting in order to make it work properly.
• As we mentioned previously, WordPress is extremely easy to modify by using plugins and various themes. If you’re a skilled programmer, however, you can use the templates that WordPress provides and custom code features that you want to be in them but that don’t come standard with the theme. There are tonnes of plugins which are available that you can use that will make your digital marketing a breeze!
• Google and other search engines favour WordPress sites as opposed to other website. This makes digital marketing a breeze.
• The back-end of a WordPress is very simple. As such, this makes it very easy for non-programmers to manage.
• If you’ve developed an amazing YouTube channel, that gets thousands of followers, you can embed some of your videos in your site in order to liven it up and create a better user experience. You can also embed audio clips – from platforms such as SoundCloud and Instagram posts – into the various articles on your site.

How to choose the WordPress theme that works for you

As there are thousands upon thousands of WordPress themes out there it would take days on end to do a proper search through them all. Selecting the right theme is clearly important because the right one should give your content flair, be responsive across devices, while also loading quickly. However, with so many themes that are available out there it can be a rather daunting task to pick the best one possible. We’ve put together some advice which we feel could help you.

• Before choosing a theme, it’s absolutely vital to determine which features are essential and which you can live without.
• Don’t choose a bloated theme because you don’t want a theme which is cluttered with features. A feature-rich theme might be nice; however it can severely affect your website’s performance and ultimately harm your website’s visibility on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
• Choose a responsive theme. Responsive design simply means designing your site in such a way that it is ultra-easy to use on multiple devices. Look for features such as a fluid site grid as well as flexible images that can translate to non-desktop devices.
• As most digital marketing is based on visual appearance, and colours increase brand recognition, if you have a logo, try to match up your color scheme with your logo. If you’re sticking to neutrals, a hint of colour here and there will make it more interesting. WordPress makes it very easy to alter the appearance, including colours, of a theme directly in the file or entering in custom CSS.
• Don’t choose a theme that has a hard-to-read font. This ties back to capturing your visitor’s attention quick so they won’t abandon your site. Ensure that it is as simple as possible for your audience to navigate your site. Ensure that your fonts are simple, sophisticated, and readable.

What’s great about WordPress is if you do decide to change themes down the road, you’ll have the flexibility to do so. As we mentioned in this article, WordPress themes give digital marketers increased flexibility to integrate their websites with social media platforms and the like.

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