29 Aug Choosing WordPress Themes
I often see blog posts on other websites about the top ten WordPress themes and that type of thing. So how do you really know if you’re choosing a good quality WordPress theme? I have some tips that can help you find one that not only looks and functions beautifully, but offers great customer support.
I started using WordPress about 4 years ago. Before that I was using HTML to design all my sites for customers. With WordPress, I could cut my production time in half, allowing me to offer web design at a lower price and faster turn around time.
If you are a beginner and want something very simple, there’s nothing wrong with using a free WordPress theme, however, you get what you pay for. Don’t expect anything customizable other than the basics such as changing the background or colors.
In the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of experience with choosing themes, but I had read about StudioPress and the Genesis Framework. The Genesis Framework is the basic site without the decoration. You purchase the framework and then purchase a child theme that goes on top of the Framework to make it pretty. I decided to give it a try. It was a good place to start as the themes had very good tutorials and there was a customer support portal where you could ask questions. If you are a beginner, it would be a good place to purchase a theme.
Once I became more comfortable with WordPress, I ventured over to Themeforest – one of the most well known online stores for premium WordPress themes. I found that buy searching for WordPress themes with the most sales and then choosing themes by premium authors, you will get the best quality themes with great customer support. Many of the themes have page builders, which allow you to customize your pages just about any which way. you have to be ok with reading directions as you will need to read up on how to configure the website.
You can further narrow down your options by looking at the sidebar – you can choose themes based on categories, such as themes for real estate, photographers, car dealerships, etc.
Good luck with your theme search and stay away from newly released WordPress themes and themes with under 1,000 sales.
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