10 keys to choosing the best wordpress template to get the blog that any expert would like to have.
The most difficult decision and on which important factors fall for the success or failure of your blog or website is the template, when I talk to people about templates and themes for their websites only a small percentage are at ease, most of them would change. template if it weren’t so complicated.
Depending on the wordpress theme you choose, things like design, speed, style, practicality, and functionality depend on many aspects of your blog.
I can’t hide it I’m in love with templates, in my spare time I spend hours looking at blog templates and analyzing and comparing, but after analyzing the performance of about 30 I can find a song in my teeth if there are 2 that seem appropriate to me for that purpose, without looking too much at the design.
How to choose a wordpress template for a blog simple tips
I can not hide it for my wordpress is a hobby apart.
Choosing a good wordpress or blogspot template more or less come to be the same, the only thing that more factors intervene in wordpress but in case some day you migrate it is good that you already have your “ear made of what comes to you”
The following keys to choosing the best wordpress template will surprise you
# 1 Be clear about the purpose of your blog to choose a good wordpress theme
If you want to choose a template that you can take advantage of, the best thing is that it fits the purpose of your blog, this for example is very noticeable by recipe blogs when the template is not designed for this purpose it is a bit of a mess to understand the structure.
For example, if you are going to make a vlog (video blog), you may need a template that supports self-hosted videos, or for example, some are not compatible with some podcast services.
In the event that you have very good images or product promotions, you may need to have a good portfolio gallery, in case you don’t need it, they are elements that you drag that you won’t use or will give you headaches and extra work.
If you have thought about including many different categories, you may be interested in a magazine type template (my favorites), on the contrary if you only write 12 posts a year you can opt for the classic blog format.
Keep in mind that it is best to please the reader and avoid elements that may annoy him
Design errors that confuse the reader.
# 2 Think about your audience to choose a template that is friendly to them
This is a bit ugly to say but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the normal or average user that you have and see if they would manage to find something, I do not mean that they are stupid or smarter but there are times that we go from modern and… we mess it up.
It happens to me that when making a website there are people who warn: “They are not much of the internet, do something easy” and it is normal, it seems logical to me, think for a moment that there are people who are looking for what they need and period, blog users are very practical so don’t make it difficult for them.
It can also happen to you the opposite that you have a very “in” theme and have to have an ultra modern blog and if you put an ordinary template you go unnoticed.
# 3 Make a list of all the features you need in your new template.
It is very important what you want your future blog to have, if you are clear about it and are able to choose the elements that you cannot do without, you are going very well.
Among many things that you may want in your blog are these functions without which you would need to add more plugins to your template, if you make the choice well you can save yourself installing enough.
Header photo, drop-down menu, mega menu, recent post widgets, ratings, slider, post type format: video, quote, audio…, sidebar, builder, customizable css, customizable…
Also when you are looking for a theme there are things that we do not want it to have, although some not activating them is enough but there may be elements that you do not want such as main image, footer, sidebar, sticky header…
# 4 Choose a template that is compatible with most of the plugins you use.
Here comes the biggest problem in choosing the best wordpress template for your blog, which is compatibility, there are plugins that are incompatible with most themes, just as there are themes that do not support certain plugins, for example W3c cache, buddy press and woocommerce are the ones that can condition you to choose a template.
# 5 When changing templates choose one that is responsive or value the AMP version
If you change the template, try to choose one that is responsive, your readers will appreciate it, your SEO will improve and you will be more comfortable when you change from one device to another.
The AMP version is “Acelerate Mobile Pages” for this there are plugins, it is a way of presenting the page in such a way that the elements that make the page load heavy are suppressed, this is reduced to text, images and links, there is no javascript, effects…
I speak at length about these terms in my other blog that you can visit:
http://carmenferreira.es/blog
# 6 It is best to find a template that is good for SEO
Choosing a good template for SEO is very important, it seems silly but it influences a lot, and there are things that some templates make difficult, for example not having a favicon, it is normal and bad for SEO.
Broadly speaking, templates that:
- In which you can put headers, that you can add images with the alt attribute (and keep it)
- That they do not have too much code and that they are fast.
- That supports plugins to improve SEO and does not block sitemaps.
- That allow the marking of data well.
# 7 Choose a quick template for your blog
Seriously, when I doubt between templates, it is clear to me that the best template for wordpress is the fastest, if I have valued many aspects and it is difficult for me to tie the tie, Speed insights takes me out of doubts in a minute.
# 8 Choose a free or paid template
The free templates are very good, I like them a lot but they have many limitations when working with them, even many are quite good until they stop updating them.
The choice of template is an economic matter in many cases, but it is not an exorbitant expense, templates are forever and a good premium template can greatly improve your blog.
In this post I explain why premium templates are very interesting
Premium templates are usually very well developed, they invest more time and resources, some include functions such as revolution slider that are almost worth half the template.
I recommend going to trusted places that work with different authors such as envato market, I speak from my experience, I have no problems, they also accept paypal and update very often.
# 9 Choose an updated and maintained template
Maintenance is essential especially for security, compatibility and development reasons. For this reason, you are interested in seeing how often the templates are updated by their authors.
Premium templates usually have technical support and are updated frequently, for example I buy templates on envato market because if I have problems I can contact the developer and they will solve it.
Also because they are better documented, I like for example how they warn about compatibility and access to demos.
# 10 A template that is customizable and easy to change
It is very important because it concerns the design, if you like to modify your template, change the font, colors, different layouts… you should be clear at the beginning, there are times when templates have very few options or almost everything is by hand so it is not it always ends up being done.
SEE MORE WORDPRESS DESIGN TIPS
Beware of builders, those drag and drop layout builders in which you drag elements that weigh more than a donkey in your arms, slow down your blog and the worst thing is that either you always work with it or its settings will not be varied and you a shortcode will be visible.
I had a theme at the beginning that was very beautiful, it was a very awarded premium template.. but I did not like anything for some of its options and I changed it when the blog was 2 or three months old and so happy, now I have made a change again and without mercy.
