With WordPress fast becoming the Google of web design, it can be difficult for businesses and professionals to choose which theme to pick or upgrade to. No worries, we’ll help you through it all with tips for what to pick whether or not you choose freelance web design.
1. Ultimate Goal of WordPress Theme
No matter whether to increase sales, acquire more web and foot traffic, get people to call in, feature a new product, or other purpose, each website has a goal, even if it is just to share wisdom. With these one or two goals in mind, a WordPress theme that speaks to it can make all the difference. For example, three of our favorite (free!) WordPress themes are – in no particular order:
Modality – This free theme offers great parallax capabilities, i.e. where users scroll and background images give text amazing effects. The customizable home page is great for businesses with one to six services and has everything you could want in a mobile targeted site, although it looks great on a desktop as well.
Want to see it in action? Visit Multi-Reps.com.
Albar – Another free theme, this one is great for businesses with one storefront. It displays all the pertinent goodies right on the header, so no matter what device is being used to visit the site, they’ll get your address, email, phone number, and social media right away. You can also customize the site to include tons of stuff, and the theme works very well for SEO purposes.
Want to see it in action? Visit HoustonBookkeeper.net.
Sydney – Business with tons of images would do great with this theme from restaurants to galleries and more. The Sydney WordPress theme grabs your attention immediately with its huge, responsive slider sure to delight all visitors. You can also use the parallax scroll to learn more about what the theme can do for your business.
Want to see it in action? Visit the official site.
2. The Future of WordPress
Just because a WordPress theme is great today doesn’t mean it will be so in the future. Before you choose one, take a moment to get to know the designer and look for the following:
1. Do they offer several different themes?
2. Do they update them?
3. What kind of tech support do they offer?
4. What kind of reviews do they have?
5. What is their refund/return policy?
6.How do they compare to similar designers?
Although most businesses will have to update and change their themes every few years, it is not normal to have to do so every few months.
3. SEO
What’s the point in having a great web design if no one can see it? Be sure your new theme lets you optimize it in search engines and allows you to use effective plugins like SEO Yoast or similar. It should also allow you to edit meta data, tags, sliders, images, and more for SEO purposes.
Most sites do offer some form SEO options, although some are better at it than others.
4. Customization
So you’ve found a great WordPress theme. How do you know thousands of other businesses don’t have the same one and are using it just as you are? With customization options for colors, typography, and even layout you can be sure your standard old WordPress theme looks far different than the competition’s.
5. Speed
What’s the point in having a great website that people can find if it takes forever to load? Not all WordPress themes are created equally and slower loading themes can spell disaster for businesses and professionals. Not to worry though. You can easily test the speed of any WordPress theme by taking the demo or live preview and putting it through the Google Page Speed Test.
Part of Google’s and other search engine’s criteria for ranking websites is how fast they load, so be sure not to neglect how important speed is.
Freelance Web Design in Houston
To learn more about how our expert freelance web design can help you pick a WordPress theme that is both functional and findable, feel free to contact us.
