22 things you must look for while selecting wordpress themes
When it comes to selecting a wordpress theme we are a spoilt lot. But selecting a theme from among the thousands of wordpress themes is not as easy as it sounds. Choosing a theme is like choosing your personality. It makes a lasting impression on the visitor, and a first impression is the last. Here are a few things to keep in mind while picking your, so to say, online personality:
1) Color
What colors are you planning to use on your page? Pick shades that will go with the image that you project, and which, at the same time, are not too obtrusive.
2) Readability
Are all elements on the page clear and bold enough to be read without straining the eyes? An unreadable page is as good as an unvisited page.
3) Contrast
High-contrast shades for various elements are important, to make each of them stand out. While a light, soothing background with dark lettering is preferred, many themes also look good with the reverse.
4) 2-column or 3-column
The eternal debate between extra options and a clean, crisp layout is one you will have to fit to your needs.
5) Placing of elements
Is your page well-designed such that the most important things catch the roving eye first? And it is not just size, but also positioning, that determines this.
6) Left sidebar or right sidebar
So, you chose a 2-column theme. Now, which side do you put the sidebar? Left sidebars are used when the elements don’t change too much, while a right sidebar allows one to keep changing content on every page, without distracting the user.
7) Fonts
Your theme’s fonts and sizes will be critical. Fonts need not be funky. They need to be readable without straining the eye, yet should be go with the image you are projecting.
8. Graphics
Does your theme use a background graphics or a cool mouse pointer? These things can work wonders to your page and give it a personal touch.
9) Images
Are you using images in your theme? While this looks nice, it also means heavier pages that take longer to load.
10) Animation
Using an animated figure or an icon on your page can really bring it to life. It catches the eye and breaks the monotony of a static page.
11) Stylistic cohesion
Does the theme have a sense of uniformity and wholeness across the various pages in the site which would make it look like they are part of the same website?
12) Previous-next buttons
Easy navigation is the least you owe your visitors. A smooth flow through the website goes a long way in making for a pleasant browsing experience.
13) Sitemap
Does your theme have a sitemap? It is particularly useful for big websites where one is liable to get lost or confused.
14) Search
A theme that allows browsers to search the website makes things a lot easier when going through large archives of posts, etc. Moreover, one can also make some money by using some large search engines’ sponsored search.
15) About page
An About page gives one a little background on you, and what the site’s primary aims, etc. are. It is as important on blogs and info sites as it is important on sites soliciting business interest.
16) Access for disabled
One of ten Internet users are visually impaired. Does your theme make any special allowances for them?
17) Header image
Having a suitable header image can really make a page look good, without doing too much on it.
18) Cross browser compatibility
Now, with the variety of Internet browsers people are using, it would be a pity if someone’s site-viewing experience is hampered by browser glitches.
19) Widgets
Widgets allow you to do a lot of extra things to your pages and allow more interactive browsing. It is important that your theme supports widgets.
20) Fast loading
A significant number of Internet users are hampered by slow connections. A features-heavy page, with a lot of extra images, etc. takes time to load and makes for slow browsing.
21) SE optimized
SEO is one of the most important feature to look for in a theme. There are many things that can be done to page titles and headers and meta tags that can clearly give an edge to your site getting higher rank on search engines for relevant keywords. Some themes have built in features for seo. Just like the other points discussed in this post, you can add seo features to a theme if it does not already have salient seo features.
22) Adsense enabled
Make sure that your theme conforms to adsense tos. Also it would help if the theme has possibilities for modular ad placements.
Can’t find all features in a single theme? Just select the theme that comes closest to being the best for your blog/site. Then just add features that are not there. In an earlier post we had covered 40 other useful and easy modifications that you can make to wordpress themes.
Making modifications to wordpress themes is not difficult and we have already proven that it is possible to modify wordpress themes in less than 5 minutes. See the 2-5 minute wordpress theme makeovers here.
Learn to modify wordpress themes
without being a coding geek
