While developing websites with WordPress, you have the option to choose from thousands of open source and paid themes. Each WordPress theme enables you to design the user interface of the website without writing longer lines of code. You can take advantage of the front-end styling components - page layout, font styling, graphics, colors, and widget location - to control the look of your website and content presentation across various browsers.

But you must remember that WordPress has a much larger worldwide market share than other content management systems. A single theme may be used by a large number of websites. Hence, there are always chances that a theme may look your website identical to several other websites. You need to focus on a number of do's and don'ts while selecting and using WordPress Themes.

Choose the Right Theme

In comparison to other content management systems, WordPress provided a higher number of free themes. Hence, you can have the option to choose from many free and paid WordPress themes. But a single theme may not meet the requirements of all websites. While comparing the themes, you must keep in mind the website's look and content presentation. It is also a great idea to try out multiple themes to decide the WordPress theme that complements your website's needs precisely.

Decide the Key Features

You can easily pick the right theme for your website by defining its colors, width, columns, navigation option, and other important features. Likewise, you also need to decide the nature and purpose of the website. When the theme complements the precise needs of the website, it becomes easier for you to avoid customizations and modifications. Also, you can add specific functionality to the website without using additional plug-ins. However, you can always opt for themes that allow you to make changes to its key components like layout, width, and column spacing through the control panel.

Simple and Lightweight Themes

The loading speed of your website will affect its user experience and search engine visibility directly. You must not affect the speed of your website by choosing WordPress themes that are feature-heavy or use large files like background images and videos. Likewise, you need to opt for a theme that has been updated on a regular basis to enhance website speed based on its high-quality source code. You can easily check the loading speed of the website with a specific theme by using a number of online tools.

Consider Using Paid Themes

Many developers opt for free WordPress themes to save money. But you can always reap a number of benefits - reliable codebase and technical support - by investing in a premium theme. The premium themes will further make your website look different without making additional customizations. There are also certain premium themes that are designed just like web designing tools. You can use such themes to create custom page layouts and other components.

Implement Responsive Web Design

While selecting a WordPress theme, you must not forget the fact that most people nowadays access websites on their mobile devices. You need to implement a responsive web design to make the website look good on both computers and mobile devices. That is why; it becomes essential to opt for a WordPress theme that makes your website responsive and mobile-friendly. You can always avoid using mobile plug-ins additionally by using a theme that makes your website look good on varying devices.

Options to Customize Themes

The paid WordPress themes will make it easier for you to make the website look and feel different. But you may be required to use free themes to curtail project overheads. If you are opting for a free theme, it becomes essential to customize it according to your specific needs. You can easily make changes to an existing WordPress theme if you are proficient in commonly used web technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. Also, you can use a number of tools to customize the WordPress theme without rewriting or modifying its source code.

Compatibility with Browsers and Plug-ins

You must remember that users will access your website on various browsers. But there are chances that a single WordPress theme may not make your website look good on each browser. Hence, you must perform a basic browser compatibility test to check how the theme looks on major web browsers. Likewise, you also need to check if the theme supports all plug-ins required by your website. When the theme supports plug-ins required by your website, you can easily add functionality to the website through plug-ins.