Updated recommendations and tips for choosing a good WordPress theme, adapted to the latest developments in 2024.
Introduction
Choosing the right theme is crucial for the development of a successful WordPress website. As changing the theme at a later date is time-consuming, it is worth investing sufficient time in research at the beginning. Here are some topical tips for choosing the right theme.
The most important criteria for a good WordPress theme
Choosing a good and future-proof WordPress theme is crucial for the success and longevity of your website. Here are the criteria you should consider when choosing a theme:
- Responsive design
- The theme should look and function well on different devices (desktops, tablets, smartphones). A responsive design is essential nowadays.
- Compatibility and updates
- Make sure that the theme is updated regularly to remain compatible with the latest version of WordPress and with the latest plugins. A good developer will update the theme regularly.
- SEO friendliness
- The theme should be SEO-optimised to ensure that your website ranks well in search engines. This includes clean and semantic HTML codes, fast loading times and schema markup support.
- Loading speed
- A fast theme is important, as the loading speed of the website is a decisive factor for user-friendliness and SEO ranking. Test the speed of the theme with tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights.
- Adaptability
- The theme should be easily customisable so that you can design it to your liking without having to dig deep into the code. Look out for customisation options in the Customizer or in the theme options.
- Support and documentation
- A good theme comes with comprehensive documentation and support. Check whether there is a support area, forums or a ticket system if you need help.
- Compatibility with plugins
- Make sure that the theme works well with common plugins such as WooCommerce, multilingual, SEO plugins and others. To avoid crucial incompatibilities from the outset.
- Security
- The theme should be security-optimised to protect your website from potential threats. Check whether the developer has implemented security measures and whether the theme is regularly checked for security vulnerabilities.
- Good ratings and reviews
- Take a look at the ratings and user reviews of the theme. Positive ratings and many downloads are a good indicator of the quality and reliability of the theme.
- Accessibility
- An accessible theme ensures that people with disabilities can also use your website without any problems.
- Flexibility and scalability
- The theme should be flexible enough to allow future extensions and changes without you having to buy a new theme with which you then have to completely redesign the site.
- Support
- And because it's important, here's a reminder: fast and competent support from the developers is very valuable in your day-to-day work with your WordPress website and saves you a lot of time and money.
By considering these criteria, you can choose the right WordPress theme for your website that not only meets your current needs, but also takes future developments and requirements into account. I will be happy to advise you on this.
Modern editors and themes
The new WordPress block editor 'Gutenberg'
The WordPress block editor 'Gutenberg' defines each page element (paragraph, image, columns, lists, etc.) as an individually formatable "block". The editor is fast, stable and intuitive to use. It is worth familiarising yourself with the operation of the editor, as it is no more complicated for editorial users than a normal word processing programme.
Avoidance of page builder themes
Page builder themes were useful tools 10 years ago, but are often a burden today. The core of these multi-purpose themes is an integrated page builder that allows you to structure a page without any knowledge of HTML and CSS.
Problems with page builder themes:
- slower loading times due to overly extensive functions, scripts and for everything to maintain the necessary downward compatibility
- Dependence on shortcodes (effort for later topic change)
- Own standards, not compatible with other themes (effort when changing)
With the advancement of the WordPress block editor, the need for page builder themes is increasingly being questioned. A modern, lean theme that fully supports the block editor is usually the better choice.
Conclusion
WordPress has made a huge leap towards modern, fast and intuitive usability with the new editor. Newer themes are already fully utilising this, and more will follow. The loading time of a theme can serve as an indicator of its quality, as it is also becoming increasingly important for Google rankings.
For my websites I use the GeneratePress theme in combination with the GenerateBlocks pluginwhich significantly improves the functionality of the WordPress editor; both in the Pro version.
When choosing your theme, pay attention to the features mentioned above. This will have a significant impact on the quality and future-proofing of your website.