One of the hardest things you will have to do, even before you have even thought about writing your first blog post is to choose a blog theme. Every blog is different and everyone will have their own tastes, but these ten tips will help point you in the right direction…
10 – Media Friendly
If you have any plans to add a lot of pictures, or videos to your blog posts make sure them theme supports the media you are going to use. Some have terrible issues with YouTube video plugins and some will make pictures look weird and distorted when in thumbnail size.
9 – Header
Some blog themes have a header and some don’t. But whatever your choice, make sure you can fit (or not) exactly the text and image you want to showcase at the top of your blog. After all, it will be seen on every page, by every reader so make sure it looks good.
8 – Menu
Never underestimate the importance of a well placed, well-designed menu. Some themes hide them, some put them in silly places and some don’t even have one at all! So make sure that menu is exactly where you need and want it to be.
7 – Ads
If you plan to put ads on your blog it is often best to pick an ad-friendly theme. Some of them are designed to show the maximum amount of ads in the perfect places, thus bringing in the most revenue.
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6 – Colours
While some blogs will let you customise the colours of its theme, many will not (unless you pay for the premium theme). So it is often easier to look at the colours of the theme to see if they will suit the mood and style you are trying to get across.
5 – Style
Ask yourself what sort of style you want your blog to be. Is it a magazine style, businesses, family friendly? If you know what style you want you will soon be able to narrow your choice of themes dramatically.
4 – With, without Sidebar
I’m pretty sure that stats would show us that 90%+ of all blogs have some form of a sidebar, but by removing it entirely you will speed your blog up dramatically. Do you really need all those blog award images going down the side?
3 – Cost
There are hundreds of free themes on WordPress that should cover most people’s needs. But as your blog grows why not consider paying for a more bespoke theme that would be better suited (if not tailor-made) to your blogs needs and future.
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2 – Features
Some themes have built-in ad space, some have amazing sliders and magazine style front pages. If you like to fiddle around and get that layout and those blog colours just right make sure there are lots of customizable features to play around with.
1 – Mobile Friendly…or not!
It’s a fact that a number of people who are reading blogs on a smartphone or tablet are on the rise and that means you need a mobile-friendly site. But do you? You can always choose a theme which is not mobile friendly then use a plugin like Jetpack or WPtouch to make a mobile-friendly theme. That way it will look perfect no matter what people use. Or if you can’t be bothered with all that, just choose a responsive theme.