WordPress is open-source software that enables you to create beautiful custom websites. It’s an easy-to-use platform, perfect for beginners and professional web developers. And it’s also ideal for varying types and sizes of websites, as well as for different uses like blogs and eCommerce. The website builder offers its users thousands of themes to choose from to bring their digital visions to life and each year, WordPress puts out a fresh selection of themes so website owners can keep us with the latest design and development trends. With this in mind, you can ensure that your customers always have the best experience when visiting and interacting with your site.
If you’re not sure what direction to take when choosing a WordPress theme for your website, you can take some inspiration from this list that we’ve put together of the best WordPress themes and how to choose one that is right for your business and goals. Read on to learn everything you need to know about choosing the top themes for WordPress.
Web design trends for WordPress in 2023
Every year, WordPress releases new themes for web owners to get excited about. You can expect a lot of inspiration from minimalist designs this year as well as block themes and parallax scrolling. 2023 will also focus on drag-and-drop page-building, making it easier for both novices and experts to design and develop a website. You’ll see improved navigation, which will lead to improved Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and improved User Experience (UX), and a lot more options for customisation and personalisation. As the most-used platform for website creation, you can expect WordPress to not only always be on trend, but to set trends as well.
Are there criteria for choosing a theme?
Choosing the right WordPress theme will depend on a few factors, the first being what will fulfil your website and business goals and the second being what will appeal to your target audience. The advantage of using a WordPress theme is that it’s highly customisable so you can tailor it to your exact specifications and needs and this comes without compromising the quality of your design and build. WordPress offers themes with responsive design which means your site won’t break and will look beautiful on any device and screen size, whether it’s a desktop, mobile or tablet.
When it comes to choosing the best WordPress templates, there are a few do’s and dont’s you should remember. Here are our criteria for choosing the top WordPress themes in 2023:
1. Make a list of what features your website needs
You may come across a popular WordPress theme that you feel looks great and would be good to use for your website, however, you should check that the website functions the way you need it to. Not all themes come with the same features so while one may offer you an appealing aesthetic, it may not offer you functionality. For example, if you’re looking for a theme for your website that will showcase your photography skills, you’ll need one that has an excellent image layout that caters for images rather than text. You won’t be able to achieve the same effect or goals if you picked a theme that caters for a blog. This is why it’s essential that you make a list of what features your website requires and make sure that when you’re going through the themes, you look at ones that have these features.
2. Choose a responsive theme
When deciding on a theme, make sure you check whether the appealing design is responsive. Over 50% of internet users access the web via mobile devices so it’s important that your website caters to these users otherwise you will lose out on a lot of potential customers and business. Responsive web design provides you with a website that adjusts itself according to the size of the screen it’s being viewed on. This means that whatever device or browser your user visits your site on, they will always have the best experience.
3. Consider your brand’s colour palette
Colour plays an important role in brand recognition so check that your WordPress theme of choice enables you to personalise the colour palette to that of your brand. You also want to ensure that your site is easily accessible to your users. For example, if you choose a dark theme, you may decrease the readability of your content and make it difficult for your users to use your site the way you intend them to. When it comes to colours try opting for a lighter tone to give your visitors the chance to appreciate the design elements and also carry out their goals efficiently and effectively.
4. Use a font with good readability and high impact
Fonts are an essential part of your website design as they can add personality and impact. If your visitors find the font you choose difficult to read, they will leave. Find a theme that supports an easy-to-read font that still delivers an attractive design so it’s easy for users to find the information they’re looking for. Note that some themes, especially the free ones, are limited when it comes to customizing fonts so keep that in mind during your selection process.
5. Test, test and test again
Some of the most popular WordPress themes may look good on paper but when put to use, may not work as well. You should continually test your WordPress theme to make sure that each element functions the way it should. While it’s an advantage that WordPress themes can be customisable, remember that each change you make to the CSS could affect parts of your site that you didn’t anticipate changing. Once you feel your site is ready, run a few usability tests like checking if all the functions and elements work correctly on different devices and are supported by different browsers.
The 10 best WordPress themes for 2023
1. BuddyPress WordPress theme
This theme gives you a wealth of social-networking features which are ideal for reaching your target audience with ease. Integration with social media will also provide your website with social proof, enhancing your customer loyalty.
2. Inspirin
Inspirin offers you clean, elegant designs with creative typography options. It’s ideal for websites targeted at business, marketing and copywriting.
3. MH Magazine WordPress theme
This is a fully responsive theme that is SEO-friendly and works well for a magazine-style website. If you’re looking for a theme for your travel website, lifestyle or fashion blog, or news and politics blog, this theme is clean and modern and ideal for your needs.
4. Divi
This is another popular WordPress theme that offers a website-building platform with a visual editor that makes it easy for beginners and professionals to edit. It’s good for a variety of different types of websites.
5. Astra
Astra is a fast and free WordPress theme that works well for personal websites and blogs. It’s also a good option for business sites thanks to its integration with WooCommerce.
6. OceanWP
Another good option for eCommerce sites is OceanWP. It’s lightweight which means you can expect fast page loading speeds and is highly customisable to suit your brand’s needs.
7. Eclipse
Eclipse is one of the best WordPress themes for photographers. It is a responsive design which means you don’t have to worry about your images breaking and it also offers WooCommerce and Instagram integration.
8. Blocksy
A fast-loading design, this theme is lightweight with smart asset loading to ensure that your website performs optimally. It contains clean, modern designs and is free so anyone can enjoy it.
9. StudioPress
A popular WordPress theme, StudioPress is made to be mobile-responsive so your site can be easily navigated, increasing engagement and interaction.
10. Genesis
This theme comes with a built-in WordPress SEO feature which is good for those that are looking for a boost in their SEO strategy. It’s a free framework that is also responsive to help you build the best possible website.
Examples of how to use WordPress themes
WordPress themes can be useful for many different types of websites, ranging from blogs to photography portfolio sites, eCommerce sites and personal websites. You can use WordPress to develop your site to your exact preferences using the variety of themes available. You can customise these themes further to get a site that works well for you and your customers.
For example, you can use themes to highlight your photography by choosing one with a good image layout that is optimised for high-resolution images and videos. Choosing a responsive theme is another way you can utilise WordPress for your image-focused site because it will ensure that your images are always displayed optimally on your site no matter which device your user accesses it from.
What additional tools can you use to customise your WordPress theme?
Sometimes you may end up choosing a theme that has almost everything you want but there is still room for tweaks and adjustments to get your ideal website that looks and functions as close to how you need it to. But the good thing about WordPress is that it’s open-source which means themes are customisable.
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Use a plugin
There are different ways you can customise your theme to make it the best WordPress theme 2023. One of these is to use WordPress plugins that can give your site additional design and functional features. You can find plugins for various functions and properties of your WordPress theme depending on what you need. Some plugins include CSS Hero, which allows you to edit every property of your theme. You can change margins, padding, fonts and colour and also add visual effects to your site.
Apart from plugins, you can use tools like Chrome Developer Tools to check the structure and CSS of your theme so you know exactly which element to edit before coding them. This is helpful so that you know where and what you made changes to so you can instantly view the impact.
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Use child themes
You can also use a child theme to customise your website. This is creating a secondary theme that works in tandem with the initial theme, called the parent theme. Using a child theme will benefit you because you can add new code or make changes to existing code in the child theme without losing the original code. WordPress will use the code from the parent theme except when needed, the child theme will override the code. This is especially helpful when you want to update your theme and website because you can make the updates on the child theme without losing any original code.
Conclusion
Choosing a WordPress theme doesn’t have to be overwhelming. There may be 10’s of thousands to choose from but once you’ve set your goals and decided what features you’re looking for, finding the best WordPress theme 2023 won’t be difficult. If you’ve followed this guide and have a theme in mind, and you’re ready to start building your dream website, contact our experts to help you get started.
We offer WordPress development services to ensure that your site brings your brand’s digital vision to life so that your business can soar and become a market leader. We infuse creativity in each of our projects so you can expect a website that looks good and functions well. We also offer maintenance and ongoing support so your website is always fresh and performing well. Get in touch with us today for a free, no obligation quote.
