If you're blogging around the WordPress platform,the first thing you will in all probability do is always to set up a new WordPress theme. Even if you've been blogging for years you could nonetheless be a theme "addict", wasting loads of time doing minor modifications that when summed up merely distracts you from blogging itself. Get a lot more details about minimalist WordPress themes
It's in fact effortless to determine why this single aspect of operating a blog demands so much consideration. With all the right theme, it is possible to accommodate all the nifty little widgets and codes, and may possibly also mean much better search engine rankings and tons of fresh traffic just about every day.
So what would be the aspects you need to take into consideration to make theme-hunting easier? Here are 5 vital ingredients:
1) Theme Width and Columns
Generally, WordPress themes come in 2-column or 3-column formats, with widths ranging from 500 pixels to 960 pixels wide. If you are blogging for non-profit purposes, a 2-column theme can look additional compact and reader-friendly. Due to the fact you might have significantly less images of products or links to other sites to display, you may concentrate exclusively on the content without the need of top readers away from your site.
Alternatively, if you are blogging for profit, you may need to consider a 3-column WordPress theme that may be capable of accommodate your Google Adsense, Chitika and Text Hyperlink Advertisements codes comfortably with no squeezing every thing inside the content area. 3-column themes let space for expansion, but in the occasion that you've filled up all out there space with ads, then it is time you removed the non-performers and use only the advertising services that work for that distinct blog.
2) Use of Pictures and Icons
A theme with pictures and icons can look superior, however it seldom increases your web traffic or subscriber base. Actually, most "A-list" bloggers have plain vanilla themes using a uncomplicated logo on top rated. Reducing the amount of photos also suggests faster loading time and significantly less anxiety on your servers. This crucial aspect of server load come to be apparent only in case you have tens of a large number of visitors each day, but it really is worth designing for the future.
A image-laden theme also distracts readers from the content itself. That is the cause why blogs like Engadget and Tech Crunch use pictures intensively within the content material places to add value to a post, however the theme itself is very simple and rather minimalist.
Ideally, a theme really should allow you to work with your own personal header image for stronger branding purposes, yet replace images and icons with links and text, or simply not use them at all unless certainly necessary.
3) Compatibility with Plugins
Yet another time-sucking activity is installing plugins that increase the functionality of one's site. There is a plugin out there for almost every little thing you want to perform with your blog, but while the majority of them are free and effortlessly obtainable, it's not often simple to set up the plugins and insert the codes into your WordPress theme.
If your theme is also difficult, it might be a headache to even insert that one line of code you need to make a plugin work. This is typically the case with sophisticated AJAX-based WordPress themes which have also several files and heavy coding. I've generally preferred a simpler themes that stick for the default WordPress theme as a great deal as you can, so I can cut back around the learning curve and just get on with my life.
Keep in mind that the goal of the blog is usually to deliver timely, relevant content material to your readers, Any theme that preserves or improves the reader experience is very good, any theme that subtracts from the experience is bad.
4) Search Engine Optimization
Quite a bit may be stated about search engine optimization, but in the end from the day when you have content worth reading eventually you'll get the rankings you deserve. That doesn't mean that you simply do not have to have SEO; all it means is that what you truly should do is usually to make sure:
(a) Your
(b) All of your blog content material titles make use of the H1 tag, with the main keywords used as an alternative of non-descriptive text for superior SEO relevance
(b) Your theme has clean source codes, and if achievable all formatting is linked to an external CSS file which you may edit independently
5) Plug-And-Play Ease of Use
Can the theme be installed very easily on an current blog without having to move items about? Can the exact same theme be used and customized conveniently on your other blogs? They are some extra factors you could possibly wish to look at when theme-shopping, in particular if just about every minute of downtime in your blog may perhaps mean lost revenue.
While it's hard to make comparisons as a consequence of the sheer quantity of free and paid themes around, it really is still a fantastic concept to have a test blog site. Test any theme you plan on using, and ensure that your test blog is also fitted with all of the plugins and miscellaneous widgets used on your real blog. The final thing you wish is for the readers begin seeing weird error messages in your blog.
