WordPress Themes - Finding and Choosing what is Best for you.
- 1. WordPressThemes Finding and Choosing What is Best for You @AndyStaple StapleWebDesign.com
- 2. Andy Staple FOUNDER | UI & UX DESIGNER I’m the Founder, and a UX Designer at Staple Creative, also the Co-Founder of the Buffalo WordPress Users Meetup. Web: staplewebdesign.com Twitter: @AndyStaple
- 3. @AndyStaple A WordPress Theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a weblog. These files are called template files. A Theme modifies the way the site is displayed, without modifying the underlying software. - WordPress.org Codex https://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Themes WORDPRESSTHEME? W H A T I S A “ ”
- 4. @AndyStaple There are a lot of them.
- 5. @AndyStaple WHATWORDPRESSTHEMESHOULDIUSE? T H E B I G Q U E S T I O N :
- 6. @AndyStaple ITDEPENDS. T H E A N S W E R :
- 7. @AndyStaple Thanks for your time! If you have any question’s feel free to reach out. THAT’SALLFOLKS
- 8. @AndyStaple Install and Configure the Theme yourself You’ll learn lots, but may spend a lot of time getting things right. A good option if you’re looking to get involved but aren’t able to spend a lot of time. Great for Larger Budgets, something built specifically for your needs. DIY OR HIRE HELP? D I F F E R E N T R O U T E S T O T A K E Install a Theme and Get Help with Customization Hire a Pro to Build 100% Custom Theme
- 9. @AndyStaple Understand what type of content you’ll be focusing on. Your theme needs to handle this type of content well. CONTENTSHOULDDICTATEYOURDESIGN D E S I G N , N O T D E C O R A T I O N
- 10. @AndyStaple Content informs design; Design without content is decoration.” — J E F F R E Y Z E L D M A N “
- 11. @AndyStaple Who are you looking to talk to? Think about the User Experience. Make it easy for people to find what they need. ALWAYSTHINKABOUTYOURVISITORS W H O I S G O I N G T O V I S I T ?
- 12. @AndyStaple Understand what type of content you’ll be focusing on. Your theme needs to handle this type of content well. SOMEDESIGNBASICSTOHELPYOUALONG T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Short or Long-form Articles • Image Heavy (Photography or Lifestyle) • eCommerce Store • “Brochure” Pages
- 13. @AndyStaple Themes are opinionated. Meaning they have made design and layout decisions for you. Make sure you can live with them. SOMEDESIGNBASICSTOHELPYOUALONG T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Don’t try to force a modern minimalistic blog layout to try to run a 500 item WooCommerce Shop. GENERALLAYOUTSTRUCTURE
- 14. @AndyStaple The theme typography needs to be readable. Don’t fatigue visitors just to have the fanciest font styles in the world. SOMEDESIGNBASICSTOHELPYOUALONG T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Readability: can users read articles or sections easily? • Typographic Hierarchy: Are Headings and paragraph text distinguished? TYPOGRAPHY Sydney by ThemeIsle
- 15. @AndyStaple A Theme should have useful hierarchy and whitespace. Your eyes should naturally find items most important to you. SOMEDESIGNBASICSTOHELPYOUALONG T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Focal points in the layout should match your needs. • Whitespace is not your enemy. The more space around something, the more important. HIERARCHY Snap Theme by The Theme Foundry
- 16. @AndyStaple Many colors within a theme are editable. However, high-quality themes often have good color combinations by default. SOMEDESIGNBASICSTOHELPYOUALONG T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Finding themes with color palettes that match your brand helps speed up the theme configuration and customization. COLORANDAESTHETICS Locales by Tesla Themes
- 17. @AndyStaple Often the hardest item to sort out when browsing themes—what exactly is editable and what is not. When Possible, installing a theme on your website (or better—a test copy of your website) will help you to find many of the answers. FUNCTIONALITYANDCUSTOMIZATION T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R
- 18. @AndyStaple Check for Theme Customizer support. This is the fastest way to make simple changes to your theme safely. FUNCTIONALITY&CUSTOMIZATION T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R THEMECUSTOMIZER
- 19. @AndyStaple Look for Widget Areas that allow you to add dynamic widgets to areas of the theme where you’d like more control. FUNCTIONALITY&CUSTOMIZATION T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R WIDGETS • Sidebars • Footer Widget Areas • Header Widget Areas • Above/Below Content Areas
- 20. @AndyStaple Can you easily choose different layouts depending on your content? T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • Are there Page Templates (and Post Templates) with unique layouts? • Very common examples are a “full-width page”, or pages with less secondary information to help with conversions. • Featured Images - How does the theme use them? PAGEANDPOSTLAYOUTS FUNCTIONALITY&CUSTOMIZATION Sydney by ThemeIsle
- 21. @AndyStaple Many themes explicitly state certain plugins they are built to integrate well with. T H I N G S T O L O O K F O R • WooCommerce • BuddyPress • Easy Digital Downloads • Plugin Page-Builders • Beaver Builder, Page Builder by SiteOrigin, etc… • Contact Form Plugins: • Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, Caldera Forms, etc… PLUGINCOMPATIBILITY FUNCTIONALITY&CUSTOMIZATION
- 22. @AndyStaple With the popularity of WordPress, you have more options for Themes than you’ll ever be able to sort through one-by-one. Find reputable places to download or purchase themes from. YOURWORDPRESSTHEME C H O I C E S
- 23. @AndyStaple • Support included (check duration). • Frequently updated. • Many features included. • Documentation is often better. FREE OR “PREMIUM” G E N E R A L I Z A T I O N S Paid (Premium) Themes PROS CONS • Difficulty testing for your specific use-case. • More settings = more complex setup. • Ongoing costs for support & updates. • Race to the bottom - feature-bloat. • They’re free… • Thorough Code Review for wp.org Theme Repo. • Simple choices can be refreshing. Free Themes PROS CONS • Design can be inconsistent at times. • Themes become “abandoned” more often. • No support is generally promised. On your own. !
- 24. @AndyStaple FREETHEMES Easiest and largest quality collection is on WordPress.org in the Themes section.
- 25. @AndyStaple FREETHEMES The easiest to find, and largest collection is on WordPress.org in the Themes section. Items to Look at: • Recent Updates • Many Installs • Rating Breakdown • Support Forum The Preview Button allows a quick peak into the theme. This will show you what it looks like barebones, without setup.
- 26. @AndyStaple PREMIUMTHEMES Look for support response time, overall quality, and community involvement. SOME POPULAR THEME SHOPS
- 27. @AndyStaple PREMIUMTHEMES View theme demos whenever possible. More importantly, look for Themes that allow you to use the customizer with their demos, or at minimum shows Videos or Screenshots of their customizer (or custom options) screens. Watson Demo by The Theme Foundry
- 28. @AndyStaple Choosing a Page Builder Theme or Theme Framework is a way to get more out of themes. TAKEYOURTIME,UNDERSTANDYOURCHOICES T H I N K L O N G T E R M
- 29. @AndyStaple Page Builders help to make adding and removing blocks of reusable content easier for non-technical users. Many have libraries of common UI patterns. “DRAG-N-DROP”MODULES OFCONTENT TAKEYOURTIME,UNDERSTANDYOURCHOICES T H I N K L O N G T E R M
- 30. @AndyStaple You will be within a platform that functions somewhat different than typical WordPress. Once in and set up, switching away may require a lot of shortcode cleanup, functionality replacements, and other fun stuff like that. MOVINGAWAYFROMA FRAMEWORKORPAGEBUILDER TAKEYOURTIME,UNDERSTANDYOURCHOICES T H I N K L O N G T E R M
- 31. @AndyStaple Theme Marketplaces have run into a one-upmanship of features. Be weary of themes with Feature Lists that claim to do everything under the sun. BEWAREOFTHEINFINITE FEATURELISTS TAKEYOURTIME,UNDERSTANDYOURCHOICES T H I N K L O N G T E R M
- 32. @AndyStaple Just like a realtor staging a house or a fast-food joint staging burgers, Theme Developers know a well-staged theme sells. If your theme is photo-heavy, understand you’ll need to buy the same types of photos that your demo content shows to get a similar look. THEBEAUTIFULPREVIEWCONTENT TAKEYOURTIME,UNDERSTANDYOURCHOICES T H I N K L O N G T E R M
- 33. @AndyStaple TURNINGTHETHEMEINTOYOURWEBSITE T H E F U N S T U F F
- 34. @AndyStaple Use these tools to change the dynamic elements in the layout in these areas. The less you need to rely on other plugins or theme customizations the easier you’ll have it later. USETHECUSTOMIZER, WIDGETAREAS,ANDPAGE TEMPLATES TURNINGTHETHEMEINTOYOURWEBSITE T H E F U N S T U F F Child Theme Configurator by Lila Media
- 35. @AndyStaple Creating a child theme helps to make updates of themes easier, letting you sleep a bit better. USEACHILDTHEMEWHEN POSSIBLE TURNINGTHETHEMEINTOYOURWEBSITE T H E F U N S T U F F https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes https://themify.me/docs/child-theme Child Theme Configurator by Lila Media
- 36. @AndyStaple Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creative.” — C H A R L E S M I N G U S J A Z Z M U S I C I A N ALSO THE NAME OF WP v1.2 “
- 37. @AndyStaple • Keep It Simple. Don’t look only at a large feature-list. • Understand your content, find a Theme that suits it. • Check for Design Fundamentals (Spacing, Color Palette, Type, Speed, Responsiveness). • Look for Live Demos you can adjust. • Plan Long-Term. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself. • Time Investment in setup is more important than price. SOMEQUICKTAKEAWAYS&THOUGHTS F O R A N Y O N E S T I L L A W A K E
- 38. @AndyStaple Q&A
- 39. @AndyStaple