This post was published 6 years ago. Some things may have changed since then - use the search function to see if anything has been posted since then, or reach out to us on Twitter if you'd like to see a more updated post!
How your blog looks is
the first impression of what a new reader will see when they visit – so you’ll
want it to look good – but how do you decide when there are so many good options
to choose from?
You can get themes for free or you can paid hundreds or thousands for a bespoke layout, but for most of us, spending about $50 on a theme is the upper limit. We’ve posted about so many amazing blog layout shops in the past, so check out those posts if you need some inspiration but today we’re going to talk about what to look for when you’re browsing around.
Think about what you want
Before you start looking for a theme, think about the sort of thing you want. You probably already know if you like lots of images in a post (so choosing one with big images in the main text), or three columns instead of two, so write down all the things you’d like to have in your layout (or even sketch it out!)
Try to look past the example layout – but check if they provide sample data
It’s easy to fall in love with a layout, but one of the good and bad things about WordPress layouts in particular is that they are incredibly customisable. What you thought you were getting from the demo doesn’t always match up to how the layout looks when you install it, and that can be so frustrating. Check out the reviews and documentation to see whether the creator provides sample data that you can import to make the layout look as you expect it, or if they give directions (that look easy enough for you to do!) on how to make the layout look that way.
Don’t be totally put off if it’s not totally perfect
Lets face it – there’s no such thing as the perfect theme for your site. You may be put off by the font for the headers, or the colour of the links. Most good WordPress layouts will make good use of the customisation screens (either built into WordPress or have their own custom menus in the dashboard) but if the thing you want to tweak isn’t there, it can be easy enough to tweak something using CSS. (As an example, this theme has a few things in the layout that we didn’t want – using CSS, it was easy enough to hide those items without having to edit the actual template.)
Hayley has been blogging since before most people knew what a blog was! She started Bonjour, Blogger! in May 2013 as a way to share her knowledge and experiences - if you ever have a question, get in touch!
