“WordPress Theme” might be an unknown term for new users. First of all, we must understand the terms.
What is WordPress? In simple terms, WordPress is a free, open-source website creation platform and content management system software used to build, modify, and maintain websites.
What is WordPress Theme? A WordPress theme is a collection of templates, code files, and stylesheets built in WordPress aiming to give an appealing visual appearance to a website. Themes are the inherent and crucial features of WordPress that customize your site’s appearance and even incorporate additional functionality. In simple terms, the themes that are made on the WordPress platform are called WordPress Themes.
How to create a WordPress theme? A short description.
Anyone who has a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can create a WordPress Theme with ease. WordPress has become the nicest, simplest, most flexible, and most powerful CMS system or platform to create themes. First of all, we need to install WordPress locally to create a theme. We can create themes from scratch with two procedures.
- Manual: Codes are required to create a WordPress Theme manually. It requires header.php files, index.php files, sidebar.php files, footer.php files, and style.css files to build a website. That means you should have knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP and WordPress functions knowledge.
- Automated: Creating a WordPress theme via WordPress theme builder is called automated. For this, you have to install WordPress theme builder plugins and other additional and advanced plus useful plugins for better functionalities. It lets you easily customize and design every aspect of a website.
Types of WordPress Themes
There are different types of themes to choose from. You can choose themes as per your requirements and needs.
Free Theme Vs Premium Theme
Keeping all types of customers in mind, themes are found in various ratios and prices. Free themes don’t mean they are less valued and less useful. The fact is, they are crafted with fewer features and functionalities which can be best and sufficient for small business owners. On contrary, Premium themes have extra additional features so that they are payable.
Free themes
Free themes are easily accessible and users can directly install and activate themes from the WordPress admin panel. Low budgets customers can use the theme for free. Free themes are best to practice WordPress and experience the way of building a site. Furthermore, they are available in the WordPress.org theme directory, requiring them to pass a strict review process. So that users can be confident about their quality and security. Though it has limited features and functionalities it can best suit for simple and small businesses.
Premium Themes
Premium themes mean you have to pay for themes to use them. These themes are vastly improved, updated, and come with various features and functionalities. You can have a 24/7 top-level support service, full documentation plus helpful videos to customize it, and are far better than free themes. If you want to really run an online site to foster business you can go for premium themes without any delay. It lets to display the service and purpose of your site with the perfect and attractive look. It has advanced features, a unique layout, and a praiseworthy and appealing design.
Premium themes are available for purchase on third-party WordPress theme shops. Theme Forest, Mojo Marketplace, Elegant Themes, Theme Grill, and our beautiful themes are available in our WordPress Active Themes, a digital marketplace. Alternatively, you can directly contact the theme developers to purchase a theme.
Multipurpose Theme vs Niche Theme
Both of these themes are perfect in their own way. You can choose according to your need and desire. Multipurpose and niche themes are available both in premium and free versions.
Multipurpose Theme
The name is quite self-explanatory in itself. Multipurpose themes are designed and crafted to fit all kinds of sites such as blogs, magazines, travel, portfolios, nonprofit organizations, restaurants, online shops, etc. Whether it is a business site or a news site, a multipurpose theme suits everyone and carries all of the features needed for various types of websites. In addition, it usually includes multiple kinds of pages, extensions, codes, widgets, and tools to provide more options for customizing your site, regardless of its focus. We recommend using a multipurpose theme for experienced users and for large websites because it comes with various functionalities and countless features that have the ability to create stunning creations.
Niche Theme
The themes that are designed for a specific field are niche-based themes. It is best for new users who just want to create a website to run a simple and small business online. Niche-based themes are solely focused to fulfill the basic features that the specific site needs. For instance, if you wish to create a travel agency website, it must have booking features, payment features, trekking packages, maps, and more like these. Likewise an e-commerce store website should have different features like add to cart option, search options, products quick view options, payment options and more. Niche themes are easily customizable, flexible, and best for specific-based purposes. It will have everything you want if u became able the choose the perfect theme for your specific site.
Parent Theme Vs Child Theme
Parent themes and child themes are interconnected to each other. Child Themes are created to give extra additional features to a parent theme. Parent theme became a parent theme because of its child theme. When developers and designers feel to modify a parent theme and wish to change and add some features to the parent theme, they create another theme, which we call a child theme.
Parent Themes
The parent theme is an independent WordPress theme with all the files and assets that makes a theme complete. It has an end-to-end file package that comprised everything required to organize and display content on a WP site. All WordPress theme frameworks are parent themes however not all parent themes are theme frameworks. To have a parent theme framework it needs to offer the ability for developers to modify and customize the core functionality of the theme without modifying any of the core theme files.
Child Theme
A child theme is a subtheme of a parent theme that inherits the core features, look, and functions of the parent theme but with some changes. It is incomplete without a parent theme and solely dependent on the parent theme. The child theme contains only two files style.css and functions.php. In order to tweak and customize an existing WordPress template and without losing its custom and built-in style a child theme is created. To make it easily understandable a child theme is created with the purpose of modifying and adding some functionality to the parent theme without losing data, style, and custom.
Custom Theme
Custom-built sites are websites that are built from the ground up. You or your coder develop the design and backend code of your website from start to finish. However, custom themes are expensive but are very secure, safe, of high quality, and get instant support from developers. Custom Theme guarantees an excellent performance, is SEO friendly, and precisely aligns with your company’s goals, vision, and content. Further, you can control the layout, unique design, and functionality and need not rely on third-party plugins.
It takes a longer timeframe to accomplish a site and a slightly more expensive than a theme website. Companies that want complete control over functionalities and every aspect of their website, from images to icons to layout are highly recommended to use custom themes.
How to Choose the perfect WordPress Theme?
Selecting the right WordPress theme that is professional, powerful, and perfect-looking is a tough and overwhelming task for new users. Your wrong decision can affect to drop down your site. However some guidelines we will share here will definitely help you in choosing the goal-oriented and expected theme.
- List your requirement and understand your needs.
- Calculate your budgets for pro themes.
- choose a timely updated, SEO-friendly, and mobile-friendly theme.
- Check ratings, reviews and comments.
- Ensure the plugins and browser-compatible theme.
- Check features and customizable options.
Wrapping Up!
Building websites is the best key to boosting, fostering, and helping grow your business, organizations, companies, or personnel. And the WordPress themes are there to help in building sites with ready-made templates, awesome designs, and starter sites. You have to just choose, search, or buy if pro and install and activate the chosen theme. You can choose the type that best suits your needs. Your company and company’s goal determines the type of theme; custom, Free or premium, multipurpose or niche based. We have also crafted a lot of wonderful themes of all types. Check out some excellent and breathtaking free and premium WordPress themes on this official store.