What is WordPress Theme? Summary of how to choose and use a theme

Last updated: Feb 6, 2022

WordPress allows you to install themes to apply various designs and features to your site. We cover everything from how to choose a theme, to recommendations for Free/Premium themes and how to use themes.

What is WordPress theme?

WordPress theme is a template (a collection of files) that provides the design and features of your blog.

Even if you don’t have any knowledge of HTML and CSS, you can find a theme, install it and activate it to change the design and features to your liking.

A wide variety of themes is one of the features of WordPress. For other features, please refer to the following article.

Where to get the theme

WordPress themes are available from the following.

• Official WordPress Directory
• Theme Distribution Website (Themeforest etc)
• Theme Developer Website
• Theme Detector

Themeforest

Themeforest presents WordPress themes by category.

How to choose a theme

There are thousands of WordPress themes in the official directory alone. Choose one according to the design you like and the features you need.

Here are some noteworthy points to consider when choosing a theme.

Design

• The layout can be one or two columns
• Contrast is fine
• Is the font easy to read?

Function

• Does it support mobile usability?
• Is it responsive?
• Does it support AMP?
• Does it support the breadcrumb list?

Recommended Themes

Here are our recommendations for Free and Premium themes. Please take a look at them when choosing a theme.

Free Themes

Here are two free themes we recommend.

ASTRA

ASTRA is a lightweight theme that allows you to easily customize your design without any coding knowledge.

Hello Elementor

Hello Elementor is a starter theme that is fast and SEO optimized.

Here are some other recommended free themes for different purposes.

Premium Themes

Here are four primium themes we recommend.

Divi

Divi has an advanced visual editor that makes it easy and efficient for beginners to create designs.

Avada

Avada is a website builder for building WordPress and WooCommerce. It allows you to edit the design with intuitive controls.

Jupiter

Jupiter offers a choice of designs from over 160 pre-built website templates.

Bridge

Bridge is a responsive retina multipurpose theme. There are over 500 demos available.

Here are some other recommended Premium themes for different purposes.

Popular Themes

Here are some popular themes for different purposes.

For Blog

Newspaper

Newspaper is a theme that makes it easy to create articles and blog posts.

For eCommerce

Flatsome

Flatsome is a WooCommerce theme that is responsive. It is optimized for shops and corporate websites.

For Portfolio

Salient

Salient allows you to create a website by simply dragging and dropping it.

For Photography

Novo

Novo can create beautiful sites for photographers and musicians.

Minimalist

Monochrome

Monochrome is a simple design theme designed with margins and typography.

How to Use Themes

Here are some of the various uses of the theme.

Explore/search for a theme

The official directory is a great place to find WordPress themes.

Upload a theme

If you have the theme files in ZIP format, you can easily upload them from the WordPress admin page.

To upload your theme to WordPress, open the Appearance in the admin page and click the Add New button.

The Add Theme screen will appear. Click the Upload Theme button.

Click the Choose File button and select the theme file in ZIP format, or drag and drop the file onto the screen.

Install the theme

Click the Install button of the official directory or the uploaded theme.

When it is installed, the installation is complete.

Customize your theme

1. Click on the Appearance
2. Click Customize

You can change the settings of the currently enabled theme.

Edit the theme

Theme Editor

1. Click on the Appearance
2. Click on the Theme Editor

A warning message will appear. Read the content carefully, and if you are satisfied, click the I understand button.

Select and edit the theme you want to edit.

Create a child theme

A child theme is a theme that inherits the features and style of the parent theme. When editing an existing theme, it is recommended to create a child theme.

If you change the theme directly, your edits will be lost when the theme is updated.

Learn how to create a child theme below. Please refer to it.

Removing the theme

Click Theme Details of the theme you want to remove from the theme list.

Click the Delete.

Are you sure you want to remove this theme? An alert will appear. To delete it, click the OK button.

The theme has been removed.

Create a theme

In addition to using an existing theme, you can create your own theme by creating your own theme files.

You can add your own design and features as you see fit.

However, it requires an understanding of WordPress template hierarchy and template tags, as well as extensive knowledge of PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Selling the Theme

You can also sell your own themes that you create. You can offer them on a buy-out or subscription basis.

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