How to Choose the Right WordPress Premium Theme
Reading Time: 11 minutes 
WordPress Premium Themes come in all shapes, sizes, designs, and layouts. One would be hard-pressed not to find a theme that fits their project’s needs. Unfortunately, there are so many choices that I can’t keep up with—or thoroughly review them all.
Now more than ever, there is an abundance of high-quality premium WordPress themes to choose from, thanks to the use of blocks and Full Site Editing in WordPress. As a result, you can create every imaginable structure and layout. The key is to choose a theme that fits your specific needs right out of the box.
How far can we customize a theme?
Unlike with older HTML sites, customizing a premium theme within its established core layout is pretty easy thanks to FSE, which lets you customize without knowing code. But there are limitations.
However, in my experience, it’s pretty standard for those unfamiliar with how WordPress themes are created and how they work to think that everything can be modified. Most importantly, the theme layout’s flexibility depends on the theme.
FSE-enabled themes can be customized precisely as you envision using blocks.
You can customize:
The internal pages of WordPress themes are pretty much the same. However, now more than ever, you can modify layouts and sidebars on a page-by-page basis. Some themes already have this baked in.
For example, Kadence, the theme framework I use for all my websites, has a “Design Library” of established layouts that you can add with just a click. Then, customize with your images, fonts, colors, and more.
Here’s a screenshot of a few. Just click on the layout you like. It will be inserted into your page, and you can customize it as you want.
About You and Your Skill Level
Most of the folks I work with don’t know what I know. Many are still unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with blocks and how they work. Once they dive in, they realize how intuitive, fun, and flexible blocks can be.
As with most things, there is a learning curve.
The primary difference between a theme’s established layout is the homepage, header logo, and menus, and footer areas. And built-in customization flexibility.
What becomes costly is when you want to rework the site’s established structure or make things function differently than the theme or a plugin is coded to do. Variables such as moving non-widgetized areas, repositioning real estate, creating new widgets, increasing or decreasing the height or width, or changing the position of elements can create a domino effect of changes and hurt responsiveness.
K.I.S.S.
Keep It Simple, Silly. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or pay the cost that comes with that level of customization. Instead, it’s recommended that you take the time to find a theme that fits the bill without incurring that additional cost.
You can pay a developer to customize the code, but it gets expensive quickly. Or you can choose a theme with the layout you envision, which lets you do more hands-on tweaking.
Learning basic CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is always helpful for anyone who is hands-on with their website. CSS controls most of the variables (font, sizes, colors, spacing) that most site owners want to tweak.
Determine which selectors you want to change, and plop a modified version in Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS to override your theme selectors with your preferred values.
For example, if you want to change the headline H3 size and color:
h3 {
color: #000000;
font-size: 32px;
}Again, some themes have this customization ability baked in via Appearance > Customize. Keep the Customize > Additional CSS area in mind if you want to make changes that aren’t available in the WordPress customization dashboard or at the block level.
If the theme you like isn’t a good fit, choosing one that better suits your needs for the long haul is probably more cost-effective, since it avoids having to pay a programmer to make changes for you. If you know what to consider before deciding on a WordPress premium theme, you can also avoid having to switch themes mid-stream.
Themes for Specific Industries
Try not to let a theme’s name or stated application be the sole determinant of your choice. WordPress themes, in general, can be used for any industry. You just swap out the content and images to fit your focus.
For example, there are themes with specific functionality, such as real estate themes with MLS integration. Some themes cater to certain types of content, like photography, which is built to be more visual with less text. Regardless, you can fill a theme with any images or content you like if you like the demo’s layout.
Look at how the homepage is presented and envision whether you can see your content and graphics in that layout. Internal pages are, for the most part, pretty much the same and can be designated to display as full-width pages or content with a sidebar.
The More It Does, The More to Learn.
The more functionality a theme has, the more closely it aligns with the learning curve for the site owner or admin. Basic themes are easier to learn and use to manage your site.
However, if you desire more built-in functionality, understand that you will need to take the time — and have patience — to learn the theme’s specific settings and dashboard. Technology doesn’t care if you want to keep up, so don’t let hesitancy stop you from moving forward.
Go through the theme’s demo site. Twice.
You want to thoroughly examine the theme’s demo site. Examine the sizes and positions of every element, and know that this is the basic layout configured for that theme.
Can you envision your graphics and data filling those spaces? This is how you choose a theme with the visual layout you want, display your information the way you like, and, most importantly, have the navigational structure you will need.
Click on every page, post, and drop-down example to ensure the site’s structure and layout are what you want for your project. Keep in mind that demos showcase all the possibilities, and you don’t necessarily have to integrate every feature or layout as it appears.
Determine How You Want to Organize Your Content
Before Choosing a Premium WordPress Theme
Here are the essential things to check before choosing your theme.
MOBILE RESPONSIVENESS:
There was a time when not all themes were mobile-responsive, but those days are pretty much over. Quality themes will also provide a mobile demo for you to review. Make sure that the layout and limitations meet your needs, too.
NAVIGATION:
Look at the navigation. Most sites will benefit from having primary and secondary navigation. Your menus need to be intuitive and straightforward, and guide visitors on their intended journey.
Keep in mind that not every page should be in your navigation. You want a primary menu for all your pages – those that don’t change much and contain your core information. For example, pages for About, Contact, Shop, Policies, Services, Directions, etc.
The primary menu is generally at the top of the page. It is where site visitors are accustomed to looking for that information. So have it there for them.
Some themes only have one navigation bar — others offer 3 or more. So, think about what you’d like your navigation to entail. Then, be sure the theme you choose has the navigation capabilities you need before choosing it.
MAKE A PLAN
Before deciding on your site’s theme, create a list of pages, categories, and subcategories that outline the topics your site visitors can choose from. Then, you can ensure that your navigation fits your needs.
Too many choices can overwhelm visitors, so stick to the core basics. I’ve even seen menus that cause navigation to drop “below the fold,” making it unusable. Complicated menus are also problematic for mobile devices.
Endless choices make it harder for site visitors to find what they’re looking for. We want visitors to see what they’re looking for at a glance and access it with two clicks or fewer.
When it comes to navigation, less is more. Think intuitively, straightforwardly, and as concisely as possible. Look for a theme that also lets you create a simpler, streamlined mobile menu.
When it comes to menus, crafting “short and sweet” categories and titles (one or two words) works best, so you can make the most of the limited space in your theme’s navigation bar (and on mobile).
HOMEPAGE DISPLAY AND LAYOUT:
Your WordPress settings determine which content on your website auto-props to display on your homepage via widgets or blocks, or whether it does at all. With FSE, most homepages serve as an overall site guide, directing visitors to inner pages or posts.
If you don’t want to create a custom home page, look at the areas available on the demo homepage to highlight your key information and ensure you can fill them. Remember, you can always remove blocks to streamline things further.
You want to feature and focus on the information you know your site visitors are looking for when they land on your homepage. Remember, it’s all about them.
Homepages will be more flexible than ever thanks to blocks and Full Site Editing. However, you still want to be aware of the “bones” of your theme and ensure it reflects your website’s vision to avoid additional customization fees.
Be cognizant of the amount of information that will fit the established layout and provided areas. If you add more content or larger graphics than indicated in the design, the design will change accordingly, possibly becoming unbalanced, responsiveness may suffer, and your site will not look as professional.
You’ll notice that demos carefully integrate graphics and photos that make the theme shine. From style to size to colors — they all fit. If you want the same impact, you must acquire, create, and integrate high-quality graphics in those specific sizes.
SLIDESHOWS AND GRAPHICS
Slideshows are also very popular and common in many premium WordPress themes. These galleries work by designating a representative photo to display in that slot when you want to feature a specific page or post. That photo will then link to the page or post it is related to.
Be prepared to provide graphics in the specified dimensions for those spaces—the exact dimensions work best. Also, be ready to add new images regularly to keep your gallery fresh and exciting for repeat visitors.
I am not a fan of slideshows, as they tend to slow down a site. And most folks don’t stick around on the homepage to view sliders of things that mostly feature the site owner’s focus. They are looking to click on what they are seeking at a glance. Sliders are fine for gallery and portfolio applications on internal pages.
SIDEBAR REAL ESTATE:
Sidebars are pretty flexible. You can use WordPress and theme-specific widgets to display the information you want to highlight. However, keep in mind that this space is limited. We don’t want a sidebar that scrolls endlessly past the end of your center-of-page content, leaving wide-open white space in the middle of the page.
Here again, sketch out what you think you’ll want in your sidebar to gauge its length. Then, make sure most pages fill that length in the content area.
A WORD ABOUT E-COMMERCE THEMES:
Depending on the type of products you will sell, you can choose from several e-commerce plugins. I use and recommend WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
Some themes cater more to eShop needs and layouts than others. Other themes are explicitly created for WooCommerce. However, you don’t need an e-commerce-specific theme, but be sure to use the same criteria above in your e-commerce decision-making process.
Theme Frameworks and Child Themes
I’m often asked to explain the term “framework” in the context of WordPress themes, particularly how a framework integrates with WordPress and the benefits it offers for your website.
Frameworks can offer more functionality within your WordPress Dashboard through each framework’s specific dashboard or in the Appearance > Customize area. This eliminates the need for many features that require coding knowledge or the ability to weed through CSS or PHP files.
To quote the WordPress Codex:
A framework allows premium theme developers to create a core theme that all subsequent themes, known as “child” themes, can then function on. Some frameworks include child themes, while others treat child themes as separate sets of theme files that need to be installed.
Child themes can vary in look and layout, just like any non-framework theme. There is less for you to set up and configure because the design is already in place to accommodate your content.
Do you have to use a framework (or parent theme) and child theme setup? Not necessarily. For example, I use Kadence for this site, which negates the need for a child theme.
Last but not least… Support.
Support, support, support. Now that WordPress is so popular, there are more WordPress themes than ever to choose from. However, not all theme providers are created equal. And I have to say it, you get what you pay for with free themes.
Thoroughly investigate the theme author or company, so you don’t end up with a theme that lacks support and may not keep up with WordPress updates, as well as security issues that will need to be addressed.
A bonus is a theme company that offers support forums or groups you can tap into. The best theme in the world is useless without support, and you don’t want to find out the hard way.
After carefully applying the considerations above when choosing your premium WordPress theme, you can begin building your new site with confidence that it will meet your needs. And, have fun doing it.
At your service,
