Choosing a WordPress theme

Creating a unique design tailored to your brand

Designing a custom WordPress theme specifically for your brand results in a unique and visually appealing website that stands out. Work with your developer to create a design that fits your brand identity and stands out from your competitors. A custom theme also allows for more flexibility in terms of layout and functionality. Giving you more control over the user experience.

Choosing Free is not always best

At the time of publishing this post, there are 10,615 free themes available on WordPress.org alone. If your site will be a simple site or blog, or if on a tight budget. Choosing a free WordPress theme, might be a good option.

If, however, your website requires further customisation. It will be difficult to find a theme that fulfills all of your site requirements. This often leads to requiring a large number of plugins to add the facilities needed for your site.

For the life of your site, you are relying on many developers maintaining all those plugins and your chosen theme. To stay compatible with new versions of WordPress, and remain secure.

This is why we only use reliable, well supported & maintained plugins and code on the sites we build.

Performance and load times

Premium themes are designed to attract users with their attractive features, such as sliders, and other extravagant options. However, these off-the-shelf themes often include excessive code and features that may not be necessary. This can ultimately slow down your website and negatively impact user experience.

As a result, it is essential to carefully consider whether a premium theme is worth the initial savings. And if its features align with your website’s goals and requirements.

Selecting a custom WordPress theme, you can have complete control over your site’s functionality and design. Ensuring a smoother and more user-friendly experience for your visitors.

By choosing a custom WordPress theme that is built specifically for your website. You can restrict the features and functionality to those that are needed. This leads to faster load times, and improved overall performance. Which are critical for retaining users on your site and enhancing your search engine rankings.

Improved security and easier updates

Widely-used off-the-shelf themes are prone to security breaches due to a lack of regular updates. Widely used themes are more likely to be exploited for malicious purposes. Highlighting the importance of consistent updates to prevent potential security gaps. Failing to keep the theme up-to-date may leave your website vulnerable to attacks. This could result in a security breach and compromise your customers’ data.

A custom WordPress theme, ensures your website is secure and up to date with the latest security measures. Your developer will be familiar with the code and can quickly make any necessary changes, should updates be needed.

Long-term cost savings

While paying for a custom WordPress theme may seem like a bigger investment upfront. It can actually save you money in the long run. Off-the-shelf themes often require ongoing payments for support and updates. And may not be customizable enough to meet your changing needs. With a custom WordPress theme, you have complete control over your website. And can make changes as needed without incurring additional costs.

It can be challenging to determine the exact impact of using a premium theme on your website’s speed. If the use of a bloated theme causes your site to run slow, the potential loss of revenue, could be far more detrimental in the long term.

In such a scenario, investing in an optimised, custom-built WordPress theme is a more cost-effective solution. As it can improve performance and deliver a better user experience for your visitors.

In summary, paying for a custom WordPress theme to be built is a smart investment for your website. It provides a unique design tailored to your brand. Better performance and faster load times, better search result ranking, improved security, and long-term cost savings. Contact Mark to discuss if a custom theme would be a good fit for your WordPress site.