When you begin building your website site, one of the first actions you’ll take is to choose a WordPress Theme. The Theme provides the basic layout, appearance, and functionality of your site. This may include fonts, color schemes, menu placements, header/footer appearances, and many other options.
When you add your content to your site, your Theme will make your site cohesive. No need to worry about making sure your colors and fonts are the same throughout.
How To Search For and Install A WordPress Theme
First, log into your WordPress site. It will be at www.yoursite.com/wp-admin, replacing yoursite with your domain name of course. Or, you can log in by clicking the WordPress Admin button on your website in the Websites tab in your SiteGround dashboard.
If this is the first time logging in, you might get this Customization Wizard.
You can go through it if you have some idea what you want to add to your site, or just Exit to go to your WordPress dashboard.
Choosing a Theme is one of the first steps you’ll take in creating your website. First, navigate on your left side menu: Appearance –> Theme
There are a few Themes already installed, and one is already Active, but you can see more by clicking the Add New button at the top.
As you can see, there are literally thousands of Themes available to install.
Not all of them are free, but many are.
How to Choose A Theme
Choosing your Theme depends on your site’s objective and desired appearance. Some Themes work better for personal blogs, while others are great for Ecommerce sites. There are Themes for showcasing your creative work, while others are better for building a business. Some Themes have a loud, colorful appearance; others have more of a business-like presentation.
Plugins can provide almost unlimited functionality in WordPress, but it’s much easier to start with a Theme that already does what you want it to do. For example, if you are designing an Ecommerce site, you can look for a Theme that fully integrates with WooCommerce, WordPress’s ecommerce platform.
To browse, type in any keyword in the box and click Search. Examples of keywords would be blogging, ecommerce, photography, portfolio, or anything else that has to do with your site.
For example, I searched for farm store, and received these (free!) results.
Once you find a Theme you like, click on it to see a demonstration. Pay attention to it’s layout and functionality to determine if it will work with your site goals.
Don’t rush this process; choosing a Theme is an enjoyable activity. It is possible to change your Theme later, but you need to be careful so as not to break your site. We will go over how to do that in another post.
In the meantime, have fun choosing your first WordPress Theme. Please feel free to leave comments or questions below.
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