Choosing the Best WordPress Themes for Beginners: A Guide

When starting a new website on WordPress, choosing the right theme is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. The theme you choose defines not just how your website looks, but also how it functions, loads, and interacts with visitors. With thousands of free and premium themes available, it can be overwhelming for beginners to pick the perfect one. This guide will help you understand how to choose the best WordPress theme for beginners in 2024, so you can create a beautiful, functional website without feeling lost.

Choosing the Best WordPress Themes for Beginners: A Guide  

 1.   Why Choosing the Right Theme Matters  

Before diving into specific themes, it’s important to understand why picking the right one is crucial. Your theme impacts everything from   website speed   to   SEO   and   user experience  . A slow or poorly designed theme can hurt your search engine rankings and drive visitors away. On the other hand, a well coded, user friendly theme can boost your performance, help with SEO, and create a seamless browsing experience.

Here are a few key things your theme affects:

 Website speed  : Lightweight themes with clean code can speed up your site.

 Mobile responsiveness  : A responsive theme ensures your site looks good on all devices.

 Customizability  : Beginners often want themes that are easy to customize without touching code.

 SEO  : A theme that follows SEO best practices can give you a head start in search rankings.

 User experience  : Navigation, layouts, and functionality all shape how visitors interact with your site.

 2.   Free vs. Premium Themes: What’s the Difference?  

When browsing WordPress themes, you’ll notice two categories:   free   and   premium  . Both can be great, but each has its own pros and cons.

Free Themes  : Available in the WordPress theme repository, these are vetted for quality and security by WordPress itself. Free themes are a great option for beginners who are just starting out and don’t want to spend money upfront. However, free themes usually come with limited features and support, so you might need plugins or customizations to achieve everything you want.

Premium Themes  : These are paid themes, often found on marketplaces like   ThemeForest  ,   Elegant Themes  , or from theme developers directly. Premium themes offer more features, customization options, and often include premium support. If you’re planning a larger or more complex site, a premium theme might be worth the investment. Prices usually range from $30 to $100, with lifetime updates and support.

Tip  : Free themes are great for simple projects or blogs. Premium themes offer more flexibility if you need advanced customization or support.

 3.   What to Look for in a WordPress Theme  

Now that you know why choosing a theme is important and the differences between free and premium, let’s discuss what specific features you should be looking for, especially as a beginner.

  a.   Mobile Responsiveness  

In 2024, having a mobile friendly website is non negotiable. Google prioritizes mobile friendly websites in search rankings, and more than 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. A responsive theme adjusts its layout based on the screen size, whether someone is visiting on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

Most modern WordPress themes are responsive by default, but always double check by viewing the theme demo on different devices or using the   Customizing Tool   in WordPress to preview how it looks on mobile.

b.   Fast Loading Speed  

Your theme’s performance plays a big role in how quickly your website loads, which is critical for user experience and SEO.   Fast themes   are lightweight, well coded, and don’t come bloated with unnecessary features that slow your site down. Slow websites frustrate visitors and can lead to higher bounce rates.

To test a theme’s speed, you can check its demo using tools like   Google PageSpeed Insights   or   GTmetrix  . Look for themes with minimal load times ideally under 2 seconds.

c.   Customizability  

As a beginner, you’ll want a theme that’s easy to customize without needing to know coding languages like HTML or CSS. Some themes offer built in drag and drop page builders, such as   Elementor   or   WPBakery  , which allow you to easily customize your layouts, colors, fonts, and more without needing a web developer.

Tip  : Check if the theme integrates with the WordPress   Customizer  , which allows you to make changes to your website’s design in real time.

d.   SEO Friendliness  

Your theme’s code should follow SEO best practices, like having a clean structure, fast loading times, and semantic HTML tags. Some themes even come with built in schema markup, which helps search engines better understand your content. 

While choosing a theme that’s optimized for SEO is important, don’t forget to install an SEO plugin like   Yoast SEO   or   Rank Math   to further improve your on page SEO.

e.   Support and Updates  

A good theme should have   reliable support   and regular updates. WordPress is always evolving, and your theme needs to keep up with the latest updates to remain compatible and secure. Free themes may not come with much (or any) support, while premium themes often offer dedicated customer service or a community forum to help with troubleshooting.

Tip  : Check the theme’s   last update date   and reviews in the WordPress repository to make sure it’s actively maintained.

 4.   Top WordPress Themes for Beginners in 2024  

Let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress themes for beginners this year. These themes are known for being easy to use, flexible, and beginner friendly.

a.   Astra  

Price  : Free / Premium starts at $59/year

Best For  : Speed, performance, and customizability

Astra   is one of the most popular and lightweight WordPress themes available. It’s built for speed and is highly customizable, making it perfect for beginners who want a fast loading website without sacrificing design. Astra integrates seamlessly with page builders like   Elementor   and   Beaver Builder  , so you can easily create stunning pages without writing a line of code.

Astra is also   SEO friendly  , responsive, and offers dozens of pre built templates, so you can get started quickly.

b.   GeneratePress  

Price  : Free / Premium starts at $59/year

Best For  : Simplicity and speed

GeneratePress   is another lightweight and performance focused theme. It’s ideal for beginners because of its   minimalist design   and ease of use. Like Astra, GeneratePress integrates with popular page builders and comes with several pre built templates to help you get started. 

GeneratePress is highly customizable with its premium version, offering features like   WooCommerce compatibility  , advanced typography, and more.

c.   OceanWP  

Price  : Free / Premium starts at $39/year

Best For  : E commerce and feature rich websites

OceanWP   is a flexible and multipurpose theme, great for beginners who want to build an online store or a more complex site. It’s fully compatible with   WooCommerce  , making it a great option for e commerce. OceanWP also comes with plenty of demo content and pre built layouts that make building a website easier.

It’s also fast and SEO friendly, with plenty of customization options, even in the free version.

d.   Hestia  

Price  : Free / Premium starts at $69/year

Best For  : Single page websites and blogs

Hestia   is a stylish and modern theme, perfect for businesses, startups, and bloggers. It has a   one page layout   design, which is great if you want a simple, elegant website without a lot of clutter. 

Hestia is   responsive   and compatible with   Elementor   for easy drag and drop page building. It’s also optimized for SEO and fast loading times, which makes it a great choice for beginners who want a professional looking site.

e.   Neve  

Price  : Free / Premium starts at $69/year

Best For  : Speed and multipurpose websites

Neve   is a super fast, lightweight theme that’s designed for both beginners and developers. It’s perfect for small businesses, blogs, startups, and e commerce stores. Neve is compatible with all major page builders, including   Gutenberg  ,   Elementor  , and   Brizy  , making it easy to customize your site without coding.

Neve also includes dozens of starter sites that are ready to import and use right away, so you can have a professional looking website live in minutes.

 5.   Tips for Installing and Setting Up Your Theme  

Once you’ve chosen the perfect theme, here are a few quick tips for installing and setting it up:

Installation  : In your WordPress dashboard, go to   Appearance > Themes > Add New  . Search for the theme you want, click   Install  , and then click   Activate  .

Customization  : Once your theme is activated, go to   Appearance > Customize   to adjust things like colors, fonts, layout, and more.

Install Demo Content  : Many themes come with   demo content   that you can import to get a head start on your design. This is especially helpful if you want your website to look like the theme demo.

Install Plugins  : Check if your theme recommends any   plugins   for additional features, like page builders or SEO tools.

 Final Thoughts

Choosing the right WordPress theme is essential for building a successful website, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Focus on picking a theme that’s   responsive  ,   fast  , and easy to   customize  , especially as a beginner. Whether you go

Share this post