Now that your WordPress site is live, it’s time to make it look amazing! When it comes to themes, there are some many options out there. First, you’ll need to figure out what you need.
What’s important in a theme?
Based on the kind of site you’re building, there are features you either will or won’t need. But here are some things any theme should be able to do, no matter what you plan to do with your site:
- Mobile-friendly (meaning it resizes properly and looks good on your phone too)
- SEO optimized (that way, you know you’ll rank in Google better)
- Fast to load (nobody wants a theme that will slow them down)
When it comes to site-specific features, consider this:
- Do you need to sell things? Then look for themes that are compatible with Woocommerce.
- Do you want to display your Instagram feed? Look for themes that have that right in their demo!
- Do you want to write recipes? Look for themes that are optimized for food bloggers and have recipe plugins compatible with their themes.
Before you start shopping around, definitely make a list of the things you’d like to have in your theme. You’ll also need to consider your budget and your tech skills. Some themes are a lot more expensive and some are also a lot harder to set up.
Here at Code + Coconut, we sell WordPress themes for bloggers that are super easy to set up! Want to take a look? Shop our themes.
How to Install a Free Theme
Once you’re logged in to your site, you can find all the free themes under “Appearance” > “Themes” > “Add New”.
When you find a theme you like, click on “Install”.
Once it’s done installing, the “Install” button will change to say “Activate”. Click on it if you’re ready to see that theme on your site!
After you clicked on “Activate”, take a look at your site! You now have a brand new theme.
Something to remember if you want to test a lot of themes
You are absolutely allowed to try out as many free themes as you want, just remember to delete the themes you know you’re not going to use.
It’s an important step to do to reduce your chances of catching a virus/malware. If you have fewer themes installed on your website, there’s less code that can potentially have a security breach in it.
It’s just best practice.
So when you know you don’t want a theme, just delete it right away.
If you’re not sure between a few, no need to delete them! You can keep them installed, just make sure that you’re updating them so you’re not vulnerable.
How to Install a Premium Theme
Since premium themes are paid, you only get access to them after your purchase, which means they’re not available in the WordPress store.
Installing those is a little bit more complicated, but the steps are still fairly simple.
Go back to “Appearance” > “Themes” > “Add New”.
This time, instead of browsing the themes, select “Upload Theme”. Click on “Choose File” and find where you saved your new theme after you purchased it.
Make sure the file is a .zip and follow any instructions provided by the theme company. Some will require you to unzip the file first and will let you know exactly which one to upload. For others, you’ll need to just straight-up upload what you downloaded.
Click “Install Now” when you’re ready and “Activate” after the installation is done, and you’re good to go!
