5 Tips to Help You Select the Right WordPress Theme for Your Small Business

You’ve decided it’s time to build or update your startup’s website using WordPress. That’s an important first step to engaging existing clients while connecting with new leads. Truly, there is nothing more important than having a top-notch website for your small business. In fact, the Small Business Administration found that small businesses with websites average $1.07 million more per year in sales than businesses without a web presence. On average, that’s 39 percent higher revenue than the alternative.

However, now that you’ve made the decision to either relaunch your existing WordPress site or build an entirely new one, you have to decide what theme to use. You’ve probably searched through a few dozen to a couple of hundred WordPress themes, and all that you have is headache. Well take some aspirin and reference this guide to learn everything you need to know about choosing the right WordPress theme for your small business.

Keep It Simple

First and foremost, you want to keep everything about this process simple. Looking at every available WordPress theme is a surefire way to get frustrated and make a selection that will hinder your burgeoning company rather than help it. You should select a simple WordPress theme that is clean and easy to navigate. The more bells and whistles you opt for in a WordPress theme, the harder it will be to update and more challenging it will be for your users peruse. Opt for clean and simple to make the user experience – and your life – much easier.

Questions To Ask

You probably have a million questions about choosing a WordPress theme for your small business website. Every question is valid but some are more important than others. For example, how easy is it to setup your site using a WordPress theme you’ve selected? Are you going to maintain your WordPress site and if so, are you comfortable handling these tasks within the configuration of the theme you’ve selected? If you need someone else to build and manage your WordPress, is that person already on staff or do you need to start taking applications for a new hire?  Consider your website from every angle, from conception to future updates, and you’ll find that selecting the right theme is a much easier task.

Brand Persona

You would be hard pressed to choose a WordPress theme without a thorough understanding of your small business. Your company might need to convey a tone of seriousness and expertise to convince clients you are the trusted choice among your competitors. Or maybe your small business has a light-hearted voice that can use humor to sell to your customer base. Developing a brand persona will not only help you choose a WordPress theme, it will come in handy for a variety of other content marketing efforts, from blogging to email campaigns.

Tech Considerations

Choosing a WordPress theme means you’re building a website, a task that requires a variety of important technical aspects to consider, such as:

• Browser compatibility: Internet users are loyal to their browsers. If your WordPress theme isn’t compatible on Google Chrome, for instance, those users will simply not visit your website. That means all of those people are no longer considering doing business with your company.
• Mobile responsiveness: According to research from Google, 61 percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40 percent will opt to visit a competitor’s site instead. As a result, it is imperative to choose a WordPress theme that is easily viewed on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs. Mobile incompatibility is simply not a viable option for a small business website.
• Translation ready: You never know who might be interested in your services, and while you can’t translate your website copy into every imaginable language, your WordPress site should be compatible with translation apps. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to increase sales because someone couldn’t run Google Translate on your website.
• WordPress plugins: WordPress plugins are the tools you’ll need to improve your site for a variety of purposes. Some templates don’t support different plugins so make sure you select one that works the way you need it to so you’re not stuck figuring out workarounds late in the game.
• SEO friendliness: Search engine optimization is an invaluable part of launching a new website. A poorly coded WordPress page and theme will negatively  affect how people can find your site through search engines. Premium WordPress themes offer support that can help you make sure your website is SEO friendly.  

Backend Support

A free WordPress theme might be appealing since many small businesses work with a limited budget; however, you get what you pay for in this situation. Premium WordPress themes that come with a price tag might seem like a waste of resources when there are plenty of nice ones that don’t cost anything, but premium themes guarantee support when you cannot figure out how to customize your site and maintain it over time. Even with a tech-savvy background, support for your WordPress theme can be a lifesaver in a crunch.

Developing and maintaining a small business website is a major endeavor but the work is invaluable to growing your fledgling enterprise. If you have questions or concerns about selecting the right WordPress theme for your business, contact experts who can make the task easier and offer you important tips to improve your website.