When you know nothing about it and are looking for a theme for your business, you quickly choose one for the theme addressed in your demo and not for these real assets. Example: you want to showcase your restaurant, and then you choose a theme whose demo illustrates a restaurant because the images speak to you. This can be a solution, of course, but one that often lacks objectivity. For the Theme Authority this is important.
It must be remembered that most of the time you will not be able to reuse these images because they are not free of rights. Then, in terms of design, this same theme would probably work just as well for a craftsman or a real estate agency, simply by changing the photos. We must, therefore, try to judge the theme by its functionality, its options, and not by the images of the demo version.
Choose the right WordPress theme
Instead, take into account the arrangement possibilities of the elements on the page. For example, if you want a vertical menu on the left, choose a theme that can do it for you, because not everyone does it. Same thing if you want a specific header design menu, logo position, or special animations. But always think that the design of most of the elements colors, photos, and typos can be personalized later.
Features and compatibility
If you like the demo design, that’s already a good thing, but then you need to check that the theme has the features you need. For example, if you want a portfolio system to show your achievements, if you want a full-page type of slideshow, or if you want to translate the site into other languages or evolve one day to an online store, then you will have to find the theme that will meet these needs because not all of them do. Also, not all themes are as easy to optimize for SEO. It will be difficult for you to have an opinion on this point, but it is to be taken into account.
Ergonomics
By testing the demo, you will be able to judge the ergonomics of the site for visitors. Remember to test the mobile version of this demo. Another important thing is the ergonomics of the back office, which is to say the administration interface through which you will go every time you want to update your site. With some manufacturers, the organization of the menus is intuitive and you quickly find what you are looking for. With others, it is much less so and you will spend the first few evenings struggling with this theme, feeling as lost as you would be in front of the dashboard of an airplane cockpit. It remains to be hoped that the theme will provide documentation well done, which will be in 95% of cases in English.
In this regard, the translation into French of the menus in the back office is not always systematic. So remember to check it before purchase. Another essential element, it is much simpler to choose a theme that incorporates a builder to build the pages. Clearly, this is a feature that will allow you to create a page by stacking boxes and organize them by dragging and dropping them. These boxes are modules in which you can add content without writing code, and simply modify the design color, size, spacing, etc.
