My Website Theme
My Website Theme
Like plug ins, themes can be free or paid options and can come from the official WordPress library or third party developer sites. The book recommends that WP users be careful when getting free or paid themes from random third party websites because they can have bad code quality, poor structure and security risks. The official WordPress directory has standards for the themes that are accepted, making it one of the safer places to find free themes. There are also established theme stores that are supported and used by the WordPress community that can be safe places to get themes.
When choosing a theme there are several things that should be considered. One of the first is the purpose of the website. A theme that works well for a photography website may not be the best choice for a blog or business website. Other important factors are how often the theme is updated, if it is responsive, how customizable it is, reviews and support, and the cost or licensing requirements.
Theme licensing is another thing to consider, especially when purchasing a theme from a professional theme store. A standard one site license is meant for someone who is only using the theme on one website and is normally the cheaper option. A developer license is meant more for developers or people who plan to use the theme on multiple websites and can cost more. Since I am only creating About A Native, I would not have a need for a developer license.
WordPress Theme Files
According to the lesson, the required files for a valid WordPress theme are style.css and index.php. The style.css file contains the theme information in its beginning lines and also controls much of the styling of the theme. The index.php file is the main template file used to display the website content.
There are also several additional files that are commonly included in themes. A screenshot.png file provides the thumbnail image that shows what the theme looks like. Themes can also have an images folder that contains the images being used by the theme.
Other common files include functions.php, header.php, footer.php, page.php, single.php and archive.php. These files have different purposes throughout the theme. The header and footer files control those sections of the website, while the page, single and archive files can control how different types of content are displayed. The functions.php file can be used to add additional features and functionality to the theme.
My Theme Decision Matrix
My decision matrix was based on cost and licensing, user reviews and support, updates, responsiveness and customization/blog fit. I gave responsiveness and customization the highest weights because those are the most important for the purpose of About A Native.
Responsiveness is especially important because people use their phones for basically everything now and I want the website to work correctly regardless of what device someone is using. Customization was also important because I want to be able to continue changing the website as I add more content. Updates were another big factor because an outdated theme may not continue working properly with newer versions of WordPress.
I compared Astra, Kadence and Blocksy. All three are available through the official WordPress theme directory and offer free versions. They are also responsive and customizable themes. I chose Kadence because it received the highest score on my decision matrix and I felt that it was the best overall fit for About A Native. Since my website is primarily a blog, I wanted something that would keep the content easy to read while still giving me enough options to customize how the website looks.
Theme Detail Pages
- Astra: https://wordpress.org/themes/astra/
- Kadence: https://wordpress.org/themes/kadence/
- Blocksy: https://wordpress.org/themes/blocksy/
Installing My Theme
I installed Kadence through the wp-admin method. Since the theme is available in the official WordPress Theme Directory, I went to Appearance, Themes and Add New Theme. I searched for Kadence, installed it and then activated it.
I did not have to manually download or upload a ZIP file because Kadence was available directly through WordPress. If a theme is not available through the WordPress directory, the lesson explains that it may have to be downloaded from the theme developer as a ZIP file and then uploaded manually through the Add Themes section.
After activating Kadence, I reviewed my website to make sure my pages and posts were still displaying correctly and that the theme worked with the content I already created.