As part of WordCamp Lyon 2022, I gave a talk on my favorite topic: web performance. Among the many topics covered was the choice of theme and its impact on web performance, but also on resilience, scalability, and other concepts all closely related to the notion of quality. It is an essential topic that I would like to revisit in a little more detail in a blog post, explaining the approach that I consider to be the right one.
Similar to the slide in my presentation dedicated to the subject, I will address the topic by detailing what absolutely must not be done. Many WordPress users indeed make the same mistakes, with a major impact on performance and the creation of technical debt that is extremely difficult to get rid of afterwards. This penalizes the User Experience, SEO, and many other essential components for the success of a website creation project.
Is your site as fast as your visitors expect?
You should NEVER choose a WordPress theme for…
… its design!
You have a very specific idea of what you want in terms of design, atmosphere, and colors. To find the theme that will suit your new site, you have browsed theme libraries until you found one that matches your tastes and needs? This is a serious mistake: by choosing a theme for its look, you will miss out on multiple complementary aspects that are just as, if not more, important!
It suits you today, but what makes you think it will be the case in 6 months or 2 years? If your needs evolve, will this theme be able to adapt to them easily? The right approach is therefore to opt for a theme that can be customized via the Customizer, and whose layout you will customize using a page builder, ideally Gutenberg. This theme should also offer an integrated hook system, in order to attach the content of your choice where you want it.
These types of themes are still rare, but several are fortunately among the most popular in the official WordPress repository. You can therefore install the very popular Astra, GeneratePress, and Blocksy with your eyes closed, as they provide a solid foundation for any project.
… its advanced features!
You have very specific needs for your project and are looking for a theme that can meet them? This is a serious mistake: a theme should manage a site's architecture, but not its advanced features. It is therefore systematically preferable to choose a general-purpose and technically solid theme (with a large user base, active support, and comprehensive documentation).
Very specific features should be supported by a plugin. There are no exceptions to this rule: whether for creating a learning platform (LMS), a geographic directory, or a portfolio, it is essential not to become trapped by a specialized theme. The idea here, again, is not to close doors for yourself when the project evolves and you want to offer new types of content through your site.
... its Swiss army knife side!
You have read the previous 2 parts of this article and therefore think that a theme with a feature list as long as your arm will be ideal? This is, again, a serious mistake: a good WordPress theme does not need to anticipate hundreds of features. Instead, it offers accessible mechanisms that make it easy to implement them. This is a very different approach: in one case, the theme locks you into its own interfaces, with its intrinsic limitations. In the other, it gives you the keys to implement exactly what you need.
So beware of themes like Avada or Enfold, whose descriptions promise the moon regardless of the type of site to be created. They are often unnecessarily bloated, both in the administration interface and for visitors. Themes offered on marketplaces like ThemeForest and TemplateMonster generally tend to fall into this category. By favoring themes from the official WordPress directory, you will reduce the risk of ending up with a cumbersome system.
What are the essential selection criteria for a WordPress theme?
If we had to summarize the key points detailed in this article, here is a checklist:
- A popular theme from the official WordPress directory;
- A general-purpose theme that does not target a specific niche;
- A theme that offers multiple customization options via the native Customizer;
- A theme compatible with Gutenberg and blocks;
- A theme that has an integrated hook management system.
These few selection criteria will allow you to avoid common mistakes and start your site project on a healthy and solid foundation. It will thus be easier to pass the Core Web Vitals (the famous Essential Web Signals of Search Console), but also to maintain it in optimal technical conditions in the long term. It will be an excellent basis for implementing SEO optimizations, a SEA strategy and maximizing your conversion rates.
It's up to you to implement this!
