What should I look first when buying a WordPress theme

What to look for when shopping for a WordPress theme? 12 tips on how, what, in addition to design, you need to look at a choice.

WordPress ecosystem is growing at an incredible pace, and store the there are dozens of new topics on a daily basis. How to choose the best topic for their own purposes in this range? Should I pay attention only to the design and the printing press, or is there something else?

Of course, the design - it is the most important part of the theme. Most of the topics are previewing, with which you can see how the theme will look on your site. But you should pay attention to other factors which we describe below.

How often the theme is updated? Look at cheyndzhlog in which the developer indicates that when upgraded to its topic. Do not buy those topics that have not been updated in the last 6 months, even if they are incredibly beautiful. You may encounter bugs that no one will be repaired.

How fast the theme? Copy the URL to preview the new theme and run speed test here

As far as the theme responsive? Make sure that the topic that you buy, looks good on all screen sizes from 4 inches to 27-inch screens. Pay special attention to how changing menus, tables and search windows when resizing.

Can I configure this? Any topic can be edited, but even small changes you need to know a programming language. Most WordPress themes support a variety of color schemes, fonts, and change the size of objects. So the ability to make small changes without digging the code is very important.

Check the semantics of HTML-code. Well-formed HTML-code facilitates the work of the search engines, and therefore, improves the SEO page. Look at the code of the page and look for such tags as section, article, footer, and others. You can also use this utility.

Whether there is debris in the code? Open the HTML-source code and count the number of «script» tag. If their number tends to ten or even more, you may want to find another topic. Topics that use CSS-sprites, a higher priority.

As far as the code of "smart"? The WordPress developers-those are heavily dependent on JavaScript and jQuery plug-ins for adding theme objects such as sliders, article rating, buttons and other social networks. Good topic should include JavaScript code to the slider only for the page where it is located, rather than on all the pages of the blog.

Does tips topic in the code? If you are not going to change anything in the subject, it is not the most important point. But if the subject contains clues in the code, it can be useful if you want to rewrite some of the topics under him.

Is there a theme shortcodes? Shortcodes make it possible to easily insert different content in your blog posts. For example, sliders and galleries. Most shortcodes are added by third-party plug-ins, but if the subject contains a basic one - maps, videos and contact forms - it is only a plus.

Does it support all browsers? Your blog should look exactly the same in all popular browsers and mobile desktponyh. Check the topic with the help of Browsershots or BrowserstackTo see how it looks in different browsers.

Check for tech support. When buying a new topic, you may have questions. Do you have Twitter or developer forum? Any place where you can ask them questions about their topics. There you will be able to find reviews about this topic from other users.

The originality of the theme. Sites such as Medium or The Verge, have lovely design, and can be found in the WordPress store dozens of copies them so. Avoid copies. In addition, it is intellectual property, the second Medium or The Verge no use to anyone.