In order to begin creating in WordPress you must have a theme. A theme is simply the layout foundation for all of your eventual content. WordPress defaults to its own Twenty Twenty basic theme but you have tons of options to choose from beyond that, both free and paid. Having worked with multiple themes the one I most recommend is GeneratePress. While no one theme is perfect for everyone, GeneratePress has many compelling features that make it versatile enough to fit most needs.
Design Framework Theme
Allows for more freedom in customizing your design compared to pre-designed rigid templates. But for those who aren’t confident in designing a custom site right off the bat there are plenty of ready-to-go templates you can select from. There are even some that are specifically designed to work seamlessly with our preferred page builder, Elementor. The interface itself is very intuitive and you’ll find yourself picking it up quickly as you play with all of its features.
Cost
The Free version has plenty of muscle and is sufficient for any new website creator or blogger. There is also a Premium offering that has the ability to expand the default capabilities without the need of coding. It really gets down to what your function is. If you are a developer running multiple sites then the Premium version is a perfect solution. If you are a newbie then the free version will do just fine. Remember, you can always upgrade later.
Lightweight Theme
One could argue that this feature alone outweighs all the rest combined. A slow website is one no one will ever return to. So many themes, especially the direct out-of-the-box options that try to please all audiences, tend to be bloated and utilize tons of code that slows page loads and ruins user experiences. They also tend to employ inflexible templates that, while very nice, can be redundant and restrictive. Tests have shown significant speed improvements when developers have switched to GeneratePress.
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Clever Customization
The GeneratePress standard theme is relatively bare bones but more than adequate for most blogging websites. What they have done that is so clever is the Premium version allows you to add only those extra features you need. Most themes make you load all of the features which results in a bloated, heavy theme which works slowly and creates slow-loading pages.
WooCommerce Integration
If you are planning on selling products of any kind WooCommerce is the solution of choice and GeneratePress is fully integrated to provide a seamless experience.
Compatibility with Page Builders
No matter the page builder you choose, including the WordPress default Gutenberg, GeneratePress has you covered. In fact, it was one of the first themes that was 100% compatible with Gutenberg upon its release.
Clean and Clear Interface
One of the things I really appreciate about GeneratePress is its clean and simple interface. All of the features are well laid out with intuitive controls. It’s real easy to control your widgets, navigation, headers & footers, top bar, etc.
100% Mobile Responsive
Most themes today are responsive but it’s still worth mentioning as the majority of online engagement today, and in the foreseeable future, is happening on some kind of mobile device.
Schema
Schema markup refers to HTML mark-ups that can be added to improve the way that search engines read and display your websites SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). GeneratePress has numerous schema objects that come standard with the theme and don’t require you to do anything to derive the benefits.
Support
Simply the best support documentation on the market. No matter your skill level you will have questions at some point and GeneratePress has multiple resources at your disposal. You can rummage through a plethora of articles or search for relevant keywords in the Support Forum and there will be previous posts that cover that issue. If you prefer you can open a support topic where others can weigh in to answer your questions and help resolve your issues.
GeneratePress excels in the main areas of need for a WordPress theme. It is lightweight, flexible, expandable, easy to use and has lots of power for you to design the way you want.
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