Search Engine Optimization is an attempt to decode the algorithms of search engines and create websites according to what the search engines will like. Search engines, meanwhile, are trying to set up algorithms to decode what the people who search will like. Thus, SEO is all about creating websites that will be found and appreciated by people who search.
While creating a website, choosing an SEO-friendly theme for your clients sets the foundation for a website’s visibility and ensures that search engines can easily index their content.
Now, you might be wondering whether to choose a pre-made theme or invest in a custom-made one. While pre-made themes for WordPress offer convenience and a wide range of options, our decade of expertise lies in crafting custom themes that provide greater flexibility and tailor-made solutions for your specific SEO requirements. In this article, I’ll explore the benefits and considerations of both options.
Considerations when selecting SEO-friendly themes
First, to ensure you choose an SEO-friendly theme, whether it is pre-made or custom, consider the following criteria highlighted by WLA’s marketing manager Olivier:
Well-optimized code structure and security
- With clean and well-structured code in place, there are much fewer things that can go wrong, which helps search engines efficiently index the website, leading to better visibility.
- Before selecting a theme, check for the latest update date. Regular updates indicate that the theme is actively maintained and patched for security vulnerabilities.
Performance considerations
- Page load speed directly impacts SEO. Fast-loading themes improve user engagement and reduce bounce rates, leading to better SEO performance.
- Efficient CSS and JavaScript usage reduces file sizes and minimizes the number of requests made to the server, resulting in quicker page rendering.
Responsive design for mobile compatibility
- Mobile optimization means lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates, positively influencing your SEO metrics.
- Mobile responsiveness is key since search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites. So, search for themes for WordPress that adapt across various screen sizes.
Customization options and compatibility with SEO plugins
- Search for customizable themes that can optimize website elements, such as headings, navigation, and internal linking structure, to improve on-page SEO factors.
- Go for a theme that can optimize your website’s metadata, including page titles, descriptions, and keywords.
- Integration with popular SEO plugins, such as Yoast SEO or RankMath, simplifies page optimization tasks. These plugins provide features like meta tags, XML sitemaps, and schema markup, which are crucial for SEO. They ensure that search engines can accurately interpret a website’s content, leading to higher rankings.
Pre-made SEO-friendly themes
While researching SEO-friendly themes for WordPress, two that met all the criteria for SEO and got recommendations from our web development team were Divi and Astra.
Divi
Divi is a fantastic tool for developers interested in designing SEO-friendly websites. It serves as both a page builder and a fast lightweight theme, making it an excellent choice.
While Divi does have its own in-built SEO features, it’s important to note that its functionality is limited compared to the comprehensive SEO strategies you can implement. Accessing Divi’s SEO settings is straightforward, found in the WordPress dashboard. These basic settings can contribute to SEO ranking, but they may not fully optimize it. To overcome this limitation, Divi integrates with several SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and RankMath, enhancing its optimization capabilities.
In terms of pricing, Divi offers two options: $89 per year or a lifetime plan for $249, both of them for unlimited website usage.
Astra
Astra is a highly optimized theme for SEO. It is also lightweight under 50 KB. It automatically adds important schema markups, that allow search engines to better understand websites and display better search results. It has an optimized header tag structure, that helps search engines understand websites’ structure and strengthen the internal linking.
The Astra theme has both a free version and a premium version that starts at $47.
Advantages of Custom-Made WordPress Themes
A custom theme is generally better in terms of SEO than pre-designed themes. Custom themes for WordPress meet all the above-mentioned criteria but with simpler code. With every new element added to a pre-designed theme, additional styles and scripts are loaded, resulting in more server requests and slower page load times. Custom themes handle only include the necessary code for the features requested.
Custom themes also provide the flexibility to customize header tags, meta tags, and descriptions, which significantly improves search engine rankings. Additionally, custom themes allow you to design website content with SEO in mind, optimizing various elements for better visibility.
It’s important to consider that custom development requires budget and resources, and ongoing maintenance and support are necessary. It’s crucial to engage professional WordPress developers with expertise in custom theme development to ensure the best results.
