Obviously, we live in 2018, which means that owning a qualitative website is not a luxury anymore. Technology becomes smarter every single year. Which means you can now manage a well-organized online project right out-of-the-box.
The same thing is true for blogs, online magazines, and ecommerce sites. In the end, today you have bright opportunities to build any kind of site. Needless to say, there are many ready-to-use templates you can use for these reasons. Some of them are premium and others are free.
The thing is that it does not actually matter if your theme is expensive. Honestly speaking, sometimes the creators overuse modern features but forget about the technical side. So how can you choose a proper SEO-friendly theme for your website or blog?
Here are 7 tips to help you choose the right SEO-friendly theme for your brand.
Table of Contents
Why Do You Need an SEO-friendly Theme?
To start with, you may wonder why we aren't talking about templates in general, but specifically SEO-friendly themes. To make a long story short, search engine optimization (SEO) is the basis of any website’s success.
Without this simple but clever strategy, you will not get an impressive traffic flow. SEO is responsible for your chances to have higher ranking from the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Needless to say, Google is the most popular one. That is why an SEO-optimized template in an undeniably must-have for everyone who wants to find their web audience.
How Does an SEO-Friendly Theme Work?
Well, all of the SEO-friendly themes have a thoroughly written code. Literally, they is optimized to meet the requirements of modern search engines. With them, Google will notice your site among all its analogues. Is it possible to share your information with the whole world without SEO? We don’t think so.
Marc Ostrofsky said that “domain names and websites are internet real estate.” That's very true because a smartly created website is the foundation of the success of your business. Now that you know why your theme should be SEO-friendly, it's time to check out our recommendations.
Tip #1 to Choose an SEO-friendly Theme: Responsiveness
Before all else, keep in mind that your prospect should forget about all the limits. Thus, let’s start with the limits of time and place. Initially, you need to create a comfortable and visually pleasing online project. One that will be available on any device.
What is more, remember that modern gadgets come with various screen sizes. In other words, your website should work amazing no matter which size device a visitor uses. Thanks to this smart step, web audiences will be able to view your website or blog whenever they need.
Tip #2 to Choose an SEO-friendly Theme: Mobile-First Design
Although all the responsive SEO WordPress themes are already mobile-friendly, we recommend that you think about mobile-first design.
What does it mean and why do you need it?
Speaking about mobiles, check out these stats:
- Now mobile traffic in the US in more than desktop. The fact is that mobiles take 51% of all of the traffic when desktops have only 42%.
- In 2017, 75% of the US population viewed the internet using their smartphones.
- Last year there were 3.7 billion active global mobile internet users.
As you can see, the mobile version of your website matters. That is why mobile-friendly design would be a useful option for your SEO-friendly theme. Start by building your website's mobile version. That will allow you to attract readers and customers while you're still working on your desktop version.
Tip #3 to an Choose SEO-friendly Theme: Cross-Browser Compatibility
There are many different browsers. According to recent statistics, the most popular browser is Google Chrome. Also, the most traffic comes from Androids. This also shows the importance of the previous point.
You can’t know for sure which browser your visitor is going to use. There is Firefox, IE, Opera, Safari, and many others. Will you have to do browser-testing again and again? Not necessarily. We recommend that you choose a cross-browser compatible template to build your website or blog. As the name of the function suggests, this will help ensure that your online project will work well in any browser.
Tip #4 to Choose an SEO-friendly Theme: Translate Your Content
Another feature that will make your site a go-to place is multilingual content. Using a translation-ready theme, will help your customers feel safe. And you always need a trustworthy website to attract the right audience.
This step also allows you to enter the global market. It doesn’t matter what your website is about. Multilingual content is a great feature for any online project. This will help more people find your website. Besides, a translation-ready theme is especially an excellent choice for an ecommerce website.
Here are several reasons that will make you want your website to be multilingual:
- When it is about sales, people prefer to buy the products with clear information. Such things as shipping details are important as well. Online shoppers prefer to understand what they are buying.
- All of the reviews and comments from your clients will help other shoppers decide. And they will not know if someone loves your services or products if the site is not translation-ready.
- Making your website multilingual will improve your SEO results. Not all countries use Google. For example, there are other default browsers in China, France, and Japan. They work with the websites that use native languages. Would you like these potential customers to find your online project? If so, make it multilingual.
Tip #5 to Choose an SEO-friendly Theme: Customer-Friendly Navigation
When looking for an ideal theme, make sure you have seen its live demo. View all of the details of the template’s navigation. The more convenient it is, the more chances you will have to attract a visitor. How will you know if the navigation is a customer-friendly? Check the list below!
- First, you need to categorize your content. Use various categories and subcategories if needed. Place them on your menu so guests will be able to easily find the content they're looking for on your website.
- The next thing you need is powerful search options. Let visitors search by size, colors, process, designers, countries, etc. This will result in regular visitors’ growth.
- Your gallery should be also filterable.
- A sticky menu is also recommended. With it, the menu will always remain at the top of your pages. So visitors will not need to scroll.
- You can also use a hamburger menu. This small design element will help you to hide tons of information. It is one of the greatest features for those users who prefer a minimalist interface.
Tip #6 to Choose an SEO-Friendly Theme: Drag-and-Drop Editor
Today, a drag-and-drop editor is more than just a trend, it's a necessity. Basically, this feature helps you to build new pages. Using a drag-and-drop page builder, you can also enrich your site with multiple design elements.
This technique is very simple. You just need to drag the chosen elements and drop them into the editor. Voila! You have added a new element. And a drag-and-drop editor is easy-to-use. Users of all the skill levels can work with it without trouble.
Given these points, we recommend that you use an SEO-friendly theme that has a high-quality drag-and-drop page builder.
Tip #7 to Choose an SEO-Friendly Theme: Help Your Visitors Get Help
Finally, we would like to mention that you have to be as flexible as it is possible. This will help you to attract and build relationships with your target audience. So allow your visitors get help whenever they need it.
To do so, make sure that your SEO-friendly theme has at least one of these options:
- Quick contact form – This feature will help the guests of your online project get in touch with you. They can ask their questions and get answers.
- Live chat – A lot of top-notch SEO-friendly templates have live chat in their packages. This is especially important for ecommerce websites, but you can add it to any kind of site.
- FAQ page – This is a must-have for any template.
Let’s Summarize
Finally, you may want to know how to optimize your theme for SEO.
- Make sure your site has a lightning-fast speed.
- Create a multilingual online project.
- Optimize your images including relevant captions, titles, metadata, etc.
- Your website should be user-friendly.
- Your site should also be totally responsive.
- Check your old publications and update them if needed.
Thank you for sharing! What a lovely article and the photos are amazing too! I love how you put together these information on these events. Easy to read, very relatable and great tips! Can’t wait to read more!
Great article and thanks for providing such valuable tips.
Thanks for providing great tips for choosing SEO friendly theme for our website. I’ll bookmark your blog, thanks for sharing.
Great post.