What is a WordPress Theme

WordPress themes are similar to plugins; Both are addons to any WordPress website that allow you to easily customize WordPress to your needs.

Unlike plugins, themes handle the visual representation of your website. So anything that a user sees, when they open a website, is often controlled by the theme.  Most often, this includes:

• Color schemes
• Layout
• Typography
• Headers
• Footers
• Sidebars
• Style Elements
• Positioning

Because how your website is presented, affects your branding and how people see your website; It is important to choose a theme that aligns with the purpose of your website.

By default, WordPress comes with a few start themes.

In case you do not like the default themes, its very easy to install new ones from external sources or the WordPress library.

WordPress themes are made up of a group of files that work together to allow users to easily customize the look of their website.

If you are getting themes from a source other than the WordPress library, you will get it in a zip file.

Within this zip file you can find stylesheets, template files (php files), images and javascript.

WordPress Theme Required Files

Only two files are required at the bare minimum to create a WordPress theme.

• Index.php
• Style.css

This is the technical minimum required for a WordPress theme to function. Even so, most WordPress themes will use many different template and css files.

FAQ

Can you change the look of a website without a theme?

Yes you can. All websites are made using mostly html and css. WordPress, Plugins, Themes and Page builders allow you carry out functions and styling without using code, but that doesnt mean that code isnt being used behind the scenes.

Both hosted and self hosted websites normally allow you to add custom code. Self Hosted websites, especially WordPress, have full access to change every and anything on the website.

How many themes can you use in WordPress?

You can only have one theme active at a time (by default). However, you can have any number of themes installed on your website. Anytime you install a new theme and activate the theme, the old theme is automatically deactivated.

However, if what you wanted to have multiple themes active at the same time, you would need to use a plugin such as Multiple Themes.

What is the best theme?

The best theme will depend on you and what type of website you want to build. Divi is currently the most used theme, because its an all purpose theme with many multi niche website templates.When it comes to niche sites, other themes might be better as they are optimized for their purpose.

Free or Premium theme, which one to choose?

A free theme is preferable if you are a beginner or have a low budget. If you have a low budget, then you really have no choice. There are numerous free themes available on the WordPress repository and other websites, so there is no shortage of options. Free themes also great for experimenting and figuring out what features you would need in a premium theme.

Premium themes are generally more polished and feature riched. If you can find a premium theme related to your website niche, it can often make building your website more streamline and also easier to manage over time.