Whether you are launching a new WordPress website or redesigning an existing one, choosing a perfect WordPress theme is crucial. However, with thousands of WordPress themes on the market, choosing the right one is not an easy task.
I have discussed some basic things you need to consider before choosing a WordPress theme .
So, in this post, I will discuss how to choose a theme from one specific theme marketplace – ThemeForest.
In this article, I will share 7 tips on how to choose the best theme on ThemeForest.
You’ll learn the best ways to search for themes, as well as the boxes you should check before making a final decision and installing a new WordPress theme .
Here’s how to find quality themes on ThemeForest:
1. Use the search filters to find relevant topics
At the time of writing this article, there are over 11,000 WordPress themes listed on ThemeForest .
This means that finding the perfect theme can be like searching for a needle in a haystack, so unless you want to sift through over 11,000 themes to find the perfect one (which I doubt any of us would want to do), it’s best to use the filters.
The specific operations are as follows:
Head to the WordPress category. Then, use the filters on the left to refine your search by tags and/or any other criteria you deem important. You can also use the Sort option above the results to change the order:
Once you've added some filters, you can use the search box to search specifically within the results:
Using this method, you can narrow down your search results to find themes that suit your needs.
However, your theme buying journey doesn’t just end with finding a theme with a design you like. You need to check its quality to make sure it ’s indeed the best choice for your WordPress website.
2. Check the reviews of the theme
Every theme on ThemeForest has a public project rating that you can use to quickly assess the quality of the theme. It’s not the only thing you should look at, but it’s a good place to start.
To view a theme's rating, look for the item rating box in the right sidebar :
In addition to the actual rating number, you also need to pay attention to the number of ratings. For example, sometimes you will come across a theme that has a 5-star rating, but that rating only comes from one or two reviews.
While this is not a negative, such a small sample size is not a good indicator. For a rating to be meaningful, it needs to have at least 10 reviews. If a topic has a high rating and a high number of votes, it means that a large number of people voted for it , making it more reliable.
So what is a good rating?
From the vast array of options available on ThemeForest, I think you should try to find a theme with at least a 4.5 star rating. Most premium/popular themes have ratings well above this. For example:
- Avada — 4.77 star rating
- xtheme – 4.75 star rating
- Enfold — 4.84 star rating
- Kalium – 4.92 star rating
3. Read reviews for more detailed insights
The product rating for a theme is a simple number that helps with quick judgement, but because of that, there's no room for people to add their own thoughts.
Reviews change all that . Here you can see reviews from:
- Theme already in use
- Consider using a theme
Even better, you can also see responses from the developers, which can give you a good idea of the type of support you might get if you end up purchasing the theme.
To view comments on a topic, click on the "Comments" link in the right column:
Pay special attention to the labels, as they allow you to see:
- Did anyone actually buy the theme?
- Which accounts belong to the theme development team
4. Check the sales volume of the theme
When in doubt, it’s often a good idea to rely on the wisdom of the crowd! That is, if you see thousands of people buying a certain theme, that’s a good sign that it’s at least decent .
Since ThemeForest makes all of its sales data public, you can always keep an eye on the popularity of a theme by checking the “Sales” box in the right sidebar:
You shouldn’t make a purchase based solely on sales volume. However, if you’re undecided, checking out the popularity of a theme can help you assess its quality. It can also help ensure that the developer is consistently releasing updates.
5. Check when the theme was last updated
The core of WordPress is constantly changing. If your theme isn’t updated regularly to keep up with these changes, you risk usability and/or security issues.
Therefore, you should always make sure that the theme you choose is updated regularly.
How do you know? You guessed it – just look in the right sidebar. Every theme on ThemeForest includes the date it was last updated :
There are no hard and fast rules - but I generally like to see that the theme has been updated at least once in the last six months .
6. Check if the theme has been tested in Theme Checker
Theme Check is a free website that gives you a baseline picture of your theme’s code quality. It’s part of the WordPress.org Theme Review Team’s process and runs automated checks against the WordPress.org Theme Guidelines.
You can:
- Search the topic to see if anyone has reviewed its code before
- Upload the theme's ZIP file to run the check yourself
Since I recommend you do this before purchasing a theme , you won’t be able to upload a ZIP file. But you can still search for the theme by name and hope that someone else has already run this check:
Don't put too much faith in these results, though **. Because Theme Check is a technical tool designed to check themes against WordPress.org standards ( **not Envato standards ), it's fairly common for ThemeForest themes to fail because they aren't required to follow WordPress.org standards.
So, while it’s always good for a theme to meet the standards of both WordPress.org and Envato, if the theme you choose passes all other checks, then you shouldn’t let a poor theme check score stop you from purchasing it.
7. Try out the theme on a demo website
If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably already browsed through a demo site for your chosen theme. But you may not have looked closely enough.
That said, don’t just focus on the theme’s design. Dig deeper into the theme, check out its subtle styling options, and try out all the important features.
Most developers include a large collection of sample pages, which you can usually access via a menu drop-down:
Take a look at all of these sample pages so you can get an idea of what each section of the site will look like.
If you still like all the little details and your chosen theme passes all other tests, then you should click on the Buy Now button.
Final Thoughts on Purchasing Themes on ThemeForest
By following these steps, you will not only find a great-looking theme, but also a fully functional one. With both the looks and the functionality, your WordPress website will be launched smoothly!
Browse WordPress themes at ThemeForest
Do you have any other tips on how to choose a theme on ThemeForest? Let us know in the comments!
Here are some carefully selected resources for your reading:
- How to Enable Automatic Updates for WordPress Plugins and Themes
- How to Choose the Best WordPress Plugins
- 3 Different Ways to Install WordPress Plugins
- How WordPress Plugins Work
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