WordPress Themes – Signs of a Dud

When you’re on the market to pick out a new WordPress theme for any kind of site, you’ll find yourself presented with literally thousands of options which at first glance at least look the part. However, assuming it’s a free theme you’re after and thus one you really won’t be able to complain about afterward, there are certain checks you should be willing to make before going ahead and using it.Admittedly, you can always swap again later, but there’s really no point when you can avoid the real duds the first time around.      Feedback – Heed it!First and foremost comes the easiest and the most obvious tip of all. If and when you come across a theme you like the look of but it doesn’t seem to have won the respect of the punters, try not to fall into the trap of thinking you know best. It’s so common for a WordPress user to see that a theme has thousands of crappy reviews, but instead decide that they need to judge it for themselves. The feedback of your peers is only there for your benefit and isn’t out to mislead you. So instead of wasting your time and ending up being next in line to write negative feedback, don’t bother with it in the first place!Sloppy Spelling and PresentationWhen you take a look at the theme’s demo or documentation, ask yourself whether or not the general presentation fills you with confidence. From spelling to grammar to the overall way it looks and feels, do you get the idea you’re dealing with a professional or are we talking amateur hour? You can’t expect the world for free, but at the same time you won’t benefit from a theme that’s riddled with bugs and errors. Go with your gut and if at any time you get the idea that it’s not in fact a professional overall product, don’t waste your time with it.No Recent UpdatesDoes it really matter that the theme hasn’t been updated since 2004? Well, the simple answer is that it might not matter but it probably will eventually. The reason being that you never know when and where a WordPress update, a must-have widget or anything else will come along that’s 100% incompatible with your dated and stagnant theme. And as the makers of it clearly have no intention of updating it anytime soon, you might find yourself facing a brick wall at some random juncture going forward.Jumping Through HoopsLast but not least, a free theme should be easy to download and available to anyone. As such, if after showing interest in a theme you find yourself having to jump through hoops to get it – please visit the sponsor, sign up first, install this toolbar etc. – then there’s a good chance the theme is NOT the priority of those behind it. Suffice to say, this is not the kind of theme you want if you’d prefer your website to be a winner.