William Cure asked 8 years ago
Shawn,
I read the article, "Beginner's Guide to Purchasing Wordpress Themes". It was helpful info, but I'm still completely overwhelmed by the number of themes I could choose from, and I feel like my knowledge is so limited that I don't even know where to start.
My situation is this: eventually I will have some complex stuff on the site that will require professional design. I'm a startup company and just want a basic website indicating my services (engineering services). I intend to scrap it and let a professional design it once I start bringing in work. But for now, I want something very simple, mostly a static front page, that looks professional. I also have a blog but I intend to have that completely separate and linked to the business site only. It seems like most Wordpress sites are set up for blogging, so I feel like the blog is easier... I'm asking about a basic business site.
I'd prefer it to be a free theme, but want it to look good, of course.
Any suggestions given what I just told you? Should I run with something like the standard 2017 theme or something less obviously free?
Thanks for you help, I appreciate the course and the quick responses!
BJ
Shawn Hesketh answered 8 years ago
Hi BJ,
I hear you... with thousands of WordPress themes from which to choose, it can be overwhelming to find the one that will work best for your site.
Based on the notes you shared—particuarly the fact that you eventually plan to hire a professional designer—I would recommend you begin your search at Studiopress.
Every theme on Studiopress utilizes the Genesis framework, which is by far the most popular WordPress theme framework out there. This means that you'll be able to choose from hundreds of professionals developers and designers who specialize in Genesis themes. Plus, there are tons of hepful tips, tricks, and tutorials from individuals all around the web to help you make minor changes to your Genesis-powered site.
This site is powered by the Centric Pro theme from Studiopress. And I just redesigned my personal blog, ShawnHesketh.com, using Maker Pro, another Studiopress theme.
As you can see, you can easily build a business site using any Studiopress theme. You're not limited to just building a blog.
As you're looking at themes on Studiopress, remember that you'll be able to change the colors using the Customizer. And, there are Genesis-specific plugins like Design Palette Pro that enable you to customize every part of your Genesis-powered theme. So you're not limited to what you see in the demo.
Hope this helps narrow your search, but if I can help further, feel free to follow up any time!