Approximately 40% of all websites are built on WordPress. With its vast library and availability of various functionality, it has gained popularity among website-building platforms.
This article will give you a quick rundown of our favorite WordPress themes and why.
What is a theme?
Before we jump into our top recommendations, let’s take a moment to define what a WordPress theme actually is. WordPress is a Content Management System. What started out as a great blogging tool has grown into a powerful platform that you can do pretty close to anything with. After installing the WordPress.org files onto your hosting, you will have the option to pick which theme you want to use. WP Beginner defines a theme as “ a folder of files that work together to create the design of your site. A theme includes template files, stylesheets, images, and possibly JavaScript files. All those files change how your blog posts and pages are displayed.” So, the theme of your site is pretty important as it can dictate what your site could look like.
WordPress Default Themes
WordPress has a couple of default themes already installed and comes out with a new theme every year, fittingly titled as the year it is released, but unless you have the time to read or watch tutorials, we don’t suggest you use it. It is pretty basic in design.
Now that we have that taken care of let’s get to what you really are interested in, our theme suggestions.
Number #1 Theme Recommendation
Our first theme, Divi by Elegant Themes, is selected for its ease of use and plethora of tutorials. Its drag-and-drop builder allows you to view what you are building while you are building it. It is packed full of features and has some more advanced features, like animation, when you are ready. You can start from scratch or download a template. And the real bonus is that you just can’t beat the price. They offer lifetime access for $249. There are no hidden fees, you will receive all future updates, and you can jump on chat if you need help.
We use this theme for our clients for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is easy for our clients to go in and make changes if they need or want to, and the theme developers are consistently working on creating a better theme.
Number #2 Theme Recommendation
Our second favorite theme is Elementor. While not technically a theme, but more of a robust plugin, it serves much of the same purpose as a theme. This may be one of the reasons we like it. We like that you can add it to any theme, although we suggest using the theme Hello Elementor. This is another Drag-and-Drop builder (notice a theme) and competes with Divi in all areas, save two objections. The price is a bit more and a recurring annual expense. But maybe more importantly, we feel the builder is not quite as intuitive. It can be slightly more difficult to navigate without tutorials.
But neither stops enthusiasts from using the builder. There are a lot of people who are pretty deadset that would say it is better than Divi. You will find that most WordPress designers and developers are pretty hardcore Camp Divi or Camp Elementor. We have spent time reviewing test results, and it seems like it depends on the blog, the reviewer, and the test date as to who comes out on top. They tend to go back and forth about which builder has better site speed, features, etc. In the end, both are great options and can create killer websites.
Number #3 Theme Recommendation
Last but definitely not least is Beaver Builder. Again another great drag-and-drop website builder, which is technically not a theme, but is often referred to as such. It is great for responsiveness and fairly easy to use. Honestly, we have the least experience with Beaver Builder as we use the other two builders pretty exclusively for therapy practice websites, but it is a solid builder and seems to do its job well.
Conclusion
You may notice some commonalities between the three website builders we suggested, which is for a good reason. Our criteria for a good theme or website builder were that they needed to be drag-and-drop, mobile-responsive, not clunky enough to impact site speed, compatible with WordPress and most plugins, and affordable.
All of these WordPress builders will allow you to build a great-looking site for your therapy business. Some may have more of a learning curve than others, but with a few tutorials or professional help, you can create a website for your practice.
Disclosure: Just to be clear, some of the links in this post are ‘affiliate links.’ This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I don’t plug products that I don’t believe in, so know that recommendations are given purely on merit and not financial gain.