How To Choose The Best Theme for Your New Blog – Blog Aesthetic Tips

How To Choose The Best Theme for Your New Blog – Blog Aesthetic Tips

Ahhh blog aesthetic!

Something we all want but sometimes don’t know how to go about getting if you’re new to the blogging world!

If you’re a new blogger you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed with so much information on things you “should or shouldn’t” do. 

One of the first things people will recommend you get for your new blog after Domain and Hosting is a good theme!

But how do you know what theme to get?

It really depends on if you have an exact idea of what style/aesthetic you want to have or not.

There are certain other aspects of choosing a theme you maybe haven’t thought of though so we will go over all of that here!  

This post is more geared towards the paid for themes as they offer a lot more flexibility and customisation than a free theme.

You can read why a paid theme is best in this post here.

 

Is There a “Best” Theme for New Bloggers?

Honestly no, I don’t think so!

If you were looking for an exact answer, I don’t believe there is one specifically! 

Everyone has different preferences along with what they need from their theme.

Different niches will have different needs in a theme also!

But, there are definitely things to look for in a theme .

There are so many blog themes out there, and while choosing one is important, it’s not the be all and end all.

Blog themes can be changed!

As a beginner blogger I’m sure you’re trying to keep your blogging expenses down though and buying different themes is an unnecessary expense!

The ideal is buying one at an affordable price that suits all of your, and your blog’s needs.

 

How Should You Choose a Theme For Your New Blog

From an aesthetic point of view everyone will have different preferences.

The beauty of having a blog is that it’s your space to express yourself and your individuality through your website.

What you need to be careful of is how it’s perceived by the reader.

If your main purpose of your blog is for your own personal enjoyment, or as a hobby to share your thoughts, then absolutely have any theme/colours and layout you like! 

On the other hand if growing an audience and gaining long-term readers is important to you, you will need to be a little more selective.

I’ve had various themes over my blogs over the years but when I found this one (correct on Jan 2023), I instantly loved it.

Early days I was the one to try SO many free themes.

I kept jumping and trying a different one to see if the next one would do everything I needed/wanted it to.

They never did.

 

 

All that happened was I spent far too much time having to change layouts and settings to still not be happy with it.

(Quick side note: You can change themes/free themes as often as you like, but they aren’t all compatible with each other/plugins/widgets you may have. Changing your theme on your blog doesn’t take long, it’s changing all your settings to make your blog function properly again that’s time consuming and is worth avoiding where possible!)

Turns out the reason is that free themes are free for a reason, and they just didn’t allow the customisation I knew I was needing.

Not just when I launched this website but I wanted one that would grow with me. I didn’t want one that I would have to keep changing as it can take a lot of time and setting changes to get everything set back up again.

The important part of growing a blog is the tasks that produce the best ROI (Return On Investment). The key is avoiding/minimising the tasks that take up unnecessary time; like having to realign photos or move widgets having changed your blog theme again.

If you really do need to change or down the line want to upgrade your blog theme then absolutely do this. I would just avoid doing it too often if you don’t have to.

The other thing to be aware of is speed – some themes will slow your site down but as a new blogger this won’t be something you have to worry about too much as long as you’re careful with not installing too many plugins! 

 

Are There Things To Look For When Choosing A Blog Theme?

Again this will be subjective to you and your wants for your blog.

There are however things I would personally look for in a blog theme before purchasing! 

Make sure the theme you are choosing has the personalisation YOU are looking for. 

Buying a premium theme will help with a lot of the customisation you may want, but even with a free theme there’s things to be aware of!

For example, free themes often come with a limited font selection.

This is a good choice if you find one you like and are easily overwhelmed – but – you are very limited and restricted in terms of the font you choose for your blog.

You will want to look for a theme that has ongoing updates, is highly customisable, lightweight (no one likes a slow website) and that is aesthetically pleasing! 

If you are a new blogger it can be tricky knowing how best to choose a theme for your new blog, so making a list of things you want can be helpful.

Finding a blog that is easy to use/customise is something I would highly recommend as the last thing you want to do as a new blogger is have to spend hours on how to change something that “should be” simple! 

 

 

What If You Want Something Completely Different?

Blogs are a reflection of their owner.

Every design choice, setting change, font and colour scheme have all been picked out.

If you want something that is completely different – absolutely go for it! 

There are no hard and fast rules – it’s your blog after all!

You can tailor the aesthetic of your website to suit your – and your readers – needs. 

If you want a layout or functions within a blog theme you have never seen in a theme before, you can get your own blog theme custom made. 

Be aware this can get pricey – but is a way to suit all of your needs if you really don’t like the more mainstream blog themes!

Any premium (paid) blog theme will let you change colours/fonts etc, so look for which blogs you like the “vibe” of, or the overall layout!

If you keep returning to read a blog and notice they are still using the same theme for months on end – this is a good sign that they like their theme!

Word of mouth/a recommendation can be the perfect way to choose a theme for your new blog.

 

 

 

Where To Get A Theme For Your New Blog?

There are a few places to get new themes! 

You can pay someone to design a custom theme for your blog but this is the least affordable option for most.

You would get exactly what you wanted but be prepared to spend up to a few thousand!

Aside from the above, you can look at places like Etsy, or if you decide you like a free theme and want to upgrade to the premium version, you can do this within WordPress. 

As I mentioned earlier in this post, this theme I bought for my blog (one off payment was only around $30 and free ongoing updates) is Ashe Blog Pro from WP Royal! 

I love that it’s clean and lightweight and highly customisable for that one off small payment! 

It’s been amazing and would recommend it to anyone as it’s so easy to use! 

There are lots of options out there so take your time and see what suits you.

 

For Absolutely Brand New Bloggers

If you have never had a blog/website before, it may take some playing around to work out what really suits you and feels right for your blog and that’s okay!

You can’t be expected to know what you want if you don’t have any experience yet – it’s all a learning curve!

Have a play with the free themes and see what ones feel right, check out their customisation options and if they have a premium version (I would avoid it if they don’t), and also when they were last updated.

If you find one that suits – you can then upgrade to the premium version of that blog theme!

This may be perfect for you and gives you the option to try a few themes on for size before settling on one for the foreseeable future. 

Opting for a premium simple-to-use but highly customisable theme is key, but there’s no rush for you finding the one you like in the very early days!

If you have any questions regarding the theme I currently use (Ashe Blog Pro), or about themes in general, leave them in a comment and I’ll get back to you!

Speak soon!

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