Let’s face it. It is hard to choose a WordPress theme. There are so many out there. Base themes include Thesis, Genesis, Socrates, premium themes and free themes. The list goes on!

The problem for a startup freelance business is that with little startup costs, a free WordPress theme seems like the best solution. Wrong! Why? So many of the free WordPress themes have coding issues that can take hours to find a work-around to get the theme to do exactly what you want. This takes time away from earning money if you have to tweak the WordPress theme so often.

What’s the solution? I’m glad you asked.

1.       Decide on the purpose for your freelance business WordPress theme. Having a plan thought out for your website is the main issue that needs solving. Sketch out the layout for your website. What pages will you have linking to the home page? Include an about page, contact page, and a separate blog page. When you have a clear picture in mind for your navigation and layout, you will find a theme easier.

2.       Find out how much you can spend. Premium themes don’t cost much. They are often under $100. When you know your budget, you will better be able to rule some WordPress themes out and avoid the free themes. If you decide to go with a free theme, add for time it will take to fix the theme exactly how you would like it to look. The same goes with the premium themes. If you buy a base theme like Thesis and Genesis, add the amount it would take to buy a skin for the theme if you want it to look a certain way.

3.       Find WordPress themes. The search begins! Great ones to check out include the premium themes like Genesis and Thesis. These themes offer an easy to use dashboard that allows you to change the fonts, header and layout of your website with a click of the button. You do not have to add code or play with the CSS style sheets, unless you want.

Studiopress sells the Genesis theme and has many skins that you can use in any freelance business or corporation. DIY Themes sells the Thesis theme and there are plenty of skins available for this WordPress theme. Woo Themes sells premium themes also for various freelance businesses. A recent premium theme on the market is The Client Machine, which has different choices for a portfolio.

These are some to look at when you are choosing a freelance business WordPress theme. You might find one that you prefer over another.

4.       Check the features. Many of the WordPress themes available for freelance business have a demo to try out the features. Take a few minutes and check comments, usability and watch any videos to see what the dashboard looks like. Checking these before buying will help you ensure you find the easiest premium WordPress theme to use for your freelance business.

5.       Contact support. This is a big one for WordPress themes. Always test the support for the theme before buying. Remember earlier when I suggested avoiding free themes? This is the number one reason. Many of the free themes coders create are trying out their ability to create. Many do not keep up with the WordPress changes for the free themes. Premium themes often have much better support.

Find out how the premium WordPress theme company handles support. Do they use a forum, tickets, email, or phone? Try commenting on the forum or sending in a ticket. This checks their response time to your inquiry. Look in Google or on their website to see what issues other freelance business owners are having with the WordPress theme. See how they handle the response and if you believe it was helpful or not.

6.       Narrow your list. Once you have found at least three premium WordPress themes to compare, list the features and compare each to the other. To choose a WordPress theme comes from going with the one that closely matches what you want to carry out with your website for your freelance business. If the theme is flexible enough to add to it or change it how you would like, choose it.

Remember that if the theme does not offer social media you would like, there is always a plug-in for that! How does this article help you choose a WordPress theme for your freelance business? Are there any addition points to add that you have used to choose a theme? Comment below with your thoughts.

photo credit: Genista