You are ready for a new look for your blog. You’ve seen lots of cool themes out there, and you’re ready to shop! Theme hunting can be very overwhelming. There are literally tens of thousands of themes out there, some free, some paid-for, and many of them are very, very good. So, how do you choose?

Note: While many of these tips will be helpful for bloggers using any blogging platform, the focus will be on WordPress themes.

What Theme Features do I Need?

Before you even start looking through theme directories sit down and pull up a couple of your favorite blogs. Write down what you like about them.

• Think About Blog Navigation.
  Most themes come with a horizontal page navigation near the top of the design, but not all of them include a horizontal category navigation, which means you’ll end up needing to put those in a sidebar, thus using up valuable widget space. Decide how many levels of categories you’ll need and if the theme you get needs to include drop-down menus to show sub-pages and sub-categories.
• Consider Your Ad-Space Needs.
  If you only plan to host 125×125 ads, your sidebar size won’t matter much. But, if you want to display larger ads like the popular 300×250 you’ll need to make sure the theme’s sidebars are at least 300px wide.
• Magazine, News, or Blog Style?
  The layout of your blog can make a big difference in how your site is perceived. Personal bloggers rarely need a magazine style, while the mag style theme generally suits multi-authors blogs very well. A News style is slightly different, highlighting lots of content in many different shapes and sizes of columns. There are rarely any pictures and this style is best suited for blogs that are updated several times a day and need to keep post titles for as many articles as possible on the front page. The straight-up blog theme is generally designed for single author blogs, and personal bloggers. Decide what you need.

Go Theme Shopping

Now that you know what it is you need, you should be able to tell at quick glance if a theme is even worth considering.You’re ready to shop! Here are a few more things to consider when theme shopping for your blog:

• Decide if you’re willing to pay for a premium theme. If you are, you can skip on over to WooThemes, StudioPress, or Theme Forrest, all of which I like enough to be an affiliate for, and start shopping. I highly recommend purchasing a premium theme as many of them come with support, and the developers are more likely to upgrade the themes as new versions of your blogging platform are released.  Theme Forrest has the largest selection, and most variance in price. With themes starting at just $5 you’re likely to find something within your budget. StudioPress is highly respected and a good source of magazine style themes, and WooThemes has a little of everything. Their themes are very customizable and simple for even beginners to use.
• If you need a free theme, check the blog platform’s theme directory first. After that, do a Google search for “free (name of blogging platform) themes”. When the results are in, click Images at the top of the page, and browse the layouts!
• Whenever Possible, Choose a Widget Enabled Theme. Or gadgets or whatever your blogging platform calls them. Being able to easily drag, drop, rearrange, and customize your site’s sidebar content is very helpful. If the theme you choose is not widget enabled, chances are you’ll end up paying someone to hard code your sidebar.

Reference Your Theme Must-Have List!

Do not let your excitement over finding a really cool theme distract you. Remember that you  made a list for a reason… to help you find what you NEED not what strikes you as cool. If you keep looking, chances are you’ll find something that you love that will also suit your needs.

The lovely Sarah Pinnix of Real Life Blog has a wonderful post on choosing a WordPress theme. Be sure to check it out for even more ideas on finding the perfect theme for your blog!

Share Your Blog Theme Experience!

Have you recently found a theme that you love? What features did you set out to find, and were you able to find something that was both functional and beautiful?