Years ago I created my own free WordPress theme. I wanted a fast website, a Czech environment, a GPL licence and a foundation people could adapt without depending on one company. The old site showed very good numbers. But one demo’s speed in 2015 is not a recommendation for a company website ten years later.
I therefore do not want to present the old package as a currently safe choice without ongoing maintenance and testing. I preserve the page’s search intent differently: I will show you how to choose a free theme so that it does not become expensive to operate.
The best theme is one the company can maintain
Design is visible first. Operating costs arrive later. When choosing, I check who updates the theme, whether it uses the standard editor, how it behaves when plugins are disabled and whether it can display the company’s real content.
- Does it have a current version and traceable development?
- Is it available in the official WordPress directory?
- Does it work with the block editor without a required page builder?
- Is navigation usable on mobile and with a keyboard?
- Does it support the required languages and WooCommerce, if you actually use it?
- Will content remain readable when the theme changes?
WordPress describes theme installation, preview and management in the official documentation. Directory themes pass project rules, but that does not replace your own testing and maintenance.
Do not test speed on an empty demo
A lightweight theme can look fast until you add fonts, measurement, a form, cookie banner, gallery and real photographs. Test it on a copy of the real website or at least on a representative page.
- Add the home page, a long article, a service and a form.
- Use real images and Czech fonts.
- Enable only necessary plugins.
- Measure mobile in PageSpeed Insights and inspect the waterfall.
- Test the menu, form and layout on a narrow display.
A perfect laboratory score is not a business goal. Look for large images, blocking scripts, layout shifts and slow response. A broader process is in the article about technical website checks.
A theme should not replace ten plugins
Functions that should survive a visual change belong in a plugin or application: forms, custom data types, courses, payments and integrations. WordPress Theme Directory rules also separate the presentation layer from non-design functionality. See the theme release requirements.
The more proprietary widgets and shortcodes a theme brings, the more expensive a future change can be. Export test content first and see what remains after the theme is disabled.
Free and paid solve the same problem differently
A free theme makes sense for ordinary content or a company website when you can work with the standard editor and do not need guaranteed support. A paid licence may make sense for support, ready-made components or faster work. The licence price is only a small part of total costs.
Include in the decision:
- time for changes and testing,
- licence renewals,
- security updates,
- dependence on the author or builder,
- the future cost of moving content.
WordPress is not the automatic choice for every website
WordPress is widespread, open and has a large ecosystem. It also needs updates, backups and someone to handle operations. For a small presentation website with few changes, a static website or managed service may be simpler. For a content site with an editorial team, WordPress can make great sense.
First choose the operating model, then the CMS and only finally the theme. The reverse order is more fun, but usually more expensive.
A short pre-activation checklist
- You have a complete backup and staging environment.
- The theme is current and comes from a trusted source.
- All main page templates work with real content.
- Menus, forms and buttons work on mobile and with a keyboard.
- Headings, canonicals and structured data are not broken after switching.
- You have an update plan and a responsible person.
If you are planning a website, continue with how to start a web project. For usability, use the UX checklist. If you need to decide between WordPress, a static website and another route, you can describe your situation.