How to Improve Your Site Speed With a New WordPress Theme

One of the essential elements of any website is speed. And one of the best ways to ensure a speedy website is to use a fast WordPress theme. Sites that load quickly engage users and rank higher on search engines, while slow sites (those that take more than three seconds to load) lose 40% of visitors. Here are some of the fastest, most lightweight WordPress themes for you to try.

GeneratePress

GeneratePress is one of the fastest WordPress themes available. The demo site loads in just over one second. It is a fully customizable, multi-purpose theme and can be used to build any website. 

GeneratePress is available in free and premium versions. At $49.95 with a 30-day money-back guarantee, the premium version is hard to beat. It is a robust theme with 15 modules that you can activate or deactivate individually, which allows you to minimize load on your site further. 

Key Features Include:

• Schema Markup support to improve your search engine rankings and click-through-rates. 
• An Importable ready-to-use demo site library to jumpstart your WordPress site.
• A lightweight theme that loads quickly.
• Full support of WordPress Theme Customizer, allowing you to make on-the-fly design changes without writing code.
• Support for plugins like Elementor and Beaver Builder.
• Translation readiness for multiple languages.
• A fully responsive design that works on all devices. 
• Advanced customization allowing you to disable features, build unique layouts, and create custom content. You can also customize every sidebar and footer for each page and post.

GeneratePress is rated one of WordPress.org’s top themes. It is easy-to-use, fast, responsive, and, at less than 1 MB zipped, indeed a lightweight theme. 

Astra 

Astra, designed by Brainstorm Force, is lightweight, fast, and user-friendly. How fast, you ask? Astra loads in less than half a second. Astra is also free. You can upgrade to Astra Pro Addon for an affordable $59 with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Astra Pro Addon extends customizations and adds features. There is also an Astra Agency package for $249 that offers pre-made websites and all associated plugins.

Key Features Include:

• Works with BeaverBuilder, WPBakery, Elementor, Divi, and other page builders. 
• User-friendly admin interface.
• Elegant designs for all types of businesses. 
• Predesigned, importable starter sites.
• Easily customizable without writing code.  
• SEO friendly
• Easy integration with WooCommerce. 

If you need an elegant, fast, and customizable WordPress theme, Astra might be right for you. 

Elementor Hello

Elementor Hello is a lightweight starter theme for use with Elementor or Elementor Pro, the drag-and-drop page builder WordPress plugins. When used together, you can easily and quickly create beautiful websites. This theme is free.

Key Features Include:

• Free
• Lightweight. There are no extras like add-on modules or additional third-party scripts.
• Extendable with hooks. 
• Fast-loading.
• Must be used with Elementor and Elementor Pro.

Elementor Hello is a great lightweight starter theme offering 100% compatibility with Elementor.

Schema

Schema, designed by MyThemeShop, is another fast-loading WordPress theme. It is responsive, fully customizable, and lightweight. Schema is a particularly apt choice for creating a blog. This theme is available for $59 with a 30-day money-back guarantee. There is no free version.

Key Features Include:

• A responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes.
• An ad management panel to help manage the ads on your website.
• Translation-readiness.
• Google font support. 
• Support for related posts built-in without any additional plugins.
• Support for rich snippets. If your post is a review, Google will show a star rating in your Search Engine result snippet.

Schema is a fast loading lightweight theme worth your attention, particularly if you are creating a blog. 

These are a few of the fastest, most lightweight WordPress themes out there. Are you curious about which theme is best for you? Do you have other questions about your WordPress site? Contact us. We can help.