Picking a theme that is coded correctly and simply matters a great deal in reaching your audience. It is a decision that runs through the project from the first moment. At turksem.com, for instance, as of May 2024 we are running the Kallyas theme. Its speed, SEO and accessibility figures are very low, unfortunately, and that affects the whole project at the root. We have wanted to change it for a long time, but having used it for 10+ years makes the switch a hard one. We decided to change it anyway, and started researching themes for our own site against a good many different criteria. We wanted to share that research in the hope it is useful to you.
Note: at the very end of the article we put every theme into a table with its advantages and disadvantages against the others. Do not miss that part.
What Does an SEO Friendly WordPress Theme Mean?
In SEO, search engine optimization work, page experience and page speed are criteria that affect everything at the root. The themes here are coded with those fundamentals in mind.
The Astra Theme
- Fast load times
- A structure you can customize
- Schema.org integration
The truth is that Astra is the theme we at Türk SEM want to move our own site to. We ran a lot of reviews and Astra came out in front of the field.
Astra demo
The GeneratePress Theme
- Light and fast
- SEO friendly code
- A mobile ready design
I would say the cleanest coding of the lot is in GeneratePress. But; clean coding on its own is not quite enough. On design flexibility it is not as strong as its code. If you think simplicity wins, GeneratePress will be a sound choice.
GeneratePress demo
The Divi Theme
- A visual page builder
- SEO optimization tools
- Responsive design
Divi is the SEO friendly theme that sits closest to the fundamentals of the modern internet. Its own integrated page builder and its clean, tidy HTML output are not even Divi’s main advantages. It has a remarkable AI integration. We put it third on the list, but it is our personal favorite.
Divi demo
The OceanWP Theme
- Fast loading
- Custom titles and meta descriptions
- Schema markup support
It has modern ready made designs that fit a good many projects. It is rather good on the SEO friendly side, and we put OceanWP fourth on the list. Look through the demo, and if one of the ready templates fits your project you can go with it.
OceanWP demo
The Neve Theme
- AMP ready
- Fast load times
- An SEO friendly structure
Neve is where simplicity and elegance come together best among WordPress themes. We looked carefully at page speed and page experience in our reviews and placed Neve fifth. It can fit a great many projects perfectly.
The Kadence Theme
- Built around performance
- Schema markup support
- Customizable header and footer
Kadence has settled on a traditional design structure, comes in free and paid versions, and its page speed and page experience are rather good. If the ready templates suit your site, it is worth considering.
The Theme Table
| Theme | Speed | SEO features | Page builder | Customization | Schema support | AMP ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (with a plugin) | ✅✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GeneratePress | ✅✅ | ✅ | ❌ (with a plugin) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Divi | ✅ | ✅ | ✅✅ | ✅✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| OceanWP | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (with a plugin) | ✅✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Neve | ✅✅ | ✅ | ❌ (with a plugin) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅✅ |
| Kadence | ✅✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Airi | ✅✅ | ✅ | ❌ (with a plugin) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Have a Theme Reviewed
If you want us to review a theme you like, share the ThemeForest link in the comments and we will look at it. We reach a judgment from the figures three different tools give us. We can run the themes you ask about through those tools and report back.
Good luck with the new project.
