Once your WordPress blog is installed on your domain, you’ll begin the job of customizing it for your business. You don’t want to leave the default theme intact – it looks unprofessional.

So now you have a choice – do you opt for a free WordPress theme or upgrade to a premium level theme, which you’ll have to pay for? If you’re brand new to blogging, you might want to stick with the free themes temporarily and then upgrade once you know you’re dedicated to keeping the site active long-term.

Others may want to invest in a premium theme right away so that no changes have to be made once the site is underway. To access the free themes, log into your WordPress dashboard and click on Appearances and then Themes.

At the top of the page you can click on Install Themes and choose from the Featured, Newest, Recently Updated – or the option to install your own. You’ll find many free WordPress themes online just by Googling for them.

But you have to be careful because nothing is truly free – the providers of those WordPress themes will have some sort of benefit included in the theme, sometimes in the form of an unsavory link pointing from your blog to their own domain.

Premium themes are usually clean and more search engine optimized than the freebies are. You can search for those on Google too and find a myriad of options. If you buy one, download the file to your hard drive and choose the “Upload” option in your blog area. Then extract the zip file so that the theme is available for you to choose.

When you see your new theme options, simply click “Activate” on the theme you prefer. You can swap these out at any time, but it’s best to find a good theme and maintain it so that your site builds brand recognition of its own.

WordPress themes vary between crisp and clean to colorful and cluttered. You want to choose something based on your personal preferences, but also keep the reader in mind. Don’t choose a theme where the words are hard to read or the colors cause people to click out immediately.

You can also choose to have a custom WordPress theme created for you if you have deep pockets, but a Premium theme will be a great alternative and it won’t break the bank. For online marketing, many people like the Socrates option, but it’s only one of many, so you’ll have to do your homework and find one that’s right for you.