What does it mean to talk about theme development done right? The WordPress ecosystem is vast and there is plenty of talent in the market. I’d be lying if I said that Theme of the Crop was the only source out there for great WordPress themes. From all-in-one “multi-purpose” themes to solid, rigorous theme frameworks which pack in piles of customization options — there’s a lot to choose from.

But each developer brings their own talents and priorities to the table. Here are the principles which guide theme development at Theme of the Crop.

Content and functionality matter

User testing has made it clear just how impatient our digital tribe is. Users who struggle to find what they want will turn away in just a fraction of a second — yes, it’s rather sad but true. Theme of the Crop focuses on designs with clear, consistent patterns that foreground the information your visitors need and present them with clear pathways to finding it, so that they won’t give up before you’ve had a chance to prove yourself.

Not all businesses are the same

So websites need to be different too. Theme of the Crop researches the target business niche for a theme, identifies what features and information are critical in that industry, and tries to come up with creative solutions to these problems. Maybe all you need is an existing plugin. Maybe you need a custom solution — like the Food and Drink Menu that was created for CaféCultura. But in the end, your business has particular needs and a theme should cater to those.

Not all WordPress users are the same

Some are competent developers. Some don’t even know what HTML is. Theme of the Crop makes sure that key functionality is simple, easy to use and well-documented, so that small business owners can get publishing quickly and easily.

Solid foundations

Theme of the Crop goes to great lengths to follow common standards for web and WordPress development. This limits the risk that themes will break as WordPress development continues and ensures your website has a solid core — search engine optimized, schema.org markup for rich Google listings, validated code to improve performance across all devices, and more.