Which wordpress theme should I choose?

[Bandyboy]

I am looking to develop a new wordpress site and could really do with some help in identifying a suitable theme.
The website will be a relatively simple info site with the aim of driving traffic. Therefore I need a theme that is very SEO friendly and suitable for advertising.
I would also like a theme that will allow me to add plugins, specifically the yoast SEO plugin, XML-Sitemaps & PageNavi.
I have limited experience with WP and have never built a WP site from scratch so I need a simple theme for beginners. I've looked at Genesis and Thesis which look great but I think may be a bit too advanced, particularly when it comes to the frameworks, child themes etc.
In addition I would like something with great support (I'll need it), that's secure, regularly updated and that can support video. I'm happy to pay for the right theme.
I've also looked at Canvas & U-design which looked more simple, would these fit the bill?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Cheers

[phuongtuanpy248]

Try atahualpa theme for interesting, guys

[joshuagnizak]

I have noticed that going with a theme design that plays friendly with updates, saves problems in the long run. Popular themes and plugins with good support keep headaches away.

[condomvang]

You can search on google with keywords: Neo-Classical Theme, Arras Theme, The Buffet FrameWork,... Those are free and good in SEO theme

[webdesigndelhi]

i use the twenty eleven theme which is a default wordpess theme. It supports most of the plugins and is seo friendly.

[Slackr]

I am looking to develop a new wordpress site and could really do with some help in identifying a suitable theme.
The website will be a relatively simple info site with the aim of driving traffic. Therefore I need a theme that is very SEO friendly and suitable for advertising.

Wordpress is a pretty simple platform to use once you get to know your way around. It is pretty easy to adjust from an SEO point of view depending on how meticulous you want to be.

I would also like a theme that will allow me to add plugins, specifically the yoast SEO plugin, XML-Sitemaps & PageNavi.
I have limited experience with WP and have never built a WP site from scratch so I need a simple theme for beginners. I've looked at Genesis and Thesis which look great but I think may be a bit too advanced, particularly when it comes to the frameworks, child themes etc.
In addition I would like something with great support (I'll need it), that's secure, regularly updated and that can support video. I'm happy to pay for the right theme.

Plugins install into Wordpress rather than the theme, so you will be fine on this front. Some themes come packaged with some plugins pre-installed which is where your confusion might be. The preinstalled options are usually optional allowing you to use a different plugin if you don't like the theme one.

WP is pretty easy to work with from scratch. You create a database, assign a database admin with full privledges making note of the login/password. Download the latest WP version, upload to the root directory, unzip and then run the WP install wizard. Before you know it you'll be done.

Genesis and Thesis are both considered frameworks which allow custom websites to be built on top of them using shortcuts. They are more complex in the initial stages but developers who use wordpress a lot come to appreciate the flexibility they offer. There are those who build themes for these frameworks too (as opposed to Wordpress themes). So it can get a little confusing.

One thing I would HIGHLY recommend is to build a child theme for whatever WP theme you use/buy. They are simple but I would say essential and will save you lots of work. The reason for them is that it keeps your theme and any customisations you make separate. The biggest reason is that in the future if the theme receives an upgrade and you've made some customisations to the CSS etc, you may lose all that work. A child theme protects those changes and allows you to safely and happily update your purchased theme at will.

Video support is something that is built in to WP. Most of the major formats you'll be using will be supported. The way the video is triggered and presented may vary using themes. For example some themes may present video in a pop-up lightbox. [/QUOTE]

I've also looked at Canvas & U-design which looked more simple, would these fit the bill?

I've not had any experience with Canvas but have used U-design. It is very feature-rich and has good documentation. It can be overwhelming because of the amount of features but the documentation usually nails how to set things up.

I always recommend going for elite authors and those who support their themes, U-design certainly fits this. The others high on this list would be worth looking at too.

[Dhanishtha]

Initiator wordpress theme,Considering the SEO, you will get whole complete set of options to change the parameters as per your need. It is also very adaptable to almost every free and premium wordpress seo plugins.

[rohansinha]

Hi Bandyboy,
I'm using Angry Birds theme on my wordpress blog and i got sufficient traffic. it is really good and SEO friendly.