When using WordPress as your business mainstay for web development, it’s important to have a theme that stands out but also doesn’t appear to be too busy. A busy theme can often distract those viewing your page and conflict with the content of the page itself. Yet, having a boring layout will deter viewers and opportunities will be missed to gain their business.

WordPress is a great tool for small businesses that need to develop a web presence without investing thousands of dollars into page hosting and developer costs. It’s fairly simple to use for anyone who is remotely savvy with technology. There are many great free themes in which you can apply to your WordPress page. It’s important to utilize themes that project the image of your business properly. Here are five free WordPress themes that are easy to use and are available directly from the WordPress website.

1 – Customizr
This theme allows you to fully customize just about every aspect of the page to create a webpage that is professional looking as well as effective. You can create buttons that offer single-click directions to your social media sites as well as strategically lay out content as needed. One of the features of this theme is the horizontal “slider” style of navigation. Viewers can navigate the page via an arrow that shuffles the page left or right to the the sub-page header information. A block-style button can be clicked to direct towards the information part of that page. This type of theme is great for businesses that want a portfolio style or presentation style of webpage.

2 – Attitude
The five-star rated Attitude theme is great for small businesses that require a stronger informational presence on their website. The information is presented in a straight forward linear format with a heavy slant towards providing text content on a visual wallpaper backdrop. Sub-Pages and links are presented in a blog-style format with little room from specialized customization. The theme is direct in its approach and delivery of information without too much flair. This is perfect for businesses like small restaurants, bars, or cafes where customers will generally be visiting the website for information like location, a food and beverage menu, and scheduled entertainment.

3 – Iconic One
Another straight forward WordPress theme, the Iconic One is very strong on information based presentation. The format resembles the iconic look of a blog website where information or entries are displayed in chronological order from the most recent to the first. It features sub-pages listed in the form of tabs with the Parent Page laid out in a Header/Text/Tag format. This allows each posted block of information to be connected, linked, and archived with other like posts. The theme also includes a side bar to direct link to other locations within the page and outside of it. This theme is an excellent option for the realty office, insurance broker, or independent contractor where personal client contact is needed.

4 – Twenty Eleven
The Twenty Eleven Theme is the most popular free theme on the WordPress website and for good reason. The theme carries a pleasant balance of visual candy along with text information. You are also able to customize the attributes of the information by choosing link colors and text sizes. The most attractive feature of this theme is in the Header. It is here where you can place a banner graphic on the top of the pages. For a business, this could suit well in the form of a logo or mission statement.

5 – Spun
This theme is a creative delight that features a Main Page that is simply buttons that direct to other sub-pages within the page itself. The other pages are nothing more than blank canvases to place any type of content you see fit. Like the Customizr theme, there is an exceptional amount of creative freedom that can be applied. Photo galleries, entertainment venues, and just about any type of business where creative expression is part of business will benefit from this theme. The simple button Main Page is highly interactive and gives the feel of a complex Java/Flash-style page without the excess coding.

Many businesses choose WordPress as an alternative to formal hosting of a website. This proves to be quite beneficial for the small business where there is a person on staff that has the technical understanding to maintain the site. Using WordPress also works well in conjunction with social media pages in a manner to disseminate information about the business. As with any online presence, the website layout you use for your business will be the first visual and informational insight to you business. Choosing the right profile for you business will increase viewings and provide a greater reach to your customers.