Twenty-Sixteen is the default WordPress theme that comes with every download of WordPress. It’s the theme that introduces all new users to the functions and capabilities of WordPress. Great to demonstrate the potential of the platform.
Since it comes with the installation it is the most popular theme on the WordPress market. Is it only good for beginners?
It’s original iteration, Twenty-Ten was built to be minimalist and versatile for the needs of bloggers. Twenty-Sixteen seems to follow suit but also demonstrates great capabilities for business.
Designed by Takashi Irie, who also designed Twenty-Fourteen and Twenty-Fifteen, gives his interpretation of the WordPress theme:
Twenty Sixteen is a modernised approach of an ever-popular layout — a horizontal masthead and an optional right sidebar that works well with both blogs and websites. It has custom color options that allow you to make your own Twenty Sixteen. The theme was designed on a harmonious fluid grid with a mobile first approach. This means it looks great on any device.
Following his description let’s see what makes this an ever-popular WordPress theme.
“a modernised approach of an ever-popular layout…”
The main function of this theme is in posting new content. The format of the posts has remained very similar over the years but this one has been adjusted to look more elegant.
Twenty-Sixteen fits 75-80 characters per line with plenty of room for sentences and paragraphs to breathe. Pull quotes are off-aligned and draw the reader’s attention. Even the alt-tags below the heading image are clean and don’t distract from the content.
“a horizontal masthead and an optional right sidebar that works well with both blogs and websites.”
Twenty-Sixteen offers a very minimalist overall design with loads of white space. The option of having a single column or including a right-hand sidebar allows you to decide how much information you want to display.
“It has custom color options that allow you to make your own Twenty Sixteen…”
There is a bit of versatility in terms of customization: Colours, Widgets, and Social Icons. If you have a little more experience, like Filter Joe, you can make all the adjustments you need with a little CSS.
“…it looks great on any device.”
The responsive design allows it to adjust for the size of any screen. With the latest WordPress update you can also preview how your WordPress website will respond to different screen sizes.
Twenty-Sixteen is a versatile WordPress theme, good for a blog and for a business. The theme has enough to get you started and keeps things simple. A great demonstration of the potential of WordPress.
