Comparison sites are the hardest kind of WordPress site to get right. The content is dense, the pages are long, and readers arrive with a single question — “which one should I pick?” — that your layout has to answer in under ten seconds. Get the structure wrong and no amount of copy saves the page.
We have watched dozens of comparison publishers build on our themes over the years, from hosting reviewers to sites ranking operators for the best paying online casino South Africa search. The niche changes; the layout rules that convert do not. Here they are.
Rule 1: The verdict goes above the fold
Readers scan comparison pages top-down and bounce if the first screen is an intro paragraph. Lead with a compact “Our top pick” card: name, one-line reason, primary CTA, and a “see all N compared” anchor link to the table. Everything else — methodology, detail, caveats — comes after.
Rule 2: One table, sortable, mobile-first
The comparison table is the page. Build it with the core Table block or a lightweight table plugin (TablePress, Ninja Tables Lite) and keep to five columns maximum on desktop: name, key metric, price, rating, CTA. On mobile, stack rows into cards rather than forcing a horizontal scroll — most table plugins have a “stack on mobile” toggle.
Avoid heavy “comparison table” plugins that load their own front-end framework. They routinely add 200–400 KB and push Largest Contentful Paint past 3 seconds on mobile.
Rule 3: Trust signals readers can verify
- Methodology section — how you tested, when, with what account. Google’s reviews system explicitly rewards this.
- Last updated date visible near the H1, and actually updated.
- Author box with a real name and a link to a profile page.
- Disclosure line — “We may earn a commission” — before the first affiliate link.
- Cons for every entry. A list with no downsides reads as an ad.
Rule 4: Sticky CTA, not sticky ads
A sticky bottom bar on mobile with the top pick’s name and a single button converts better than any sidebar. Keep it under 56 px tall and dismissable. We build exactly this into our own product pages — open any theme on this site on a phone and scroll.
Rule 5: Schema that matches the page
Use ItemList for the ranked table and Product + Review for individual entries only when you have genuinely reviewed them. Do not add AggregateRating with made-up counts — that is the fastest route to a manual action. Yoast handles Article and Breadcrumb; add the rest with a code block or Yoast’s schema API.
Theme choice: what actually matters
Comparison sites need a wide content column (tables), strong typography (long reads), and zero page-builder overhead (speed). Templates that look great in a demo often fail all three.
- Bloge — single-column, 760 px content width, fastest option. Best for review-heavy sites.
- News One — grid front page plus wide article template. Best when you cover many categories.
- Danfe — when the site needs a branded homepage in front of the comparison content.
All three are free on WordPress.org; the magazine category has the rest.