In a previous article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WP themes so attractive to web site owners, then make sure to check out this article: A Practical Guide To Understanding WordPress Themes
In this blog post, we explain where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your website. You will also learn about the different types of WP theme resources and get tips on how to make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid dealing with problems like lack of support and poor theme coding.
As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned post, a theme is a unique kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many professional website designers and website design firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of high quality themes covering a wide-range of uses and applications.
Finding Great Themes For WordPress: How To Avoid Getting Overwhelmed
If you were to fire up Google and search for the following:
- best free WP themes
- WordPress themes free
- best free WordPress themes for business (enter whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the search results.
So, to help you save time and make your life easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a different post. To keep things simple, let’s just be covering the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over your site’s web design.
Free vs Paid WP Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free WP themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces vs Commercial WP Theme Developers
There are mostly two different types of places where themes can be found. The first place is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme development firms.
WordPress theme marketplaces and theme directories are large aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.
Some of the larger marketplaces don’t just sell WordPress themes. They can also sell WP plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
Commercial and independent theme shops typically design both free and premium WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design companies.
Many commercial theme developers sell their themes exclusively on their own web sites, but some will also list their themes in marketplaces and directories, or even create a free or “lite” version of their themes for free directories .
Let’s now show you where to search for great themes for your blog.
Where To Find The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Free WordPress Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to download free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can place your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with certain quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Look For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WordPress dashboard with just a few clicks.
Use Theme Filters
WordPress has a built-in filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colours, Layout and Features …
This makes it easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a dark color design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the post where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will display correctly on all devices (e.g. laptops, tablets and smartphones) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …
… and find only themes that are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer a number of built-in customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” of using free WordPress themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and it’s unrealistic to expect the developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes ask for donations to help cover their support costs.
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any change was made, then think carefully about downloading it, as WordPress changes quite often and these changes can create conflicts and errors with older code.
If you’re just getting started and your website or blog is still relatively new, there is nothing wrong with using a free theme until you have a better idea of the kind of site design that would work best for your site before spending money on a premium theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for your site and for your business.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid WP themes.
Paid Themes
If you are looking for themes with stunning design, or professional quality yet highly affordable WordPress web design themes with a distinctive look, unique customizable options and great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Marketplaces
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular WordPress theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to browse all themes on ThemeForest)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WordPress themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and green living blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, writers, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for film & tv blogs, dining out, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for travel, trades or professionals (repairers, legal practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to software, landing pages, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political issues, parenting sites or blogs … even themes you can use if your site is still under-construction!
When you purchase WordPress themes from ThemeForest, you will receive email notifications when a new update is available for your theme …
(ThemeForest emails you theme update notifications)
Go here to browse many great premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest themes site:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse more Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can search through many quality premium WordPress themes from independent theme creators.
As stated on their website …
“Creative Market is a platform for handcrafted, mousemade design content from independent creatives around the world.”
Creative Market doesn’t just sell WP themes in its directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of quality premium themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to see all WP themes at Mojo.com)
Mojo is a marketplace for premium-quality WP themes where theme vendors are strongly encouraged to provide customers with lifetime support and upgrades.
According to their website …
“Mojo is a marketplace where anyone can find, rate and buy quality themes & templates in one trusted place.”
Like Envato and Creative Market, Mojo doesn’t focus exclusively on WordPress themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories by choosing the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium WordPress themes in the Mojo theme directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WP theme design houses.
Commercial And Independent Theme Vendors
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to browse more SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates stunning premium themes for WordPress and offer a membership option that gives you access to their entire WordPress theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to see more WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating e-commerce themes for WordPress. StoreFront themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the images above to see more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many website developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework consistently updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you may have made to your theme.
This is because themes built with the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.
If this all sounds way too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing themes from StudioPress is that one low price entitles you to receive unlimited support and updates, and you can install your themes on unlimited domains.
For more details, click here: StudioPress.
(click on the above images to see more StudioPress themes)
WP Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That? – WP Theme And Plugin Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site uses.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the website.
Tip: If you don’t know whether a site uses WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a web site was built using WordPress: Does My Site Run On WordPress?
Using this tool is very simple. Just enter the site’s domain name into the field and click the search icon or hit “Enter.” The tool will not only confirm whether or not the site is powered by WordPress software, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any WP plugins it detects.
- To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Is It A WordPress Web Site?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A commonly-used strategy employed by a number of hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use well-known and trusted sites.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: Plugin)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
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