Tag: Premium WP Themes

In a previous article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to know more about WordPress themes and what makes themes so attractive to web site owners, then go here to read the post: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we explain where to discover many excellent free and paid themes for your website. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress theme resources and get tips on how to ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid experiencing problems like lack of support and poor theme coding.

As explained in another article, a theme is a unique type of web design template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed to work specifically on the WP platform.

Many web designers and website design companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of quality themes covering an extensive range of applications.

Finding Themes: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?

Let’s say you were to fire up Google and search for the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes for business (enter whatever your business, search topic or website is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the search listings.

So, to help you save time and make things easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress themes really simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we start, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a different post. For now, we’ll only be focusing on finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over the design aspects of your site.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are both Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be sold as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces And Directories Commercial And Independent WP Theme Vendors

There are mostly two places where WordPress themes can be found. The first place is in WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WordPress theme development firms.

WP 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 visitors shop for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.

Some of the bigger theme stores 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 stores typically design both free and commercial WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design and development companies.

Many commercial theme companies sell 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 WP themes for your website.

Choosing Responsive Themes For Your WordPress Website

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to search for free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have discovered– 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 directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a review team to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets certain quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Directory, go here:

http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes

You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WP theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress admin panel with only a few clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

WordPress provides a 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 easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly gray color design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, tablets and smartphones) …

It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and bring back only WordPress themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of built-in customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The downside of using free WP themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and you shouldn’t expect the developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over one year since any change was last made, then think carefully about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website is still relatively new, it’s a good idea to start with 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 paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for your site and your business.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to finding paid themes.

Premium Themes

If you are looking for themes with stunning web design, or professional quality yet highly affordable WordPress web design themes with a distinctive look, unique customizable options and responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WordPress Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WP theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme creators to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium WordPress themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

(click on the above images to browse more themes on ThemeForest)

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific themes in various categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and news editorials, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, writing professionals, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, buy & sell, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, nightlife, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. retina-ready themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
• Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (electricians, legal practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, 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)

Browse thousands of great themes in the ThemeForest theme marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the above images to see more themes on Creative Market)

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can browse thousands of quality premium 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

Browse through hundreds of great premium themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market theme directory here:

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to view all Mojo themes)

Mojo is a directory for premium-quality WordPress 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 go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories by selecting the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find great premium WP themes in the Mojo directory here:

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent WordPress theme agencies.

Commercial Theme Developers

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality WP themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.

(click on images above to browse all themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs great themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire theme portfolio.

(click on the above images to browse more WooThemes themes)

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in e-commerce themes for WordPress. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.

(click on the above images to browse more themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website developers prefer using the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework regularly updated to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it is always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you have made to your theme.

This is because themes built using the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits 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 StudioPress themes is that you pay one low price to receive unlimited support and updates, and you can install your themes on unlimited domains.

For more details, click here: StudioPress.

(click on the images above to view more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free web tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using (including parent and child themes).

This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme the site is using.

Tip: If you don’t know whether a site uses WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell if a website is powered by WordPress: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WP-Checking Tools

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 if the site is powered by WordPress software, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about using this tool go here: Does My Website Run On WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin

We said this before and it’s worth repeating it again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

A method that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute themes that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use established and reputable theme download sites.

If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may contain potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WordPress theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and outputs a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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