Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

This tutorial shows you where to find many great free or premium WordPress themes for your online business, e-commerce store, website, or blog.

WordPress

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

If you would like to learn more about themes and what makes WP themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read the article: An Overview of WP Themes

In this article, we will show you where you can search for free and paid themes for your website or blog. You will also learn about the different types of WP 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 customer support and poorly-coded themes.

As explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a unique type of web design template used on WordPress-powered websites and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.

Many skilled website designers and web design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of exciting themes covering an extensive range of applications.

WP themes are designed to cover a wide range of website uses.

Finding Great Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?

If you were to fire up Google and type something like this:

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

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized information to sort through in your search results.

So, to help you save time and make things easier, let’s 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 explain these differences in a separate post. To keep things simple, let’s just focus 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 of your website.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that you will find thousands of Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces & WordPress Theme Shops

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

Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large aggregators of themes. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the larger directories don’t just sell WordPress themes. They can also sell WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent WP theme developers typically will develop both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of developer, to large theme design and development companies.

As you will see, most commercial theme developers 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 WordPress theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for great WP themes for your website or blog.

Finding Great WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

WordPress.org - WP Themes Repository

(WordPress.org – WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to search for WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as some free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and put your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WP theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a review team comprised of dedicated and code-savvy volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets their standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Repository, go here:

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

Useful Tip

You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WordPress Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from inside your WP admin panel with just a couple of clicks.

Look For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WordPress Dashboard!

Use The WP 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 …

Use WordPress Theme Feature Filter

This makes it easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly pink color design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will work across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, tablets and smartphones) …

Use Theme Filtering

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

Use The WordPress Theme Filtering

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

Use WordPress Theme Filters

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

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

The ”cons” to 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. Most freely distributed themes ask users 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 1 year since any updates were made, then you should think carefully about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website is still quite 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 premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium 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 great support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WP Theme Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest WP themes marketplace

ThemeForest is one of the largest and well known WordPress theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme designers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …

ThemeForest - Premium WordPress Themes

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

If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in a range of categories, such as:

  • Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and blog magazines, etc.
  • Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or marketing purposes.
  • Creative – themes for visual galleries, crafts, etc.
  • Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about directory listings, buy & sell, business directories, etc.
  • eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
  • Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
  • Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, dining out, etc.
  • Mobile – e.g. retina-ready 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 boutiques, trades or professionals (plumbers, dentists, etc.)
  • Technology – themes related to software, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
  • Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and advice blogs
  • Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political issues, green living sites or blogs … even themes you can use if your site is still under-construction!

Useful Tip

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

(ThemeForest sends you theme update notifications)

Browse lots of great premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:

Creative Market

Creative Market - WP Theme Marketplace

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can search through thousands of 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Popular themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

Creative Market

Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market marketplace here:

Mojo Themes

Mojo Themes - WordPress Theme Directory

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

Mojo is a marketplace 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. BuddyPress or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Mojo

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

Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent theme design companies.

Commercial Theme Developers

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.

Solostream Premium WP Themes

(click on images above to see all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great WP themes that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their WordPress theme collection.

Woo Themes - WP Themes

(click on the images above to see all themes from WooThemes)

StoreFront

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

StoreFront Themes

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

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that enables users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain 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 StudioPress themes use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this sounds too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing themes from StudioPress is that one low price allows you to receive unlimited support and updates, and you can install your themes on unlimited domains.

For more details, click here: StudioPress.

StudioPress Premium Themes

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

WP Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this article with some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme And Plugin Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That - WP Theme Search Tool

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

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

Useful Tip

Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site uses the WordPress CMS platform: Is Your Website Powered By 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 then not only confirm if a site has been built using the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any WP plugins detected.

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin

Warning

We suggested this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A strategy that is commonly used by many hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on search engine results for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress directory, or use established and trusted theme vendors.

If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could contain malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report with the results …

Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin Page, WordPress.org)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find the best WordPress useful.

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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum

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