Tag: WP Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes WP themes so attractive to website owners, then make sure to check out our article: Understanding WP Themes – A Newbies’ Guide

In this blog post, you will learn where to look for free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 how to avoid having to deal with problems like lack of support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in another post, a theme is a special type of web template used on WordPress-driven websites and designed specifically in the WordPress content management system.

Many talented website designers and web development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community enjoy access to thousands of uniquely-designed themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.

Finding Great WP Themes: Let’s Keep Things Simple!

If you were to open up Google and search for the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best responsive WordPress themes for business (enter whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

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

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 WordPress themes really simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a later article. In this article, we’ll only be covering the topic of 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 WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces & Theme Stores

There are two places where you can find WP themes. The first type of place is in WordPress theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WordPress theme shops.

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

Some of the larger marketplaces 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 vendors typically create both free and premium WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

Most commercial theme design houses 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.

Finding The Best WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to download free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, is because –as some free software users have learned– 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 WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a review team to review and ensure that each theme uploaded to the directory complies with specific standards of quality and security.

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

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

Find Themes Inside Your WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every 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 WordPress dashboard with a couple of clicks.

Use The WP Theme Feature Filter

WordPress provides a filtering function inside the admin area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colors, Layout and Features …

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

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

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …

… and display only WP themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs you nothing to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and come with 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” to using free WordPress 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 will ask you for a donation to help cover their costs of providing support.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than 1 year since any changes were made, then we advise you to think twice about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website is still quite 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 any money on a premium theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.

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

Paid 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

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

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for visual galleries, cv and resume writing, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to directory listings, holiday rentals, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for online shopping, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, restaurants, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal firms, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage consellor 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 lots of quality premium themes in the ThemeForest themes directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can search through many 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 search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace for premium 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 dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find quality premium WordPress themes in the Mojo marketplace here:

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial and independent theme shops.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Design Houses

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to view more themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great themes and offer a membership option that lets you access their entire WP theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

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

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

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a 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 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 ensure 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 using the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits on top of the theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this all sounds way too technical, there’s no need to feel concerned about it. StudioPress themes are easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes 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.

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

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That WordPress Theme Checker

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

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

Tip: If you don’t know if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a site uses WordPress: Is My Website Built Using WordPress? How To Tell

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 whether or not a site has been built using WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used and list any WP plugins it detects.

• To use this tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Is My Website Built Using WordPress? How To Tell

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A method that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google 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.org repository, or use well-known and trusted theme merchants.

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

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

I hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP free and premium responsive themes useful.

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