Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

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

If you would like to learn more about WP themes and what makes themes so attractive to web site owners, then make sure to check out our post: A Useful Guide To Understanding WordPress Themes

In this article, we will show you where to 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 make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous post, a theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.

Many professional web designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of unique themes designed to cover many purposes.

Finding Themes: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?

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

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

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in your 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 WP themes 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 separate post. In this post, we’ll only be covering the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over your web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Directories vs Theme Stores

There are 2 kinds of places where WordPress themes can be found. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme development firms.

WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large aggregators of themes. WP 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 bigger 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 theme stores can also create both free and premium 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.

As you will see, many commercial theme shops 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 the best themes for your blog.

Choosing Great Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to search for WP themes for free. 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 some free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and place 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 relies on a theme review team to review and ensure that each theme in the directory meets their standards of quality and security.

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

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

Look For Free Themes Inside Your Own 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 start using it directly from within your WP admin panel with a few clicks.

Use WordPress Theme Filtering

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

This makes it easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly gray color design, with a 3-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” themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. your computer, smartphone and tablet) …

It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …

… and bring back only themes that use “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it costs you nothing to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that 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 downside to using free 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 immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free 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 twice about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and new features can create conflicts or errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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 premium themes. 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 themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid WordPress themes.

Premium WP 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 ongoing support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WP Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for design, kindle book authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about employment opportunities, holiday rentals, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, restaurants, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for shopping, trades or professionals (electricians, dentists, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice 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 sends you theme update notifications)

Go here to discover quality premium WP themes in the ThemeForest theme site:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

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 find themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the above images to browse more WP themes at Mojo.com)

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 themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial And Independent WordPress Theme Developers

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to view more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs eye-catching WP themes and offers a membership option that allows members to access all themes in their growing WordPress theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 images above to browse more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

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

Many web developers prefer using this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that it always remains 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 a paint job that sits on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

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 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 above images to see more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That?

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free online tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme a website or blog is using (including parent and child WP themes).

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

Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site uses WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a website uses the WordPress CMS platform: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Runs On The WP CMS Platform

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 is built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about using this tool go here: Is It A WP Blog?

Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin

A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A method that is commonly used by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then 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 WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use well-known and reputable sites.

If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and then presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

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

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

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