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In an earlier post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes WordPress themes so attractive to website owners, then go here to read our post: An Introduction to WP Themes

In this blog post, we explain where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WP 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 customer support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous article, a theme is a unique kind of web template used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed to work specifically on WordPress.

Many skilled web designers and web development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of high quality themes covering a wide-range of uses.

Where To Find Great Themes For WordPress: Your Time-Saving Guide

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

• best free WP themes
• WordPress themes free
• best paid WordPress themes for churches (or whatever your business, search topic 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 things easier, let’s 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 need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a separate article. For now, we’ll only cover 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 web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid WordPress 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 are listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs Theme Development Firms

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

Theme marketplaces and WP theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers shop for 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 shops typically create both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme design and development companies.

As you will see, most 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 find the best themes for your website.

Choosing A Responsive Theme 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 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 learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and 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 site, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme uploaded to the directory complies with certain standards of quality and security.

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 theme in the WordPress directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with only a few mouse clicks.

Use WordPress Theme Filters

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 predominantly blue color design, with a 3-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in an earlier article where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WP themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your computer, smartphone and tablet) …

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

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

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free 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 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 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 personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover 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 using it, as WordPress changes quite often and these changes can result in conflicts and errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your site 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 any money on a theme. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for you 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 criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to premium WP themes.

Paid WP 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:

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and administration sites, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for visual galleries, arts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, tourism directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, nightlife, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for health products, trades or professionals (repairers, dental practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and advice blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, green living 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)

Browse lots of great WP themes in the ThemeForest directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can browse 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 marketplace, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Photography themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a directory 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 search through their theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WordPress theme developers.

Commercial And Independent Theme Vendors

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional 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 creates functional premium themes and offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme collection.

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

StoreFront

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

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

StudioPress

StudioPress designs 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 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 this 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 have made to your theme.

This is because StudioPress themes use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits on top of the framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this all sounds 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 images above to see more StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That – WP Theme Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WordPress theme-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using.

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

Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a site uses WordPress: How To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built With 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 if a site is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any plugins it detects.

• To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
• To learn more about this tool go here: Was My Website Built With WordPress? How To Tell

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

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

A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hackers and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress.org theme repository, or use established and trusted theme vendors.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog may be infected with malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find great free and commercial themes for WordPress useful.

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