Category: WordPress Themes

In another article, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes WP themes so attractive to website owners, then go here to read the article: Understanding WP Themes – A Beginner’s Guide

In this article, we show you where you can browse hundreds of 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 poorly-coded themes.

As explained in our previous article, a theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically on WordPress.

Many talented website designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community enjoy access to thousands of exciting themes covering a wide-range of uses.

Where To Find Great WP Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?

Let’s say you were to go to Google and type the following:

• best responsive WordPress themes
• best paid themes for WordPress
• best responsive WordPress themes for churches (type in 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 the search results.

So, to help you save time and make your life 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 both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another post. To keep things simple, we’ll only be covering themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, which gives 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 both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Directories vs Commercial Theme Agencies

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

Theme marketplaces and 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 customers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the larger theme stores 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 vendors typically will develop both free and premium WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design companies.

Many commercial or independent 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 find the best WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Finding The Best Themes For Your WP Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Free Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to download WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free WP 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 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 WP site, but it also relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets specific standards of quality and security.

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

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

Search For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WordPress 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 admin panel with a few clicks.

Use The 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 a light colour design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the post where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ PCs, smartphones and tablets) …

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

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

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress 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 customizable settings, 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 it’s unrealistic to expect the developer to provide immediate 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 more than 1 year since any updates were 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 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 money on premium themes or even on custom theme design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for your site and for your business.

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

Premium 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, 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 WP theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,500 premium themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

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

If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, 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 medical sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, arts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, dining out & restaurants, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity blogs, dining out, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for travel, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage consellor 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 images above to see all themes on Creative Market)

Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory 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 marketplace, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace 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 find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

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

Commercial Theme Design Houses

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to browse all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates stunning premium themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in e-commerce themes for WordPress. 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 StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, 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 prefer using the Genesis 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 it is 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 themes built using the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this sounds too technical, there’s no need to feel concerned about it. StudioPress themes are very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes is that you pay just 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 view more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Here are a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That – WP Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme and plugins a site is using (including parent and child WordPress themes).

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

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a website is powered by WordPress: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On 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 whether or not a site was built using the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used on the site and list any WP plugins detected.

• To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin

A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A well-known strategy used by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and trusted sites.

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

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: WordPress.org Plugin)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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