Tag: Free Themes

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

If you would like to know more about the benefits of using WordPress themes and what makes themes unique, then go here to read the post: About WordPress Themes – A Beginner’s Guide

In this article, we show you where you can look for free and paid themes for your website. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress 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 product support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed to work specifically for WordPress.

Many skilled website designers and web design companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community can access thousands of high quality WordPress themes designed to cover many purposes.

Finding Great Themes: How To Avoid Getting Overwhelmed

If you were to go to Google and search for the following:

• best premium themes for WordPress
• best free themes for WordPress
• best free WordPress themes for artists (or 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 the search results.

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 WP themes simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we start, you should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a different article. To keep things simple, 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 the design of your blog.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Directories & WP Theme Design Companies

There are mostly 2 places where themes can be found. The first place is in theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme developers.

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

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 theme design companies typically will create both free and premium themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large web and theme development 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 search for the best themes for your website.

Choosing Responsive Themes For Your WordPress Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Free WP Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WordPress themes. 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 WordPress theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory complies with their standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official 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 WP theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WordPress dashboard with only a couple of clicks.

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 …

This makes it easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a gray 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 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 visitors’ PCs, tablets and smartphones) …

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

… and bring up only themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs nothing 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” of 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 theme developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free 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 a year since any updates were last made, then it’s best 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 money on a paid theme. 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 WordPress themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium WP themes.

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

Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

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

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and e-magazines, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for photography, arts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites about travel, holiday rentals, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity blogs, nightlife, 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 retail stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage celebrant blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental issues, 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 thousands of great WP themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse many quality premium WP 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 browse hundreds of WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

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 WP themes, but you can easily go through all of their WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial Theme Vendors

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality premium WordPress 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 eye-catching themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offer a membership option that allows members to access all themes in their growing theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes creates amazing 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 all StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows users to 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 website developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework consistently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to ensure 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 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 above images to view more StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WP Theme Is That – WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WP theme and plugin-checking tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website or blog is using.

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

Tip: If you don’t know if a site uses WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site is powered by WordPress: How Can I Tell If My Website Was Built Using 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 the WP 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
• To learn how to use this tool go here: How To Tell If A Website Was Built Using WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

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

A tactic that is commonly used by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and distribute themes containing malicious code. 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 safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress repository, or use well-known and reputable theme merchants.

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

(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin)

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

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