Tag: Free Themes

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

If you would like to know more about WP themes and what makes themes so attractive to web site owners, then go here to read our article: About WP Themes – A Handy Guide For Beginners

In this blog post, we will show you where to look for free and paid themes for your site. You will also learn about the different types of WP theme resources and get tips on how to ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid dealing with problems like lack of product support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in our previous article, a theme is a special kind of web template used on WordPress-powered websites and designed specifically with the WP content management system in mind.

Many individual website designers and website design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of excellent themes designed for a wide range of purposes and needs.

Finding WordPress Themes: Let’s Keep Things Simple!

Let’s say you were to fire up Google and search for a key phrase like this:

• best WP themes
• WordPress themes free
• best paid WordPress themes for authors (or whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized 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 start, you should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a separate post. For now, let’s just 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 blog.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that you can find thousands of 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 will be made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Design Companies

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

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 customers search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the bigger directories don’t just sell WordPress themes. They can also sell WP plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent WordPress theme stores can also develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of designer, to large theme design companies.

Most commercial or independent theme stores 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 WP theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for great WordPress themes for your website.

Where To Find Responsive Themes For Your WP Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Free Theme Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to search for WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason for this, is because –as many 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 … even your entire business at risk.

The WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory meets their standards of quality and security.

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

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

Search For Free WP Themes Inside Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress admin panel with just a couple of clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

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 pink colour 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 choosing “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will work across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ PCs, tablets and smartphones) …

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

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

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free 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 options, 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 developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes ask users for donations to help cover costs of providing support.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over one year since any updates were made, then it’s best to think twice about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

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 money on premium themes. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for your site and for converting 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 your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to premium themes.

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

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WP 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 to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, cv and resume writing, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, music venues, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for retail stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, dentists, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to software, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Go here to browse many great premium themes in the ThemeForest themes directory:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the above images to view 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 WP themes in its marketplace, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the above images to see all 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories by selecting the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent theme vendors.

Commercial And Independent WordPress Theme Developers

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality 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 designs stunning themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and also offer a membership option that allows members to access their entire WP theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

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

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

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework that lets users 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 the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework consistently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes are 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 a paint job that sits on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this all sounds way too technical, don’t worry 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 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 browse more StudioPress themes)

WP Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That?

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a site is using (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 website or blog is using.

Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a site is WP-driven: Is It A WP Website?

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 whether or not the site was built using WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used and list any WordPress plugins detected.

• To use the online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Was My Website Built With WordPress? Tell-Tale Signs & WP-Checking Tools

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

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

A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and distribute modified themes that contain 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 best, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress theme directory, or use established and trusted theme download sites.

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

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

***

***