Tag: Free Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes themes unique, then make sure to check out this post: An Introduction to WP Themes

In this article, we show you where to find loads of professional free and paid themes for your WP site. 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 support and poorly-coded themes.

As explained in our previously-mentioned article, a theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed specifically with the WordPress CMS platform in mind.

Many talented website designers and web design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community can access thousands of great WP themes designed for many purposes and needs.

Finding Themes: Let’s Keep It Simple!

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

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best free WordPress themes for artists (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized information to sort through in the 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 WP themes 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 explain these differences in a later article. In this article, we’ll only be covering 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 WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid WP themes being made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Directories vs Commercial Theme Agencies

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

WP theme marketplaces and theme directories are large theme aggregators. 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 WP plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent theme developers typically develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme development companies.

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 directories .

Let’s now show you where to find the best WP themes for your website or blog.

Choosing The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to search for WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress 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 put your computer, digital presence … 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 uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets certain quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of excellent 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 theme in the WordPress.org 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 couple of mouse clicks.

Use Theme Feature Filter

WordPress has a built-in 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 easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue color design, with a two-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” WP themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. your PC, smartphone and tablet) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …

… 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 you nothing to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The ”cons” 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 theme developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes will ask you for a donation to help cover costs of providing support and updates, bug fixes, etc..

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any changes were last made, then we advise you to think twice about downloading it, as WordPress changes quite frequently and these changes can create conflicts and errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog is still relatively new, it’s a good idea to start with 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 theme. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.

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 specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to paid 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 great support, then 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 WP theme directories online.

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

(click on the images above to view 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 bloggers and news editorials, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, writing professionals, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, holiday rentals, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity blogs, cafes, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. retina-ready 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 stores, trades or professionals (repairers, legal practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, newsletters, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage celebrant 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)

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

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can search through 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 directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Photography themes, etc.) using their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to view all WordPress themes at Mojo)

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 WordPress themes and search through their theme categories by choosing the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial WordPress Theme Vendors

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to see more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great WordPress themes that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offers a membership option that lets you access their entire theme portfolio.

(click on the above images 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 browse more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets you 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 your 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 the framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that it always remains compatible with the latest WordPress version, 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this all sounds 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 themes from StudioPress 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 images above to view more themes from StudioPress)

WP Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That?

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free online tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme and plugins a website 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 theme the website or blog uses.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a website was built using WordPress: How Can I Tell If A 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 then not only confirm if a site has been built using WordPress, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used by the site and list any WP plugins detected.

• To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using WordPress Software

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

A commonly-used strategy employed by many hackers and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up sites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress theme repository, or use established and trusted theme download sites.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could be infected with malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

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

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