Tag: Free Themes

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

If you would like to learn more about WP themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then go here to read the article: A Basic Guide To WP Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where to search for free and paid themes for your website or blog. 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 experiencing problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.

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

Many individual website designers and website design companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of unique WordPress themes designed for many purposes and needs.

Finding Great WordPress Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

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

• best WP themes
• best responsive WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes for writers (type in whatever your business, search topic or blog 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 start, 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. In this post, please note that we will only cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over the design areas of your website.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be listed as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces vs Theme Shops

There are two different types of places where you can find themes. The first type of place is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme development firms.

Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WP 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 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 stores typically will develop both free and premium WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of designer, to large theme design companies.

Most commercial theme design houses 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 great WP themes for your website.

Where To Find The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download 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 why, 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 WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers to review and make sure that each theme uploaded to the directory meets specific quality and security standards.

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

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

Find Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WP theme in the WordPress.org theme directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and activate it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with only a few clicks.

Use The Theme Feature 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 easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly light color design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the post mentioned earlier where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, smartphones and tablets) …

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

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

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it costs 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 WordPress 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 ask for donations 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 1 year since any changes were last made, then you should think carefully 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 any money on paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for your site and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.

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 your specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to paid themes.

Paid 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 largest and best-known theme directories online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,500 premium themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific WordPress themes in a range of categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, kindle book authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to employment opportunities, dining out & restaurants, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, dining out, 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 specialty stores, trades or professionals (repairers, legal firms, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling 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)

Go here to discover great premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest directory:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the images above to browse more 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 themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Business themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace for premium 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 browse hundreds of WP themes and search through their theme categories by selecting the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial WP Theme Design Houses

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to view more themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates stunning WP themes and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating 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 see all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that enables users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, 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 like 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 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 may 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 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 themes from StudioPress 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 browse all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WordPress Theme Is That.com

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WP theme-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a website uses.

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 is using.

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site is powered by WordPress: Is Your Web Site 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 built on WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used and list any WordPress plugins detected.

• To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Is Your Website Powered By WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WordPress Plugin

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

A strategy that is commonly used by many hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress 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 search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress theme repository, or use well-known and reputable sites.

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

(TAC Report Page – Source: WordPress.org Plugin)

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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