In an earlier post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about WordPress themes and what makes themes unique, then make sure to check out our article here: An Overview of WordPress Themes
In this blog post, you will learn where to discover many fantastic free and paid themes for your WP website or blog. 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 how to avoid experiencing problems like lack of product support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in our previous article, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many skilled web designers and web design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of professional WordPress themes covering an extensive range of uses.
Finding Great Themes For WordPress: Let’s Simplify Things!
If you were to fire up Google and search for key phrases like the following:
- best themes for WordPress
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for writers (or whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in your 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 simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another article. In this post, let’s just cover 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 site’s web design.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are both Free and Paid WordPress themes made available. Free WordPress themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs Theme Development Firms
There are mostly 2 places where you can find themes. The first place is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WP theme houses.
WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large theme aggregators. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
Some of the larger 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 WP theme design houses can also develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme design and development companies.
As you will see, most commercial or independent 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 search for great themes for your website.
Where To Find The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason for this, is because –as some free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can place 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 website, but it also relies on a review team to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with their standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Look For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org 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 admin panel with only a few mouse clicks.
Use Theme Filters
WordPress provides a filtering function inside the dashboard 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 a light color design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. your PC, smartphone and tablet) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and display only WordPress 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 on your site. 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 ”cons” to 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. Many free themes ask for donations to help cover 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 changes 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 paid themes or even on custom web 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 WP themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to paid WP themes.
Paid 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 Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WP theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 15,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to see all 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 general blogs and news editorials, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, writers, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, dining out & restaurants, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, restaurants, 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. commercial property, etc.)
- Retail – themes for shopping, trades or professionals (electricians, chiropractors, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to software, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political 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 emails you theme update notifications)
Go here to browse many great WordPress themes in the ThemeForest website:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse more Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace 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 WordPress themes in its marketplace, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Wedding themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great WordPress themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market theme marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to see all Mojo themes)
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 WP themes, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Responsive or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great themes in the Mojo themes directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent theme shops.
Commercial Theme Stores
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 images above to browse all themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs stunning themes and offers a membership option that allows members to access all themes in their growing theme collection.
(click on the above images to browse all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront specializes in WP 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 view all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework that allows 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 this framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that it always remains compatible with the latest version of WordPress, 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 “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.
If this sounds way too technical, don’t worry 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 StudioPress themes)
WP Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme a website is using.
This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme is being used on the site.
Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a site was built using WordPress: Is My Site 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 has been built on WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any plugins detected.
- To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Is Your Web Site Built With WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A commonly-used tactic employed by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and then distribute themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org theme directory, or use established and trusted theme vendors.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog may contain malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
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