Tag: Free WordPress Themes

In a separate article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress themes and what makes WordPress themes so attractive to web site owners, then go here to read our article: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we explain where to browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WP 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 avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poor coding.

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

Many skilled web designers and web development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of professional themes designed for many purposes.

Finding Great Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

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

• best premium themes for WordPress
• best free themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes for blogs (or whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information 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 really simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another article. For now, please note that we will 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 website.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

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

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Shops

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

WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme aggregators. WP theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.

Some of the larger theme stores 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 can develop both free and paid WP 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.

As you will see, many commercial theme shops 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 find the best WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Choosing Great WP Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to find WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress 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 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 WordPress site, but it also uses a theme review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets specific quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, go here:

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

You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WordPress 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 within your WP admin panel with only a couple of clicks.

Use WordPress 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 predominantly light colour 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” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. your computer, tablet and smartphone) …

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

… and display 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 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 downside of 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 developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been well over one year since any updates were made, then 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 premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for you and for your business.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WordPress 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 finding premium themes.

Premium 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 ongoing support, then 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 best-known WP theme directories online.

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, writers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites about directory listings, dining out & restaurants, tourism directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, nightlife, 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. rentals, etc.)
• Retail – themes for shops, trades or professionals (plumbers, engineering, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage celebrant blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, parenting 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)

Browse lots of quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest theme directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

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

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to see all themes at Mojo.com)

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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Responsive or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s take a look at commercial and independent theme shops.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Shops

SoloStream

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

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

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their growing WordPress theme portfolio.

(click on the images above to browse all themes from WooThemes)

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating 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 browse more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows you to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the 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 this 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 may have made to your theme.

This is because themes built using the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the theme 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 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 images above to view all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WordPress Theme Is That WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free online tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site is using (including parent and child WP themes).

This is a great resource if you have 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 was built using 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 Check 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 then not only confirm if the site has been built using WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any WordPress plugins detected.

• To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
• To learn more about using this tool go here: How Can I Tell If My Site Was Built With WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

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

A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use established and reputable theme vendors.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain 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 outputs a report as shown in the screenshot below …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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