In an earlier post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using WP themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read our post: An Overview of WP Themes
In this article, we will show you where you can look for free and paid themes for your WordPress website. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress theme resources and get tips on how to ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid experiencing problems like lack of support and poor coding.
As explained in another post, a theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed to work specifically on WordPress.
Many individual website designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community enjoy access to thousands of high quality WP themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.
Finding Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide
Let’s say you were to launch Google and type the following:
- best free WP themes
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for churches (or whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)
Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in the search results.
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 another article. To keep things simple, we’ll only 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 areas of your blog.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be sold as Premium (paid) themes.
Theme Directories Commercial And Independent Theme Agencies
There are mostly 2 kinds of places where you can find WP themes. The first is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent WordPress theme shops.
Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors shop 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
Commercial and independent theme shops can also create both free and commercial WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of designer, to large web and theme development companies.
Many commercial or independent theme design firms 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 WP themes for your blog.
Finding Great Themes For Your WP Website
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WP Themes Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to search for free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress 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 and even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory complies with high standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Look For Free WordPress 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 within your WordPress admin panel with a few clicks.
Use The Theme 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 Colors, Layout and Features …
This makes it easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a orange colour design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, smartphones and tablets) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …
… and find only themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of built-in customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside of 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover 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 carefully about downloading 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 any money on a theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free WordPress themes in the WordPress theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to premium 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and most popular WordPress theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,000 premium WP 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 marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and parenting blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, kindle book authors, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, buy & sell, social directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, cafes, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for shopping, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental issues, 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Browse lots of quality premium themes in the ThemeForest theme directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to view all Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP 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 go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Photography themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great premium WordPress themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market themes directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to view all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a directory 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 using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WP themes in the Mojo theme directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial and independent theme vendors.
Commercial And Independent WP Theme Agencies
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality premium themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to browse more themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates stunning WP themes that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to browse more themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront creates gorgeous 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 see all themes from StoreFront)
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 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 this framework consistently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure 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 with 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 look and feel.
If this 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 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 see more themes from StudioPress)
WP Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this article with some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WP Theme Is That WP Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme a website 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 WP theme the website or blog uses.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site uses WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site was built using WordPress: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
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 is powered by the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins detected.
- To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn more about using this tool go here: Is It A WP Website?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin
We said this before and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A tactic that is commonly used by many hacking groups and syndicates that engage in cyber-crime is to put up sites and directories 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 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 theme repository, or use well-known and trusted theme vendors.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and presents you with a report …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: Plugin)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find great free and premium responsive themes for WordPress useful.
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