In a previous post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then make sure to check out our article: A Useful Guide To Understanding WP Themes
In this blog post, we show you where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your 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 how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in another post, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web template used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed to work specifically for WordPress.
Many website designers and website design firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community enjoy access to thousands of uniquely-designed themes designed to cover many website uses.
Finding Great Responsive Themes For WordPress: Let’s Simplify Things!
Let’s say you were to browse over to Google and search for something like the following:
- best free WordPress themes
- best premium WordPress themes
- best free WordPress themes for business (type in 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 results.
So, to help you save time and make things easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a different article. In this post, let’s just 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 your site’s web design.
Free vs Paid WP Themes
Next, it’s important to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Developers
There are two places where you can find themes. The first place is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent WP theme shops.
Theme marketplaces and theme directories are large aggregators of themes. 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 directories 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 agencies typically will develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design companies.
Many commercial theme design firms 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 search for great themes for your blog.
Choosing A WP Theme For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WordPress themes. 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 many free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and put your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory complies with 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
You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WP dashboard with just a few mouse clicks.
Use The Theme Filters
WordPress provides a 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 themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a gray color design, with a 3-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 allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your laptop, tablet and smartphone) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and find only themes that use “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that there is no cost 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 built-in customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” of using free WordPress 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 personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes ask for donations to help cover their 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 it’s best to think carefully about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can create conflicts and errors with older code.
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 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.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 WP themes.
Paid 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, 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 biggest and best-known theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 15,000 premium WP themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to browse more 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 bloggers and e-magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for photography, cv and resume writing, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to directory listings, dining out & restaurants, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, restaurants, 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. commercial property, etc.)
- Retail – themes for stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, dental practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Go here to discover great premium WP themes in the ThemeForest themes marketplace:
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 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 WP themes in its marketplace, but you can easily find WP themes and search through their theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of quality premium themes crafted by independent WordPress theme designers in the Creative Market themes marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to see all WP 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 find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WordPress themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial and independent theme design houses.
Commercial Theme Developers
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 images above to view more SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates functional WP themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that lets you access their entire theme collection.
(click on the above images to browse more themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes creates amazing e-commerce themes for WordPress. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the above images to view all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, 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 the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework frequently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it is always 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 all sounds way too technical, there’s no need to feel concerned 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 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 above images to view more themes from StudioPress)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That.com
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a site uses (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 uses.
Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site is powered by WordPress: Does My Web Site Run On 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 is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any WordPress 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: How To Tell If Your Site Was Built With WordPress
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A commonly-used strategy employed by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for search 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 well-known and trusted theme vendors.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your WP theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and then outputs a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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