Tag: Free WordPress Themes

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

If you would like to learn more about themes and what makes WordPress themes so attractive to website owners, then make sure to check out our article here: An Overview of WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we explain where to explore many wonderful free and paid themes for your WP site. 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 dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poor coding.

As explained in another post, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed to work specifically in WordPress.

Many web designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of exciting WP themes covering a wide-range of uses.

Finding Great Great Themes For WordPress: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?

If you were to open up Google and search for the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• best premium themes for WordPress
• best responsive WordPress themes for churches (type in whatever your business, search topic 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 things 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 start, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in another article. In this post, 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 your site’s web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free WordPress themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are sold as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

WP Theme Directories vs WP Theme Shops

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

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 customers search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the larger directories 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 development firms typically develop both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

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

Where To Find Great Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Free WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to find free WP themes. 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 place your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WordPress theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and make sure that each theme uploaded to the directory complies with specific quality and security standards.

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

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

You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WP Dashboard

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

Use WP Theme Filters

WordPress has a built-in filtering function inside the admin 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 a blue colour design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another article where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. the computers, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to view your site information) …

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 bring back only themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of built-in customizable options, 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 it’s unrealistic to expect the developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free 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 last made, then we advise you to think carefully about using it, as WordPress is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts and errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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 a premium theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to 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 great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and most popular theme directories online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,000 premium themes to choose from (some starting 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 WordPress themes in a range of categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and green living blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for medical sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, crafts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about employment opportunities, holiday rentals, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity 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. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for catalogs, trades or professionals (plumbers, engineering, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Go here to find great WP themes in the ThemeForest directory:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the above images to view more themes on Creative Market)

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can search through many quality premium WordPress 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 find themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Blog or Business themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace for premium 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial and independent WP theme design companies.

Commercial And Independent Theme Vendors

SoloStream

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

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

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs stunning themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that allows you to access their entire WordPress theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes 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 above images to see all StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website developers prefer using this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework regularly up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that themes are always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update your themes 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this sounds 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 above images to see all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That – WP Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free online tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website or blog uses (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 is being used on the website.

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 whether or not a site is WordPress-driven: Was My Website Built With WordPress? Tell-Tale Signs & WP-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 the site has been built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any WP 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 Check If A Web Site Was Built Using WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A tactic that is commonly used by many hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. 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 safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress theme directory, or use well-known and trusted theme download sites.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site could be infected with malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP useful.

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