In another post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of website design, then go here to read our post: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Guide For Website Owners
In this blog post, we explain where you can explore many wonderful free and paid themes for your 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 how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.
As explained in another article, a theme is a special kind of web template used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed to work specifically for the WP content management system.
Many talented web designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of professional themes designed for a wide range of website uses.
Finding WordPress Themes: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?
Let’s say you were to go to Google and type a key phrase like the following:
- best paid WP themes
- WordPress themes free
- best paid WordPress themes for musicians (or 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 listings.
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 WP themes 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 post. For now, we’ll only focus on 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 of your website.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.
Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Shops
There are mostly 2 places where you can find themes. The first is in WordPress theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme houses.
WordPress theme marketplaces and 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 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 WP theme design houses typically will develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design companies.
Most commercial or independent 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 WP theme directories .
Let’s now show you where to search for great WP themes for your blog.
Where To Find Responsive Themes For Your WordPress Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to find free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as some 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 and even your entire business at risk.
The WP theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with certain standards of quality and security.
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 WP theme in the WordPress.org theme 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 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 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 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 choosing “responsive” WP themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …
… and bring back only WordPress themes that are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WP 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 provide a number of customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” to using free WP themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and it’s unrealistic to expect the theme developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed 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 well over a year since any change was made, then you should think twice 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 premium themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to paid WordPress 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 responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
Theme Marketplaces
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WordPress theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to view all ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and green living blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes for creative work, kindle book authors, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, social directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, dining out, 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 shopping, trades or professionals (repairers, legal firms, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to hosting, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and 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)
Browse thousands of great WP themes in the ThemeForest directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to view more themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory 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 WordPress themes in its marketplace, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and narrow your search using theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of quality premium themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to browse all 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WP themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent WordPress theme stores.
Commercial And Independent WP Theme Developers
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 above images to browse all themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs functional themes and offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme collection.
(click on the above images to browse more WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes creates amazing 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 view more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides a self-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 coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, 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 a paint job that sits 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 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 browse all StudioPress themes)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are a few more useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme 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 is being used on the site.
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 uses the WP CMS platform: How Can I Check If My Site Was Built With 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 whether or not a site is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any plugins detected.
- To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Is It A WP Website?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating it again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the approved WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A commonly-used strategy employed by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals 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 come up on search engine results for search 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 established and trusted theme merchants.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may be infected with malware 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 installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report with the results …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
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