In another post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes themes unique, then go here to read the post: An Overview of WP Themes
In this blog post, you will learn where you can explore many excellent 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 make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poor theme coding.
As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a special kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed to work specifically on the WordPress CMS platform.
Many individual website designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of unique WP themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.
Finding Great Themes: Let’s Keep Things Simple!
Let’s say you were to open up Google and type key phrases like the following:
- best free WordPress themes
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for artists (or whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)
Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the 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 WP 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 a later post. In this article, please note that we will 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 of your site.
Free vs Paid WP Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are both Free and Paid themes being made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.
Theme Marketplaces vs Theme Stores
There are two types of places where themes can be found. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme development firms.
WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories are big theme stores. WP theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and customers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.
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 stores typically will develop both free and paid themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of designer, to large web and theme development companies.
Most commercial theme stores 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 the best WP themes for your blog.
Finding The Best Themes For Your WP Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WP Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have learned– 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 WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets high quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find WordPress Themes Inside Your Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WP dashboard with just a few clicks.
Use The Theme Filtering
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 easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly dark color design, with a three-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 responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. PCs, tablets and smartphones) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you do just that …
… and display only themes that use “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs nothing to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of built-in customizable settings, 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 immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their costs of providing support.
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over 1 year since any updates were last 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, it’s a good idea to start with 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. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for your site and for your business.
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 criteria, let’s turn our attention to premium WordPress 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, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and best-known theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium WP themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to see all themes on ThemeForest)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and administration sites, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for creative work, galleries, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites related to employment opportunities, holiday rentals, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, nightlife, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. retina-ready 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 beauty products, trades or professionals (electricians, legal practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to software, 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 emails you theme update notifications)
Browse lots of great themes in the ThemeForest directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to view all themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can browse thousands of 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 WP themes in its directory, but you can easily find WP themes and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Wedding themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great premium themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to browse all themes at Mojo)
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. Portfolio or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium themes in the Mojo themes directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent WordPress theme shops.
Commercial And Independent Theme Shops
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality WP themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to browse all SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs eye-catching premium themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offer a membership option that allows members access to their entire theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to view more WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront specializes in 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 all themes from StoreFront)
StudioPress
StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework that allows users to 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 web developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework regularly up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that it is 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 framework and gives your site its unique design.
If this 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 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 view all themes from StudioPress)
WP Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That?
What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free online tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme and plugins a site uses.
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 or blog uses.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a web site is powered by WordPress: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And 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 not only confirm whether or not the site has been built using WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins it detects.
- To use this tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn more about using this tool go here: Does My Blog Run On WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
We said this before and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A commonly-used method employed by many hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and trusted theme download sites.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could contain potentially malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and then presents you with a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP useful.
***
"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
***