Tag: Premium WP Themes

In an earlier article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WP themes unique, then go here to read our article: An Introduction to WP Themes

In this article, we explain where you can search for free and paid themes for your 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 avoid experiencing problems like lack of customer support and poor coding.

As explained in another post, a theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed specifically with the WordPress content management system in mind.

Many skilled website designers and website design firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of exciting WP themes covering an extensive range of uses.

Finding Great Responsive Themes For WordPress: Let’s Simplify Things!

If you were to browse over to Google and search for a key phrase like this:

• best WordPress themes
• best responsive themes for WordPress
• best free WordPress themes for musicians (enter 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 your search listings.

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 start, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate post. For now, please note that we will only be covering themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over your web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that you will easily find many Free and Paid WordPress themes being made available. Free WP themes are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be sold as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

WP Theme Marketplaces & WordPress Theme Developers

There are mostly two different types of places where you can find WP themes. The first is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme shops.

WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme stores. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and customers shop for 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 design houses can also design both free and paid themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design companies.

As you will see, many commercial or independent theme stores 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 WP themes for your website.

Where To Find WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Free WordPress Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download WordPress themes for free. 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 discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and place 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 WP site, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with certain quality and security standards.

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

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

Find Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with a couple of mouse clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

WordPress provides a filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colours, Layout and Features …

This makes it easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly dark colour design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will work across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and find only themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP 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 customizable settings, 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 you shouldn’t expect the theme developer to provide personal 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 one year since any change was last made, then it’s best to think carefully about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog is still quite 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 premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for you and for converting 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 specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to finding paid 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:

WordPress Theme Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and well known theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium WP themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

(click on the above images to browse more themes on ThemeForest)

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 bloggers and activism blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, freelancers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, dining out & restaurants, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, nightlife, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for beauty products, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage celebrant 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 browse many great WP themes in the ThemeForest themes site:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can search through 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 WP themes in its directory, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Popular themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to browse all Mojo themes)

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Magazine or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find great WP themes in the Mojo themes directory here:

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent WP theme design houses.

Commercial WP Theme Stores

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to see all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs stunning WordPress themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating WordPress themes for e-commerce. 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 allows you to 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 prefer using this 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 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 themes built with the Genesis framework 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 sounds way 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 above images to see all themes from StudioPress)

WP Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme And Plugin Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site is using (including parent and child 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 or blog is using.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site uses WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a site is powered by WordPress: Is It A WP Site?

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 was built using WordPress, but it will also list the WP theme being used by the site and list any plugins it detects.

• To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about this tool go here: Is It A WP Blog?

Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin

We suggested this earlier and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A well-known method used by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute 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 safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use established and trusted theme download sites.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP 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 as shown in the screenshot below …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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