Tag: Premium WP Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes WP themes unique, then make sure to check out this article: An Overview of WP Themes

In this article, you will learn where you can find many fantastic free and paid themes for your WP 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 avoid having to deal with problems like lack of support and poor coding.

As explained in our previous post, a theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed to work specifically in the WP platform.

Many professional website designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community have access to thousands of professional-quality WP themes covering a wide-range of applications.

Where To Find Great Themes For WordPress: How To Avoid Information Overload

If you were to launch Google and search for the following:

• best premium WP themes
• WordPress themes free
• best responsive WordPress themes for musicians (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 listings.

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 WordPress themes simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate article. In this post, let’s just cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over the design aspects of your blog.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that you can find thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are listed as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces & Theme Developers

There are mostly 2 kinds of places where WordPress themes can be found. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme developers.

WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme aggregators. WP theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors search for 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent theme stores typically develop both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

Many commercial theme shops 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 search for great themes for your website.

Where To Find A Responsive 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 search for WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as some free software users have learned– 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 theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with high standards of quality and security.

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

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

Look For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WordPress Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress.org 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 dashboard with only a few clicks.

Use The WP Theme Feature Filter

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 what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue color design, with a two-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in an earlier article where we present an overview of WordPress themes and 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 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 display only WP themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP 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 offer a number of customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The ”cons” of using free 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 urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any updates were 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 any money on premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free 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 theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to premium WordPress themes.

Premium 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:

WordPress Theme Directories

ThemeForest

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

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

(click on the above images to view all ThemeForest themes)

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific themes in a range of categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, crafts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to travel, classifieds, tourism directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, nightlife, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive 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, medical 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Browse lots of great premium themes in the ThemeForest theme marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory 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 go through all of their themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

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 WP themes, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial theme shops.

Commercial Theme Shops

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 more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs great WP themes and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in 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 images above to view all StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users 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 the 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 the framework frequently updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you may 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 sounds 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 themes from StudioPress 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 images above to see all themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That – WordPress Theme Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free web tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme and plugins a website uses.

This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the website.

Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a website uses WordPress: How To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using 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 not only confirm if the site was built on WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Is My Web Site WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

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

A method that is commonly used by many hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and reputable theme vendors.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could 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 them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and then outputs a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: WordPress.org Plugin)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find the best free and commercial responsive themes for WordPress useful.

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