Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

This tutorial shows you where to find many great free or premium WordPress themes for your online business, e-commerce store, website, or blog.

WordPress

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 special, then make sure to check out our post: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we show you where you can browse hundreds of 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 having to deal with problems like lack of support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed specifically with the WP CMS platform in mind.

Many web designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of great WordPress themes covering an extensive range of applications.

Themes cover a wide-range of applications.

Finding Great Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

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

  • best themes for WordPress
  • WordPress themes free
  • best free WordPress themes for business (or whatever your business, search topic or website 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 your life easier, we’ll 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 need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a separate post. For now, let’s just cover the topic of finding 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 your web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

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

Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs WordPress Theme Vendors

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

WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the bigger directories 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 theme developers can also design both free and paid WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of designer, to large theme design and development companies.

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 WP theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to find the best themes for your blog.

Finding Great Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

WordPress.org - Free WordPress Theme Directory

(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to find free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free WP theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress 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 contain malicious code and put 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 uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory meets high standards of quality and security.

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

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

Tip

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 start using it directly from inside your WP admin panel with just a few clicks.

Search For Free WP Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard!

Use The WP Theme Feature Filter

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 …

Use Theme Filters

This makes it easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue colour design, with a four-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” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display without problems on all devices (e.g. your computer, smartphone and tablet) …

Use The WP Theme Feature Filters

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

Use The WordPress Theme Filtering

… and bring up only WordPress themes that use “responsive” design standards …

Use WordPress Theme Filtering

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it costs you 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 settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The downside to 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 theme developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free 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 1 year since any change was last made, then it’s best to think twice about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website 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 any money on paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for your site and helps to convert 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 finding paid WP themes.

Premium 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 great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest - directory premium WP themes

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

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme designers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

ThemeForest - Premium WordPress Themes

(click on the images above to browse more 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 general blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
  • Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or advertising purposes.
  • Creative – themes for video galleries, writing professionals, etc.
  • Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, buy & sell, tourism directories, etc.
  • eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
  • Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
  • Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, music venues, etc.
  • Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching 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 shops, trades or professionals (electricians, legal practitioners, etc.)
  • Technology – themes related to technology, landing pages, etc.
  • Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
  • Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental issues, green living sites or blogs … even themes you can use if your site is still under-construction!

Useful Tip

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

(ThemeForest sends you theme update notifications)

Go here to browse many quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest themes directory:

Creative Market

Creative Market - WordPress Theme Marketplace

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace 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 find WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Business themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

Creative Market - WP themes

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

Mojo Themes

Mojo Themes - WordPress Theme Marketplace

(click on the images above to see 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 WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Responsive or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Mojo

Visit the site to find quality premium WordPress themes in the Mojo themes directory here:

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

Commercial And Independent Theme Shops

SoloStream

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

Solostream Premium Themes

(click on above images to see more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great premium themes and offer a membership option that gives you access to their entire theme portfolio.

WooThemes Premium WP Themes

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in creating WP themes for e-commerce. StoreFront themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.

StoreFront - WordPress Themes

(click on the above images to see more themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site 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 frequently updated to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it always remains 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 “skins” that sit 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 very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes is that you pay just one low price to receive unlimited support and updates, and you can install your themes on unlimited domains.

For more details, click here: StudioPress.

StudioPress Themes

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

WP Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That.com

What WordPress Theme Is That?

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website or blog 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 website.

Useful Tip

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell if a web site was built using WordPress: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On The WP CMS Platform

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 is powered by the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any WordPress plugins detected.

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

Disclaimer

A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

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

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin

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

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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"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

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