Tag: WordPress Themes Directory

In a separate article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to know more about WordPress themes and what makes WP themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read the article: A Handy Guide To WordPress Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where you can look for free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 how to avoid experiencing problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed to work specifically with the WordPress platform in mind.

Many website designers and website design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of professional themes designed to cover many purposes and needs.

Finding Great WP Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?

Let’s say you were to fire up Google and type the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best free WordPress themes for blogs (enter whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in your search results.

So, to help you save time and make things easier, let’s just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress themes really 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. For now, let’s just be focusing on finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over your site’s web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

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

Theme Marketplaces & WordPress Theme Shops

There are two places where WordPress themes can be found. The first is in WordPress theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme houses.

WP theme marketplaces and theme directories are large theme stores. 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 marketplaces 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 develop both free and premium WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design companies.

Many commercial theme design firms 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 the best themes for your website.

Where To Find Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WP Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to find WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free 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 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, but it also uses a review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with specific standards of quality and security.

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

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

Search For Free WP 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 what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WP dashboard with a couple of mouse clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

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 pink colour design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in an earlier post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems across all devices (e.g. your computer, tablet and smartphone) …

It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …

… and bring up only themes that are “responsive” …

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 on your site. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and offer 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 you shouldn’t expect the theme 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 support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over 1 year since any changes were made, then you should think carefully about using 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, 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 premium themes. 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 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 finding premium 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:

WP Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme creators to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for creative work, cv and resume writing, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, holiday rentals, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity blogs, cafes, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for boutiques, trades or professionals (plumbers, medical centers, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, 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 writing or discussing environmental issues, green living 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 discover great WP themes in the ThemeForest website:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can search through many 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 marketplace, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Wedding themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to see more themes at Mojo)

Mojo is a directory 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. BuddyPress or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WP theme agencies.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Shops

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to browse more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs stunning premium themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire WordPress theme collection.

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

StoreFront

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

(click on the above images to see all StoreFront themes)

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 website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that themes are 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 themes built with the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this all sounds 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 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.

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

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That – WordPress Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme-checking tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website or blog uses (including parent and child themes).

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 is using.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a web site was built using WordPress: Is It A WP Blog?

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 if a site has been built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins detected.

• To use the tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about this tool go here: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WordPress-Checking Tools

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin

We suggested this before 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 strategy that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use well-known and trusted sites.

If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site could contain potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can 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 installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and then presents you with a report with the results …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin Page, WordPress.org)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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