In an earlier post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes themes unique, then go here to read the post: About WP Themes – A Practical Guide For Website Owners
In this blog post, you will learn where you can search for free and paid themes for your WP site. You will also learn about the different types of WP 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 customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web template used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed to work specifically with the WP CMS platform in mind.
Many professional web designers and web development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of great WordPress themes designed for a wide range of purposes and needs.
Finding Responsive Themes For WordPress: Let’s Simplify Things!
Let’s say you were to go to Google and type something like this:
- best premium WP themes
- best responsive themes for WordPress
- best responsive WordPress themes for writers (type in whatever your business, search topic or website is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized information to sort through in the 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 get started, you should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a different article. For now, we’ll only be covering 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 site’s web design.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are 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 can be sold as Premium (paid) themes.
Theme Directories & WP Theme Design Houses
There are mostly 2 kinds 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 theme directories are large theme aggregators. 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 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 development firms can design both free and paid themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of designer, to large theme development companies.
Most commercial theme companies 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 or blog.
Choosing The Best Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to find free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, 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 put 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 relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets high quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WP admin panel with a few mouse clicks.
Use The WP Theme Filters
WordPress provides a filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colors, Layout and Features …
This makes it easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a pink colour design, with a 4-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 these ensure that your theme will work 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 search across its entire database of free themes …
… and bring back only WordPress themes that use “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, 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 downside of 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 urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed 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 more than 1 year since any changes were last made, then it’s best to think carefully about using 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 or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to premium WordPress 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, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular WP theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,500 premium WP themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to browse more ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and administration sites, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for design, writing professionals, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about employment opportunities, buy & sell, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, nightlife, 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. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for stores, trades or professionals (electricians, dental practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to software, landing pages, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling 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 premium WP themes in the ThemeForest themes marketplace here:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse all Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse many quality premium WP 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. Landing Page or Photography themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market theme directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to see all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a marketplace 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Blog or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WordPress themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial WP theme design houses.
Commercial And Independent Theme Vendors
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality premium themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to view more themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates great premium themes that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme collection.
(click on the above images to see all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront creates gorgeous 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 browse more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress builds 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 the framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework 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 look and feel.
If this all 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 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 above images to browse all StudioPress themes)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That? WP Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme search tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme a website or blog is using (including parent and child WordPress 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 or blog is using.
Tip: If you don’t know if a site uses WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a site is WordPress-driven: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And WordPress-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 then not only confirm if the site was built on WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins detected.
- To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn more about using this tool go here: Is My Website Built Using WordPress? Tell-Tale Signs & WordPress-Checking Tools
Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin
We suggested this before and it’s worth repeating it again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A method that is commonly used by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites 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 key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use established and reputable theme merchants.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site could be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your WP theme files. This 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 …
(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin, WordPress.org)
I hope that you have found the information on how to find great free and premium themes for WordPress useful.
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