In an earlier article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then make sure to check out this article: An Introduction to WP Themes
In this article, we show you where to search for free and paid themes for your website or blog. 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 avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned article, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed specifically with the WP platform in mind.
Many skilled web designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of exciting WordPress themes designed for a wide range of purposes.
Finding Great Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!
If you were to go to Google and search for key phrases like this:
- best themes for WordPress
- best free themes for WordPress
- best free WordPress themes for musicians (enter whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized 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 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 cover these differences in another post. For now, we’ll only be covering 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 the design areas of your blog.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that you can find thousands of Free and Paid WordPress themes being made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be listed as Premium (paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Marketplaces vs Commercial WP Theme Vendors
There are mostly 2 kinds of places where you can find WP themes. The first is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme vendors.
Theme marketplaces and theme directories are big aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and customers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
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 WP theme agencies typically will create both free and commercial WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large web and theme design companies.
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 search for great themes for your website or blog.
Choosing A Great Theme Themes For Your WP Website
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, is because –as some free software users have learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can place your computer, digital presence and 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 make sure that each theme in the directory meets specific standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find WordPress Themes Inside Your WP 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 start using it directly from within your WP admin panel with just a few mouse clicks.
Use The Theme Filters
WordPress provides a 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 easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a blue colour design, with a 2-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” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will work across all devices (e.g. the computers, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to view your website) …
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 are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer a number of built-in customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside of using free WP themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and it’s unrealistic to expect the theme 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 costs of providing support.
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over 1 year since any updates were made, then you should 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 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 a theme. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for you and for your business.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid themes.
Premium WP 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
Theme Marketplaces And Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WP theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,000 premium WordPress themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to see all ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and administration sites, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, writers, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, classifieds, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, dining out, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. retina-ready themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. commercial property, etc.)
- Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal firms, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Go here to find great WP themes in the ThemeForest marketplace:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse all themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can browse 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Business themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of quality premium WordPress themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market themes directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to browse more themes at Mojo.com)
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 WordPress themes, but you can easily find WP themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium WordPress themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent WordPress theme design houses.
Commercial And Independent WordPress Theme Stores
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality premium WP themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to browse more SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs great WordPress themes and offers a membership option that allows you access to their entire WP theme portfolio.
(click on the images above to browse all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront specializes in e-commerce themes for WordPress. 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 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 website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers like the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework consistently 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 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 look and feel.
If this all 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 StudioPress themes 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 images above to view more StudioPress themes)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That – WP Theme And Plugin Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme and plugins a site is using (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 WordPress theme is being used on the website.
Tip: If you don’t know whether a site uses WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a website was built using WordPress: Does My Blog Run On 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 then not only confirm if the site is powered by the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the WP theme being used by the site and list any plugins it detects.
- To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn how to use this tool go here: How To Check If Your Site Was Built Using WordPress
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 highly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A commonly-used strategy employed by a number of hackers and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on search engine results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use established and reputable theme vendors.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog 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 WordPress theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and outputs a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
***
"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
***