Tag: WordPress Themes Directory

In another post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes WP themes so revolutionary in terms of website design, then make sure to check out our post here: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we explain where to search for free and paid themes for your website. 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 customer support and poor coding.

As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned post, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed specifically with the WP platform in mind.

Many skilled website designers and website design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of quality WordPress themes designed for a wide range of purposes.

Finding Great WordPress Themes: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?

If you were to fire up Google and type the following:

• best themes for WordPress
• best responsive WordPress themes
• best free WordPress themes for artists (type in whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in the search listings.

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 separate article. In this post, let’s just cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over your site’s web design.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that you will easily find many Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Marketplaces & Theme Development Firms

There are two types of places where you can find themes. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme development firms.

Theme marketplaces and WP 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 visitors find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.

Some of the bigger directories 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 WordPress theme development firms typically create both free and premium WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design companies.

As you will see, many commercial theme developers sell their 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 WordPress theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for great WP themes for your website or blog.

Finding A Responsive Theme Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to download WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, is because –as some 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.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and code-savvy volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets high quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of great-looking 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 theme in the WordPress.org theme 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 admin panel with just a couple of clicks.

Use The WordPress Theme Feature 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 easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a light color design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. the laptops, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to browse your web content) …

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

… and bring back only WP themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme. 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 ”cons” of using free WordPress 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. Most freely distributed themes ask for donations to help cover their costs of providing support.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any change was made, then it’s best to think twice about downloading it, as WordPress is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts or errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your site 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 a premium theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and for converting 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 specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to premium WP 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 great support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

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

(click on the images above to browse all 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 personal blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for medical sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for design, kindle book authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, dining out & restaurants, social 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 fashion blogs, music venues, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
• Retail – themes for travel, trades or professionals (plumbers, chiropractors, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to software, newsletters, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political 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)

Go here to find great WordPress themes in the ThemeForest website:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can browse 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 narrow your search using theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to browse all themes at Mojo.com)

Mojo is a directory 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 find WP themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find great premium themes in the Mojo theme directory here:

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial And Independent Theme Shops

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to see all themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

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

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating 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 above images to browse all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that enables users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website 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 ensure 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this sounds way too technical, don’t worry 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 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 see more themes from StudioPress)

WP Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WP Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site uses (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 site.

Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a website is powered by WordPress: How Can I Tell If A Site Was Built With 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 a site is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any plugins detected.

• To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Is It A WP Blog?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A commonly-used strategy employed by many hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and 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 best, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress repository, or use established and reputable theme vendors.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site could be infected with malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report …

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

We hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP free and premium responsive themes useful.

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