Tag: WordPress Themes Directory

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

If you would like to learn more about WordPress themes and what makes themes so special, then make sure to check out our post here: About WordPress Themes – A Non-Technical User’s Guide

In this article, we explain where you can look for free and paid themes for your site. 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 avoid having to deal with problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous post, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web design template used on WordPress-driven sites and designed to work specifically with the WordPress content management system in mind.

Many web designers and web design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of great themes designed to cover many purposes and needs.

Finding Great Responsive Themes For WordPress: Your Time-Saving Guide

If you were to browse over to Google and type a key phrase like this:

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

Chances are that you are 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, we’ll 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 cover these differences in a separate article. To keep things simple, let’s just be focusing on finding 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 there are both Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be listed as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Design Companies

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

WP 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 visitors 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 WP theme design companies typically design both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of developer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

Many commercial or independent theme shops 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 directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for the best WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Where To Find Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest 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 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 place your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with their quality and security standards.

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

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

Search For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WP dashboard with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Use 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 color design, with a three-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 these ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. your laptop, 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 have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress 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 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 to 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 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 and updates, bug fixes, etc..

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 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 quite new, there is nothing wrong with using 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 may just be the thing that works for your site and for your business.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to paid WordPress themes.

Paid 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:

WP Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium WP themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and blog magazines, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for creative work, freelancers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, holiday rentals, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for online shopping, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, nightlife, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. retina-ready themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for beauty products, trades or professionals (plumbers, engineering, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice 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 sends you theme update notifications)

Browse lots of great premium WP themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory 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 directory, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and search through their theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

Browse through hundreds of great premium WordPress themes crafted by independent WordPress theme designers in the Creative Market theme directory here:

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the above images to view more WordPress themes at Mojo.com)

Mojo is a directory for premium 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 browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial Theme Vendors

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 eye-catching WordPress 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 WP theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

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

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

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for the 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 this framework frequently updated 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 themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you may have made to your theme.

This is because themes built using the Genesis framework 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 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 StudioPress themes is that you pay 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 browse all StudioPress themes)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free online tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme a website uses.

This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme the website is using.

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a web site uses the WP CMS platform: Is My Site 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 built using WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use the online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about using this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

We suggested this earlier and it’s worth repeating it again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

A commonly-used tactic employed by a number of hackers and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to only download free WP themes from the official WordPress.org directory, or use well-known and trusted sites.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could contain malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report with the results …

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

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

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