Tag: WordPress Themes Directory

In another post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using themes and what makes themes so attractive to web site owners, then go here to read our post: A Non-Technical User’s Guide To WP Themes

In this article, we will show you where you can browse hundreds of 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 ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid having to deal with problems like lack of support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another post, a theme is a special type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven websites and designed specifically with the WordPress CMS platform in mind.

Many skilled web designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community can access thousands of quality WordPress themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.

Where To Find Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

If you were to open up Google and search for something like this:

• best themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes
• best paid WordPress themes for churches (type in whatever your business, search topic or website is about)

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

So, to help you save time and make your life easier, let’s just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress themes simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a later article. To keep things simple, please note that we will only be covering 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 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 normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Directories vs Commercial Theme Design Houses

There are 2 kinds of places where you can find WordPress themes. The first type of place is in WordPress theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WordPress theme companies.

WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors shop for 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 design companies typically will create both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of developer, to large theme development companies.

Most commercial theme stores 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 WP theme directories .

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

Where To Find A Responsive Theme 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 search for WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WP 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 put your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.

The WordPress directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets specific standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Directory, go here:

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

You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WordPress Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WordPress admin panel with a couple of clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

WordPress has a built-in 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 easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly orange colour design, with a two-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

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

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and bring back 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. 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 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 free 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 over 1 year since any changes were 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 money on premium themes. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for your site and for converting your site visitors into customers.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WordPress 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 premium 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WordPress Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …

(click on the images above to see more 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 bloggers and blog magazines, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for photography, ebook authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, dining out & restaurants, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, cafes, 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, dentists, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage consellor blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, 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 browse many quality premium WP themes in the ThemeForest website:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace 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 WP themes in its directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily go through all of their WordPress themes and search through their theme categories by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find quality premium themes in the Mojo marketplace here:

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent WP theme agencies.

Commercial And Independent Theme Agencies

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to view all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs eye-catching 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 images above to see more WooThemes themes)

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes creates stunning WP themes for e-commerce. 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 StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that enables users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for your 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 this framework consistently updated to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it always remains 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 with the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this 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 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 browse more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That – WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using (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 WP theme the site uses.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site uses the WordPress CMS platform: Is Your Web Site 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 the site was built on WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
• To learn more about this tool go here: Is It A WP Web Site?

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A method 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 containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress directory, or use established and trusted theme download sites.

If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WordPress theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and presents you with a report …

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

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

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