Tag: WordPress Themes Directory

In a previous article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to know more about WP themes and what makes WP themes so special, then go here to read the post: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Guide For Newbies

In this article, you will learn where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a unique type of web template used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed to work specifically on WordPress.

Many website designers and web development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of great themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.

Where To Find Great Themes For WordPress: Your Time-Saving Guide

Let’s say you were to go to Google and type key phrases like this:

• best free WP themes
• WordPress themes free
• best free WordPress themes for business (or 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, 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 start, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate post. In this article, please note that we will only cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over your web design.

Free vs Paid 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 Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs Commercial Theme Stores

There are mostly 2 kinds of places where WP themes can be found. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WordPress theme development firms.

Theme marketplaces and theme directories are large theme aggregators. WP 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 larger 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 theme design houses can also design both free and premium WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of designer, to large theme design companies.

Many commercial or independent theme developers 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 great WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Finding A Great Theme For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Theme Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download WordPress 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 learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can put your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WP theme 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 enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets high quality and security standards.

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

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

Find WordPress Themes Inside Your 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 start using it directly from inside your WP dashboard with only a couple of clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

WordPress has a built-in 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 themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a gray color design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the post 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. your laptop, smartphone and tablet) …

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 WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free 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 well over 1 year since any changes were made, then you should think twice about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your site is still relatively 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 money on a theme. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that 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 theme directory and ways to filter 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 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 biggest and well known WP theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium WP themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and administration sites, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for photography, ebook authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, buy & sell, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, dining out, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching 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 stores, trades or professionals (plumbers, chiropractors, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, landing pages, 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Go here to browse many quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest site:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

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 find WP themes and search through their theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Blog or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by selecting the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial and independent theme development firms.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Design Companies

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to browse more themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates functional themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire theme portfolio.

(click on the images above to view more WooThemes themes)

StoreFront

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

(click on the above images to see all StoreFront themes)

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 website, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web developers prefer using the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently up-to-date 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 your themes 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 a paint job that sits on top of the theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this sounds too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are 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 images above to browse more StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WordPress Theme Is That.com

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free web tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme a website or blog 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 website uses.

Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a site uses WordPress: 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 the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used on the site and list any WP plugins detected.

• To use the online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Does My Web Site Run On WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A method that is commonly used by many hacking groups and syndicates that engage in cyber-crime is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute themes that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use well-known and trusted theme download sites.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WordPress theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and outputs a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find the best free and paid themes for WordPress useful.

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