Tag: WordPress Themes

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

If you would like to know more about WordPress themes and what makes WordPress themes so special, then make sure to check out the post here: Understanding WP Themes – A Handy Guide For Business Owners

In this blog post, you will learn where to discover loads of great free and paid themes for your WP website. 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 experiencing problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.

As explained in our previous article, a WordPress theme is a unique type of web template used on WordPress-driven sites and designed specifically in WordPress.

Many skilled website designers and website development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of excellent WP themes designed for many purposes.

Where To Find Great WP Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide

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

• best free WordPress themes
• WordPress themes free
• best paid WordPress themes for authors (or whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

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

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 WP themes really simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate 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, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over the design aspects of your website.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s useful 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 made available to users as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces vs Theme Stores

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

Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme stores. 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 marketplace.

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 shops can also develop both free and premium WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design and development companies.

As you will see, most 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 WP theme directories .

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

Where To Find A Great Theme Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Theme 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 WP themes. The reason why, is because –as many 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 WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also uses a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory complies with high quality and security standards.

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

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

Find Themes Inside Your Dashboard

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

Use Theme Filters

WordPress provides a 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 what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a gray color design, with a two-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your laptop, smartphone and tablet) …

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

… and find only WordPress themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it costs you nothing to download and use the theme. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer 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 to 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 immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes ask users for donations to help cover their support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than 1 year since any updates were made, then think twice about using it, as WordPress changes quite frequently and this can create conflicts and errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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 paid themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free 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 WP themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid 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 great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular WordPress theme marketplaces online.

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for portfolios, writers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites about employment opportunities, holiday rentals, community resources, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, music venues, 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. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (electricians, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to software, 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 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 sends you theme update notifications)

Browse thousands of great themes in the ThemeForest theme directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can search through thousands of 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 marketplace, but you can easily find WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the above images to browse all WordPress 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of WP themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Responsive or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from 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 directories, let’s look at commercial and independent theme developers.

Commercial And Independent Theme Development Firms

SoloStream

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

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

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs stunning themes for WordPress and offers a membership option that allows you to access all themes in their theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in 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 images above to browse more themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework that lets you 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 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 ensure that it always remains compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you may have made to your theme.

This is because StudioPress themes 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, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are 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 above images to view more StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this article with a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WP Theme Is That – WordPress Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin search 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 theme the site is using.

Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a website was built using WordPress: How To Tell If A Site Was Built Using 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 a site is built using WordPress, but it will also list the WP theme being used by the site and list any WordPress plugins detected.

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

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A commonly-used tactic employed by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and trusted theme vendors.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may contain malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and then presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

***

***