In a previous post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read our post: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Useful Guide For Business Owners
In this blog post, you will learn where you can explore loads of fantastic free and paid themes for your WP site. 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 how to avoid experiencing problems like lack of product support and poor coding.
As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned article, a WordPress theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many website designers and web design companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of professional WP themes covering a wide-range of uses.
Finding WP Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!
Let’s say you were to fire up Google and search for the following:
- best premium themes for WordPress
- best responsive themes for WordPress
- best paid WordPress themes for musicians (enter whatever your business, search topic or website is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk 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 WP themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another article. In this post, we’ll only be focusing on finding 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 site’s web design.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid WordPress themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.
Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs Commercial WordPress Theme Design Houses
There are mostly two different types of places where WP themes can be found. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme vendors.
WP theme marketplaces and 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 customers 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
Commercial and independent WordPress theme design companies can develop both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme design companies.
As you will see, most 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 search for the best themes for your website or blog.
Finding A Responsive Theme For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes 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 WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, 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 put your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.
The WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a review team to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory complies with certain standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find WordPress Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WP dashboard with just a few 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 easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a orange colour design, with a 2-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 using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display without problems across all devices (e.g. computers, tablets and smartphones) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you do just that …
… and find only WP themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it costs nothing to download and use the theme. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer a number of built-in customizable features, 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 you shouldn’t 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 their support costs.
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over one year since any changes were last made, then 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, 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 or even on custom theme design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for you 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 ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid 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 ongoing support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme directories online.
ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,500 premium WordPress themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to see 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 activism blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for medical sites or advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for photography, crafts, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to travel, classifieds, business directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, restaurants, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for beauty products, 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 marriage consellor 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 premium themes in the ThemeForest themes directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to view all 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily find WordPress themes and search through their theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market theme directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to see more themes at Mojo)
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 go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium WordPress themes in the Mojo themes directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WordPress theme developers.
Commercial And Independent Theme Design Houses
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of high quality premium WP themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to browse all themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs stunning themes for WordPress and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire theme portfolio.
(click on the images above to browse all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront specializes in WP themes for e-commerce. Their 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 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 the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many website developers prefer using the Genesis 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 remain always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you 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 theme 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 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 see all StudioPress themes)
Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are a few more useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme Search Tool
What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WP theme search tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website or blog is using.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme the website uses.
Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a site uses the WordPress CMS platform: Does My Site Run On 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 whether or not the site has been built using WordPress, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any WP plugins detected.
- To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn how to use this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Runs On The WordPress CMS Platform
Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin
We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A well-known method used by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and reputable sites.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and then outputs a report …
(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find the best WordPress useful.
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