In an earlier post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to learn more about themes and what makes WP themes so special, then make sure to check out the post here: An Overview of WordPress Themes
In this article, you will learn where to look for free and paid themes for your website or blog. 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 how to avoid experiencing problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.
As explained in another post, a theme is a special type of web design template used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically with the WP platform in mind.
Many professional web designers and web design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community have access to thousands of exciting WP themes covering an extensive range of applications.
Where To Find Great Themes: Let’s Keep It Simple!
Let’s say you were to fire up Google and type a key phrase like this:
- best responsive WordPress themes
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for business (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in your 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 WP themes 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 a different article. To keep things simple, let’s just 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 the design aspects of your website.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s important to know that you can find thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free WordPress themes are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs WP Theme Shops
There are two different types of places where you can find themes. The first type of place is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent WordPress theme developers.
Theme marketplaces and theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WordPress 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 marketplace.
Some of the bigger marketplaces 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 theme stores can also create both free and premium themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme design companies.
Many 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 directories .
Let’s now show you where to find great themes for your website.
Where To Find A Great Theme Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason for this, 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.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with certain quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find Themes Inside Your WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WP theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WP dashboard with only a couple of mouse clicks.
Use The Theme Feature Filter
WordPress has a built-in 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 predominantly orange 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 using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems across all devices (e.g. the PCs, smartphones and tablets used by visitors to browse your information) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and display only WP themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs you nothing to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside 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 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 you should think twice about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can create conflicts or errors with older code.
If you’re just getting started and your site 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 paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and your business.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to finding premium 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 responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WordPress Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and most popular WordPress theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium themes listed (you can find great themes 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 WordPress themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and administration sites, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for creative work, ebook authors, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites related to directory listings, dining out & restaurants, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for online shopping, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, restaurants, 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. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (repairers, legal 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 environmental issues, 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Go here to find quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest directory:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse all Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse thousands of quality premium WP 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 browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market themes directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to view all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a directory 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial and independent theme design houses.
Commercial Theme Design Houses
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 images above to see all SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs great themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing WordPress theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to browse all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 above images to view all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows you 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 frequently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, 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 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 themes from StudioPress 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 see all themes from StudioPress)
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 And Plugin Search Tool
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme-checking tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme a website or blog uses (including parent and child WP themes).
This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the site.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site uses WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a website uses WordPress: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On The WP CMS Platform
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 a site was built using WordPress, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any WP plugins detected.
- To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: How To Tell If A Site Was Built Using WordPress
Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin
We suggested this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the approved WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A strategy that is commonly used by a number of hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress 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’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use well-known and reputable theme merchants.
If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could be infected with malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: WordPress.org Plugin)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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