In another post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WordPress themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then make sure to check out the post here: An Introduction to WordPress Themes
In this blog post, we show you where you can look for free and paid themes for your 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 how to avoid having to deal with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed to work specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many skilled web designers and web development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of unique themes designed for many purposes and needs.
Finding Great Great Themes For WordPress: Let’s Keep Things Simple!
Let’s say you were to go to Google and type key phrases like the following:
- best WordPress themes
- WordPress themes free
- best paid WordPress themes for musicians (enter whatever your business, area of interest 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 your life easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we start, you need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a later article. In this article, let’s just cover 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 of your site.
Free vs Paid WP Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes being made available. Free WP themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories & WordPress Theme Agencies
There are mostly 2 places where WordPress themes can be found. The first type of place is in WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme development firms.
Theme marketplaces and 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 customers shop for 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 WP theme developers typically develop both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme design and development companies.
Most commercial or independent theme companies 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 WordPress themes for your website.
Where To Find Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Free WordPress Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as some 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 … 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 complies with their standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WP admin panel with only a few mouse clicks.
Use The WP Theme Filters
WordPress provides a 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 predominantly light colour design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, smartphones and tablets) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …
… and bring up only themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer a number of customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” 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 developer to provide personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their 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 more than 1 year since any changes were last made, then we advise you 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 or blog 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 paid themes. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for your site and for your business.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to premium themes.
Premium WordPress 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:
WP Theme Marketplaces
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and best-known theme directories online.
ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to view more ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and administration sites, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for business sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for visual galleries, writing professionals, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, 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 catalogs, trades or professionals (repairers, medical centers, 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 find quality premium themes in the ThemeForest site:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse more themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can search through thousands of 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 WordPress themes in its marketplace, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Photography themes, etc.) 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 see more WordPress themes at Mojo.com)
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 browse hundreds of WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium themes in the Mojo themes marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial theme vendors.
Commercial Theme Vendors
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of high quality themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to browse all SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates functional themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and also offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to view all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes creates beautiful 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 see all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides 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 an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key 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 the framework frequently updated to reflect best practices for coding and to ensure that themes are always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique design.
If this all sounds way too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are very 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 images above to browse more themes from StudioPress)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That WP Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free online tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme a site uses.
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 don’t know whether a site uses WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a web 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 then not only confirm if the site was built on the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any WP plugins detected.
- To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin
A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A well-known tactic used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use well-known and reputable theme merchants.
If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your WordPress theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and presents you with a report …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: WordPress.org Plugin Page)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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