Tag: WordPress Themes

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

If you would like to know more about the benefits of using WP themes and what makes themes unique, then go here to read the post: An Overview of WordPress Themes

In this blog post, we explain where you can look for free and paid themes for your WP site. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress theme resources and get tips on how to make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid dealing with problems like lack of product support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in our previous post, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed to work specifically with the WP content management system in mind.

Many professional web designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community have access to thousands of professional themes designed for a wide range of purposes and needs.

Finding WP Themes: Let’s Keep It Simple!

Let’s say you were to open up Google and type something like this:

• best premium WordPress themes
• WordPress themes free
• best free WordPress themes for musicians (type in whatever your business, search topic 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 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 both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another post. To keep things simple, please note that we will only cover the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over your web design.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid WP themes being made available. Free WP themes are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs WordPress Theme Vendors

There are 2 places where you can find WP themes. The first place is in theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme development firms.

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

Many commercial theme shops 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 great WP themes for your blog.

Where To Find A Responsive Theme Themes For Your WP Website

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to find WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WP 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 put your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.

The WordPress theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory complies with their quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress 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.org theme directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and activate it directly from inside your WP admin panel with only a couple of clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

WordPress provides a filtering function inside the admin 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 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in an earlier post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. the laptops, smartphones and tablets used by visitors to view your site) …

It’s a good idea to 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 have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free 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 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 WordPress themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and you shouldn’t expect the developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes ask users for donations to help cover support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been well over one year since any updates were last made, then we advise you to think carefully about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and new features can result in conflicts or errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website 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 premium theme. 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 theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium WordPress themes.

Paid WP 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:

WordPress Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and most popular WP theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,500 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …

(click on the above images to view 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 general blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, writing professionals, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites related to directory listings, holiday rentals, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands 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 boutiques, trades or professionals (plumbers, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding 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 sends you theme update notifications)

Browse lots of great premium themes in the ThemeForest themes directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can browse 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 browse hundreds of WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Commerce themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to browse all Mojo themes)

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial WP theme agencies.

Commercial WordPress Theme Agencies

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to browse more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates great premium themes for WordPress and offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their growing theme portfolio.

(click on the images above to view all themes from WooThemes)

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating 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 images above to view all StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web developers like this 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 ensure that it is 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 themes built using the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this all sounds 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 above images to see more themes from StudioPress)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

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 and plugins 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 WP theme the site is using.

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a website uses WordPress: How To Tell If Your Website Was 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 is powered by WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any WordPress plugins detected.

• To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WordPress-Checking Tools

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A commonly-used method employed by a number of hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress.org theme repository, or use established and trusted theme download sites.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may be infected with malware or unwanted code, 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 injected code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

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

We hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP free and paid themes useful.

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