In another post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes themes unique, then make sure to check out our post: An Introduction to WordPress Themes
In this blog post, you will learn where to look for free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 support and poor theme coding.
As explained in another article, a theme is a unique kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and blogs and designed to work specifically with the WP CMS platform in mind.
Many skilled web designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of uniquely-designed themes covering an extensive range of uses.
Where To Find WordPress Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?
Let’s say you were to browse over to Google and type the following:
- best free themes for WordPress
- best premium themes for WordPress
- best free WordPress themes for authors (type in whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in your search listings.
So, to help you save time and make things easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we start, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a later post. For now, we’ll only cover the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over the design areas of your site.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are made available to users as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Marketplaces Commercial And Independent Theme Design Companies
There are mostly two kinds of places where themes can be found. The first is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WP theme houses.
WP theme marketplaces and theme directories are large aggregators of themes. WordPress 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 theme stores 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 design companies can also design both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme development companies.
Many commercial theme design firms 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.
Choosing 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 WordPress themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free 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 put 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 website or blog, but it also relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory meets specific quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official WP 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 what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with only a couple of clicks.
Use WP Theme Feature Filter
WordPress has a built-in 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 easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a light 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 responsive themes ensure that your theme will work on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ 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 bring back only WP 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 on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide 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 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 freely distributed themes ask users for donations to help cover costs of providing support.
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been well over one year since any changes were made, then we advise you to think carefully about using it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts and errors with older code.
If you’re just getting started and your site is still quite 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 any money on a premium theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to paid themes.
Premium WordPress 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and best-known theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers 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 above images to browse more ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and blog magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for creative work, writing professionals, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites related to employment opportunities, holiday rentals, tourism 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, dining out, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for health products, trades or professionals (repairers, chiropractors, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, landing pages, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Browse lots of great premium WP themes in the ThemeForest directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to see more themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace 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 WP themes in its marketplace, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Wedding themes, etc.) using their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market theme marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to browse all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a marketplace 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 find WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WP themes in the Mojo themes marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent theme design companies.
Commercial And Independent WordPress Theme Vendors
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality premium WordPress themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to view more themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs functional themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and offer a membership option that allows members to access all themes in their theme collection.
(click on the above images to see more WooThemes themes)
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 browse more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress designs 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 designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers like the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that it always remains compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework 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 design.
If this 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 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 above images to browse more themes from StudioPress)
Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WP Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme a site is using (including parent and child WordPress themes).
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme is being used on the site.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site was built using WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a web site is powered by WordPress: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Website Runs 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 then not only confirm if a site was built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins it detects.
- To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: How Can I Check If A Website Was Built With WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin
We suggested this before and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A well-known strategy used by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute modified themes that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use well-known and reputable theme vendors.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and then outputs a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin Site, WordPress.org)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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