Tag: WordPress Themes

In another post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to know more about the benefits of using WP themes and what makes themes so special, then make sure to check out our post: An Overview of WP Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where you can explore loads of excellent 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 avoid having to deal with problems like lack of product support and poor coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous post, a theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically on the WP platform.

Many web designers and web development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of excellent themes designed for many website uses.

Finding WordPress Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide

Let’s say you were to launch Google and search for the following:

• best responsive themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes for churches (or whatever your business, search topic or website is about)

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information 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 WordPress themes really simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a later article. In this post, please note that we will only 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 your site’s web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s important to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid WP themes being made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be sold as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Directories & WP Theme Development Firms

There are mostly 2 places where WP themes can be found. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent WordPress theme stores.

Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme stores. WP theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors find 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent theme development firms can also develop both free and premium themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large 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 WP theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to find the best WP themes for your website.

Choosing The Best WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)

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

To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Repository, go here:

http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes

Search For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress 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 a couple of mouse clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

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 what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a blue colour design, with a two-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your computer, tablet and smartphone) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …

… and bring back only WP themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that it costs 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 features, 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 theme developer to provide immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes ask for donations to help cover their 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 change was made, then think carefully about using it, as the WordPress software changes quite often and this can result in conflicts and errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website 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 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 theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to finding premium WP themes.

Paid 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, 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 biggest and well known theme directories online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 15,000 premium WP themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …

(click on the above images to browse more themes on ThemeForest)

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific WordPress themes in various categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and news editorials, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for photography, cv and resume writing, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about employment opportunities, holiday rentals, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, dining out, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
• NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
• Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for boutiques, trades or professionals (repairers, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, newsletters, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental 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 WordPress themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse many 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 go through all of their WP themes and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to see more themes at Mojo.com)

Mojo is a marketplace for premium-quality 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 WP themes, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find great premium themes in the Mojo theme marketplace here:

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial and independent WordPress theme design companies.

Commercial WordPress Theme Development Firms

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality 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 that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing WordPress theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in 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 images above to see more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users 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 the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web 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 coding practices 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 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique design.

If this sounds 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 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 view all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this article with some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That? – WP Theme Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site uses (including parent and child 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 website.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a website uses the WP CMS platform: Does My Web 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 then not only confirm whether or not the site is built using WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used on 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: Is My Website WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

We suggested this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the approved WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

A well-known method used by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display 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.org repository, or use well-known and trusted theme download sites.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may be infected with malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of malicious code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …

(TAC Report Page – Source: WordPress.org Plugin Site)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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