Tag: WordPress Themes

In a previous article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then make sure to check out this post: About WordPress Themes – A Non-Technical User’s Guide

In this article, we show you where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your site. 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 avoid dealing with problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.

As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned article, a WordPress theme is a special kind of web template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically in the WordPress content management system.

Many talented web designers and web design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community can access thousands of professional-quality themes covering an extensive range of applications.

Finding Great Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?

Let’s say you were to open up Google and type a key phrase like this:

• best free WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes for writers (enter 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, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress 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 explain these differences in a separate article. For now, 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 site’s web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s important to know that you will easily find many Free and Paid 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 will be listed as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Directories & WP Theme Stores

There are mostly 2 kinds of places where you can find themes. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme stores.

Theme marketplaces and theme directories are big theme aggregators. WordPress 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 bigger 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 WordPress theme vendors typically create both free and commercial WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design and development 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 directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for great WP themes for your website or blog.

Choosing The Best WP Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to search for 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 some free software users have learned– 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 WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WP site, but it also relies on a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with certain 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

Find Free WP Themes Without Leaving Your Own 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 activate it directly from within your WP dashboard with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

WordPress provides a 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 easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue color design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the article mentioned earlier where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, tablets and smartphones) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and bring back only themes that use “responsive” design standards …

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. An added plus, is that 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 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 personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their support costs.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any change was made, then we advise you to think carefully about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your site 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 theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium WP 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 ongoing support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular WordPress theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …

(click on the images above to see all ThemeForest themes)

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for visual galleries, ebook authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites about employment opportunities, classifieds, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for online shopping, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, restaurants, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for shops, trades or professionals (electricians, dental practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political 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)

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

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the above images to see all Creative Market themes)

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can browse thousands of quality premium WordPress 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

Browse through hundreds of quality premium themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market themes marketplace here:

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

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 go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s look at commercial and independent theme vendors.

Commercial And Independent Theme Development Firms

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 view all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs great themes for WordPress and offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes 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 more themes from StoreFront)

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 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 frequently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it always remains compatible with the latest WordPress version, 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 framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

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 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 view all themes from StudioPress)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are a few more useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:

What WordPress Theme Is That – WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free online tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using.

This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme the site uses.

Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a website is WordPress-driven: Is Your 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 whether or not the site has been built using WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any plugins detected.

• To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Does My Site Run On WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A well-known strategy used by a number of hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute modified 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 WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress theme directory, or use established and reputable theme merchants.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WordPress theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report with the results …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: Plugin)

I hope that you have found the information on how to find great free and paid themes for WordPress useful.

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