In an earlier post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to learn more about themes and what makes themes so attractive to website owners, then go here to read the post: An Overview of WP Themes
In this article, we will show you where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WP website. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress theme resources and get tips on how to ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poor theme coding.
As explained in our previous article, a theme is a special type of web template used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically with the WordPress CMS platform in mind.
Many website designers and website development agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of quality WP themes designed to cover many purposes.
Finding Great WordPress Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?
Let’s say you were to fire up Google and search for a key phrase like this:
- best themes for WordPress
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for blogs (type in whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the search results.
So, to help you save time and make your life easier, let’s 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 should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a separate article. To keep things simple, we’ll only be covering the topic of finding 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 WP Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid WP themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be listed as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces & WP Theme Stores
There are mostly two kinds of places where you can find WP themes. The first is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme stores.
WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large 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 bigger theme stores 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 can create both free and paid themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of developer, to large theme design and development companies.
Many commercial theme stores 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 WP themes for your website or blog.
Where To Find A Responsive WordPress Theme For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Free Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to find free WP 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 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 website or blog, but it also relies on a review team comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory meets specific quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Repository, 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 directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress admin panel with only a few clicks.
Use WP Theme Feature Filter
WordPress provides a filtering function inside the dashboard 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 a pink colour 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 choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. laptops, tablets and smartphones) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and bring back only themes that are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs nothing to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside of 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. Many freely distributed 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 1 year since any updates were made, then you should think carefully about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts or 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 paid themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free 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 how to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to finding 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 responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 15,000 premium WP themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to view all 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 blog magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes for visual galleries, galleries, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, classifieds, social directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for online shopping, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, nightlife, 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 boutiques, trades or professionals (repairers, engineering, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental 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)
Go here to discover quality premium WP themes in the ThemeForest site:
Creative Market
(click on the images above 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 directory, but you can easily go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market theme marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to view all themes at Mojo)
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 go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium themes in the Mojo themes directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent theme design houses.
Commercial And Independent Theme Shops
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality premium 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 designs stunning premium themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire WordPress theme collection.
(click on the images above to see all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in e-commerce themes for WordPress. StoreFront themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the above images to see all themes from StoreFront)
StudioPress
StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that allows users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides a self-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers prefer using this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you may have made to your theme.
This is because StudioPress themes 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 sounds way 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 all StudioPress themes)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That?
What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WP theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme and plugins a site uses.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the website.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site was built using WordPress: Is It A WordPress Blog?
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 not only confirm whether or not a site was built using WordPress software, but it will also list the WP theme being used on the site and list any plugins detected.
- To use this tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn more about using this tool go here: Is Your Website Built With WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute themes containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org theme directory, or use well-known and reputable theme merchants.
If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report with the results …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin Site, WordPress.org)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find great WordPress useful.
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
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