Tag: WP Themes

In another post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

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

In this article, we show you where to browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your 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 experiencing problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned post, a WordPress theme is a special type of web design template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed to work specifically in WordPress.

Many web designers and website development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community have access to thousands of great themes covering an extensive range of applications.

Finding Responsive Themes For WordPress: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?

If you were to open up Google and search for the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best free WordPress themes for business (enter whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of information 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 start, 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 focusing on 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 aspects of your website.

Free vs Paid Themes

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

WP Theme Marketplaces vs WordPress Theme Design Companies

There are two places where themes can be found. The first is in WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme developers.

WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WordPress 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 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 theme development firms can also create both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme development companies.

Many commercial or independent 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 WP theme directories .

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

Choosing Themes For Your Website Or Blog

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 theme 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 place your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a review team to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory meets specific quality and security standards.

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

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

Look For Free Themes Inside Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WordPress dashboard with a couple of mouse clicks.

Use The Theme Filters

WordPress has a built-in 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 what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue colour design, with a two-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 these allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. laptops, 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 display only WordPress 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 you nothing to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The ”cons” of using free WP themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and you shouldn’t expect the theme developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their costs of providing support and updates, bug fixes, etc..

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

If you’re just getting started and your site is still quite new, it’s a good idea to start with 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 paid themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for your site and for your business.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to paid WP themes.

Premium 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:

WP Theme Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and well known theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme designers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium themes listed (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 WP themes in a range of categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for video galleries, freelancers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, holiday rentals, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, cafes, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for health products, trades or professionals (repairers, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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 thousands of quality premium themes in the ThemeForest themes marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Business themes, etc.) using their 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 view 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Visit the site to find quality premium WP themes in the Mojo themes marketplace here:

• Mojo

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

Commercial Theme Stores

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 images above to see more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs great themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and also offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their WP theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

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

Many website developers prefer using this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework consistently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that it always remains 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

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 themes from StudioPress 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 images above to browse more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this article with 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 web tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme a website uses (including parent and child 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 runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site uses WordPress: Is My Web Site 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 not only confirm whether or not the site is built on the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any plugins detected.

• To use this tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: How To Check If A Site Was Built Using WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin

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

A well-known strategy used by many hacking groups and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes that contain 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 best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use established and reputable theme vendors.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site could be infected with malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and then presents you with a report …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

We hope that you have found the information on how to find the best WP useful.

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