Tag: WP Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes themes so special, then go here to read the post: A Useful Guide To WP Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where to explore loads of fantastic free and paid themes for your WP site. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress 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 customer support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a special kind of web design template used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed specifically with the WordPress content management system in mind.

Many skilled website designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of professional-quality themes designed to cover a wide range of website uses.

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

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

• best WP themes
• WordPress themes free
• best responsive WordPress themes for blogs (type in whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the search results.

So, to help you save time and make things 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 users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another post. To keep things simple, let’s just be covering the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over the design aspects of your website.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid WP themes made available. Free themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are sold as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

WP Theme Marketplaces & Theme Agencies

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

Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large theme aggregators. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.

Some of the bigger directories 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 agencies typically develop both free and paid WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme design companies.

As you will see, many commercial theme design houses 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 WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Where To Find The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WP Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to search for WP 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 some free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and 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 to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with specific quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP 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 WordPress theme in the WordPress directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WordPress dashboard with a few clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

WordPress provides a 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 predominantly dark colour design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display without problems on all devices (e.g. the PCs, smartphones and tablets used by visitors to browse your web content) …

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

… and find only themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that 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 downside to using free 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 urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover support costs.

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

If you’re just getting started and your website 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 paid theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and for your business.

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

Paid WP 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:

Theme Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme directories online.

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

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

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 personal blogs and news editorials, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for creative work, crafts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, dining out & restaurants, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for online shopping, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, cafes, 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 travel, trades or professionals (electricians, medical centers, 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 directory:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can search through many 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 marketplace, but you can easily find WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Commerce themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the images above to view all themes at Mojo)

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of WP themes and search through their theme categories by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WP theme marketplaces, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent WP theme design houses.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Development Firms

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality WP 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 creates eye-catching themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their WP theme collection.

(click on the images above to see more themes from WooThemes)

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating WordPress themes for e-commerce. StoreFront themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.

(click on the above images to see more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework that enables users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, 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 like the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework frequently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, 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 theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this 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 you pay one low price 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 all StudioPress themes)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with a few more useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That – WordPress Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme a website 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 WordPress theme is being used on the website.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site uses WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site uses the WP CMS platform: Is Your Website 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 not only confirm if the site is built on the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any plugins detected.

• To use the online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn how to use this tool go here: How Can I Check If My Web Site Was Built With WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin

We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating it 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 method that is commonly used by many hacking groups and syndicates that engage in cyber-crime is to put up sites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use well-known and trusted theme vendors.

If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your WordPress theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of malicious code and then presents you with a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin, WordPress.org)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

***

***