Tag: WP Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of website design, then make sure to check out this post: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Guide For Beginners

In this blog post, you will learn where to browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 experiencing problems like lack of product support and poorly-coded themes.

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

Many professional website designers and web design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of professional WordPress themes designed for many website uses.

Finding Great Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

Let’s say you were to go to Google and type something like the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• best premium themes for WordPress
• best responsive WordPress themes for artists (enter 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 your search results.

So, to help you save time and make things easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we start, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate article. In this post, please note that we will only be focusing on 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 the design of your blog.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that you will easily find many Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be made available to users as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories & WordPress Theme Development Firms

There are mostly two places where you can find themes. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent theme companies.

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

Some of the larger directories don’t just sell WordPress themes. They can also sell WP plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent theme agencies can design both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design and development companies.

Many commercial theme shops 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 the best themes for your blog.

Choosing The Best WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to search for 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 some free software users have learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can put your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

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

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

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

Search For Free WP Themes Inside Your Own WordPress 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 activate it directly from within your WP admin panel with a couple of mouse clicks.

Use Theme Feature Filter

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 easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly pink color design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the post mentioned earlier where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will work on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, tablets and smartphones) …

It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function 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 Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The downside of 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 theme developer to provide immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most 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 over 1 year since any change was last made, then you should think twice about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for your site and your business.

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

Paid WP 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 responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

WordPress Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

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

ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,500 premium themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and administration sites, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for visual galleries, writing professionals, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites related to directory listings, dining out & restaurants, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for music and bands 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. home sales, etc.)
• Retail – themes for shopping, trades or professionals (electricians, medical practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to software, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling 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 great WordPress themes in the ThemeForest theme marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the images above to browse 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 WordPress themes in its marketplace, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress 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 premium WP themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market theme directory here:

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a directory 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 themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories by selecting the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial theme vendors.

Commercial Theme Stores

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality WordPress themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.

(click on above images to view more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates stunning premium themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and also offer a membership option that allows you to access all themes in their theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 StoreFront themes)

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 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 this framework regularly updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you have made to your theme.

This is because themes built with the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this all sounds 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 see all themes from StudioPress)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

Here are a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That? – WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WordPress theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins 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 WP theme is being used on the website.

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell if a site is powered by WordPress: Was My Website Built With WordPress? Tell-Tale Signs & WP-Checking Tools

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 if a site was built using WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: Is It A WordPress Web Site?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WordPress Plugin

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

A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up websites 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 search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and trusted theme merchants.

If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may contain malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report as shown in the screenshot below …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin)

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

***

***