Tag: WP Themes

In an earlier article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes WP themes so attractive to web site owners, then go here to read our article: An Overview of WP Themes

In this article, you will learn where to look for free and paid themes for your 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 support and poor coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous article, a theme is a special kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed specifically with the WordPress platform in mind.

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

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

If you were to open up Google and type key phrases like this:

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

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

So, to help you save time and make your life 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 need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in another article. To keep things simple, please note that we will only cover 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 Themes

Next, it’s important to know that you can find thousands of Free and Paid themes being made available. Free WP 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.

Theme Directories vs Theme Design Houses

There are mostly two kinds of places where you can find themes. The first place is in WordPress theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent WP theme development firms.

WP 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 larger theme stores 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 WordPress theme shops typically will develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design and development companies.

Most 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 directories .

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

Choosing Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download 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 many 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 WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory complies with certain standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of excellent 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 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 inside your WordPress dashboard with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Use WordPress Theme Feature Filter

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 easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a pink color design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the post where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ PCs, smartphones and tablets) …

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

… and bring up 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 costs nothing to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of built-in customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The downside of using free WordPress 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 free themes ask users for donations 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 1 year since any change was last made, then think carefully about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website 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 a premium 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 theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to paid WordPress themes.

Premium 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 great support, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and best-known theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 15,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, kindle book authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, buy & sell, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for film & tv 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. rentals, etc.)
• Retail – themes for retail stores, trades or professionals (repairers, dental practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, 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 topics related to activism, 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Browse lots of great premium themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme marketplace where you can search through thousands of 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 find WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a directory 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories by using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial and independent WordPress theme development firms.

Commercial Theme Developers

SoloStream

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

(click on above images to see more themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates stunning premium themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront creates gorgeous 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 browse more themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework that lets users 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 your content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website developers like this 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 ensure that it always remains compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you may have made to your theme.

This is because themes built using the Genesis framework 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 design.

If this all sounds too technical, there’s no need to feel concerned about it. StudioPress themes are very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing themes from StudioPress is that one low price entitles 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 view more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, 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.com is a free WP theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website uses.

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 website or blog uses.

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 uses the WP CMS platform: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And 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 not only confirm if a site is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any plugins detected.

• To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
• To learn more about this tool go here: How To Tell If A Website Was Built Using WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A well-known strategy 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 with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org theme repository, or use well-known and trusted theme download sites.

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 theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report with the results …

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

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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