In a separate post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes WP themes unique, then go here to read our post: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Non-Technical User’s Guide
In this article, we explain where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WordPress website or blog. 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 avoid having to deal with problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.
As we’ve explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically on WordPress.
Many professional web designers and web development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of great WordPress themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.
Finding Great Themes For WordPress: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?
If you were to browse over to Google and search for the following:
- best free themes for WordPress
- best premium WordPress themes
- 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 really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in another article. In this article, please note that we will only cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, 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 themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be sold as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs Commercial Theme Design Companies
There are two kinds of places where WordPress themes can be found. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme companies.
WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big theme aggregators. 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 WP plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
Commercial and independent theme development firms can design both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design and development companies.
As you will see, many commercial theme design firms sell 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 WordPress theme directories .
Let’s now show you where to search for the best WP themes for your blog.
Finding Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Theme Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WP themes. The reason for this, is because –as many free software users have learned– 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 theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also uses a theme review team comprised of dedicated and hard working volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory meets high quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Look For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org theme 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 a few mouse clicks.
Use The Theme Filters
WordPress has a built-in 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 themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a blue color design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display without problems across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option 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 WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed 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 well over a year since any changes were last made, then think twice about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.
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 money on a theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free WordPress themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium themes.
Paid 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:
Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known WordPress theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to view more themes on ThemeForest)
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 personal blogs and e-magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites or advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes for video galleries, ebook authors, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, holiday rentals, community resources, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for music and bands blogs, nightlife, 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. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for catalogs, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, 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, parenting 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 browse many great premium WP themes in the ThemeForest theme website:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to see 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 search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Popular themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great WordPress themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market themes marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to see all 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 WP themes, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Responsive or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium WP themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial and independent theme agencies.
Commercial WordPress Theme Design Companies
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality premium WP 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 designs stunning premium themes for WordPress and offers a membership option that allows members access to all themes in their growing theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to view more WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating e-commerce themes for WordPress. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the images above to see all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a 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 your content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps this framework regularly up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always 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 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 very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes 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 above images to view more themes from StudioPress)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are some useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WP Theme Is That? – WP Theme And Plugin Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WordPress theme search tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme the website or blog uses.
Tip: If you can’t tell if a site uses WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a site uses WordPress: Is It A WP Website?
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 has been built using WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins detected.
- To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That.com
- To learn how to use this tool go here: How Can I Check If A Website Was Built Using WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved WordPress themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A well-known tactic used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on search engine results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use established and trusted theme download sites.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme that you have 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 WordPress 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 with the results …
(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find the best WP useful.
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now
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