In a previous post, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then make sure to check out this post: An Overview of WP Themes
In this article, you will learn where to search for free and paid themes for your website or blog. 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 dealing with problems like lack of product support and poor theme coding.
As we’ve explained in another post, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template used on WordPress-powered websites and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many professional website designers and website design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community have access to thousands of professional-quality themes covering a wide-range of uses and applications.
Finding Great Themes For WordPress: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?
Let’s say you were to fire up Google and search for a key phrase like the following:
- best WordPress themes
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for authors (type in whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of junk to sort through in the search listings.
So, to help you save time and make things easier, we’ll 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 need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a different article. To keep things simple, let’s just focus on finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this article, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over the design of your website.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that you will find thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free WordPress themes are generally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces Commercial And Independent Theme Shops
There are two types of places where you can find WP themes. The first type of place is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme developers.
Theme marketplaces and theme directories are big theme stores. WordPress 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 marketplace.
Some of the larger 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 stores typically create both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of developer, to large theme development companies.
As you will see, most commercial or independent theme developers 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 website.
Where To Find Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WP Themes Directory)
The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest and best place to download free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have learned– 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 theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory meets high standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Repository, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find WordPress Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress.org 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 only a few mouse clicks.
Use WordPress 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 easy to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue colour design, with a 3-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the article mentioned earlier where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ PCs, smartphones and tablets) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you do just that …
… and bring up only themes that are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that it costs nothing to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that 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 to 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 developer to provide personal 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 more than a year since any changes were last made, then you should 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 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 paid theme. 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 WordPress themes in the WordPress theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to premium 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, 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 directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium WordPress 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 directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and news editorials, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for government sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for visual galleries, writers, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, dining out & restaurants, business directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for music and bands 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. commercial property, etc.)
- Retail – themes for shops, trades or professionals (electricians, dental practitioners, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, newsletters, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, 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 find great themes in the ThemeForest theme marketplace:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to browse all Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can search through 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 directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Business themes, etc.) using their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market themes directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to see more WordPress themes at Mojo)
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 WordPress themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great themes in the Mojo theme marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent WP theme design houses.
Commercial And Independent Theme Agencies
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of high quality premium themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to see more SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs stunning premium themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme portfolio.
(click on the images above to browse more WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront creates amazing 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 images above to see all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers prefer using the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework regularly up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that it is always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework 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 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 very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes is that you pay just 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 above images to browse more themes from StudioPress)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That – WordPress Theme Search Tool
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WP theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme and plugins a site uses (including parent and child WordPress 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 website.
Tip: If you don’t know whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a site is WP-driven: 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 then not only confirm whether or not a site was built using WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used and list any WordPress plugins detected.
- To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: How Can I Check If A Site Was Built Using WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker - WordPress Plugin
We suggested this before and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A commonly-used strategy employed 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 that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress repository, or use established and trusted theme download sites.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could be infected with malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then outputs a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)
I hope that you have found the information on how to find great free and paid themes for WordPress useful.
***
"Your training is the best in the world! It is simple, yet detailed, direct, understandable, memorable, and complete." Andrea Adams, FinancialJourney.org
***