Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

In a separate article, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes WordPress themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read our article: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where you can look for free and paid themes for your website or blog. 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 dealing with problems like lack of support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a special type of web design template used on WordPress-driven websites and designed specifically with the WordPress CMS platform in mind.

Many web designers and web development firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users enjoy access to thousands of quality themes covering a wide-range of applications.

Where To Find WordPress Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide

Let’s say you were to launch Google and search for the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• best premium themes for WordPress
• best free WordPress themes for business (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)

You are probably 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, 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. For now, please note that we will only focus 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 your site’s web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that there are both Free and Paid WP themes being made available. Free WordPress themes are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be sold as Premium (paid) themes.

WP Theme Directories & WordPress Theme Vendors

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

Theme marketplaces and theme directories are large theme stores. WordPress 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 larger marketplaces 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 developers can develop both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme developer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

Many commercial theme companies 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 great WP themes for your website or blog.

Where To Find A Theme For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest 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 WordPress themes. The reason for this, 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 … 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 relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and code-savvy volunteers to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory complies with specific standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Repository, go here:

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

Look For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP 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 WP dashboard with just a few clicks.

Use Theme Filters

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 colour design, with a three-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

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

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and display 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 offer a number of 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 it’s unrealistic to 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 more than 1 year since any change was made, then we advise you to think carefully about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can create conflicts and errors with older code.

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 any money on paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and your business.

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

Paid 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:

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular theme directories online.

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

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

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in a range of categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for medical sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for visual galleries, cv and resume writing, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, holiday rentals, business directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, restaurants, etc.
• Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching 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 shops, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal firms, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, 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 discover great 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 directory 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 directory, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories using their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a directory for premium-quality 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 WP themes, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s take a look at commercial WP theme stores.

Commercial And Independent WP Theme Design Companies

SoloStream

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

(click on images above to see all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates eye-catching themes that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their WP theme portfolio.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes creates amazing WordPress themes for e-commerce. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.

(click on the images above to view all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets users 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 the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many website developers prefer using the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework consistently up-to-date to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that themes remain always compatible with the latest WordPress version, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you have made to your theme.

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

If this sounds way too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing themes from StudioPress 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 images above to view more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That.com

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WP theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a site is using.

This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme the website uses.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a web site is WP-driven: How To Tell If Your Website Was 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 has been built on WordPress software, but it will also list the WP theme being used on the site 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 To Tell If A Web Site Was Built With WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker - Plugin

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

A commonly-used method employed by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and distribute themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress theme repository, or use well-known and trusted theme download sites.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may be infected with malware 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 injected code and presents you with a report with the results …

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin, WordPress.org)

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

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