Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered WP themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then go here to read our post: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this article, you will learn where to search for free and paid themes for your WP site. 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 how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of product support and poorly-coded themes.

As explained in another article, a WordPress theme is a unique kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed to work specifically in WordPress.

Many talented website designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of professional themes designed to cover many purposes.

Finding Themes: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?

If you were to go to Google and type something like the following:

• best themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best paid WordPress themes for authors (enter whatever your business, search topic or website is about)

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

So, to help you save time and make your life easier, let’s 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 both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a later article. In this article, we’ll only cover 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 blog.

Free vs Paid Themes

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

Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs WP Theme Development Firms

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

Theme marketplaces and WP 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 buyers search 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

Commercial and independent theme stores typically will create both free and commercial themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme development companies.

Many commercial 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 themes for your website or blog.

Choosing WordPress Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WP Theme 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 directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason for this, is because –as some free software users have learned– 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 directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website or blog, but it also uses a review team to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory complies with specific quality and security standards.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Directory, 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 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 just a few clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

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 easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a dark color design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will display without problems on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …

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

… and display only WP themes that use “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 come with a number of customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The ”cons” 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes ask users for donations to help cover costs of providing support.

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been well over one year since any updates were last made, then it’s best to think twice about using it, as WordPress is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts and errors with older code.

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 any money on paid themes. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what 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.org theme directory and how to filter your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium 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 great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:

Theme Marketplaces

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme directories online.

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

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for business sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes for photography, ebook authors, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to directory listings, buy & sell, tourism directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, cafes, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (repairers, legal firms, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to software, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice 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)

Go here to browse many quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest theme site:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

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 directory, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Minimal or Commerce themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

(click on the above images to browse all 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 WP themes, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial WordPress theme shops.

Commercial WordPress Theme Design Companies

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great 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 themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs stunning themes and offer a membership option that lets you access their entire WP theme portfolio.

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

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 images above to view all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress builds WordPress themes based on a framework that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the 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 version of WordPress, 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 “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 themes from StudioPress is that you pay 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 view all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That? – WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free web tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme a site 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 is being used on the website.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a site is powered by WordPress: Is Your Site 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 is powered by the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any WP plugins detected.

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

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A method that is commonly used by a number of hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins that contain 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 safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress repository, or use well-known 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 malware or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report …

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

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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