Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes themes so attractive to website owners, then make sure to check out this post: An Introduction to WordPress Themes

In this article, you will learn where to discover loads of excellent free and paid themes for your website. 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 experiencing problems like lack of support and poor theme coding.

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

Many website designers and website development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community enjoy access to thousands of professional WP themes covering a wide-range of applications.

Finding WP Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide

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

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best paid WordPress themes for writers (or whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of disorganized information to sort through in your search listings.

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 WP 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 different article. In this post, we’ll 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 web design.

Free vs Paid Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that you can find thousands of Free and Paid WP themes made available. Free WordPress themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.

Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Design Houses

There are two kinds of places where themes can be found. The first is in WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WP theme houses.

WordPress theme marketplaces and WordPress 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 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 WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)

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

Many 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 directories .

Let’s now show you where to find great themes for your website or blog.

Choosing The Best Themes For Your WordPress Website

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Theme Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to download free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as some free software users have learned– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can put 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 or blog, but it also uses a review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with their standards of quality and security.

To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Repository, go here:

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

Find Free WordPress Themes Inside Your Own 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 start using it directly from inside your WP admin panel with just a couple of mouse clicks.

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

Note: in the post where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes allow your site to be viewed without problems on all devices (e.g. your laptop, smartphone and tablet) …

It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you do just that …

… and find only WordPress themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WP Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of built-in customizable settings, 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 developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes ask users for donations to help cover their 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 changes were last made, then it’s best to think carefully about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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 paid themes or even on custom theme design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free could be exactly what works for your site and for converting your site visitors into customers.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific requirements, let’s turn our attention to paid WP themes.

Paid WordPress 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 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 biggest and most popular WP theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme designers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 17,500 premium WordPress themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and e-magazines, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and advertising purposes.
• Creative – themes suitable for photography, galleries, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to travel, dining out & restaurants, tourism directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, music venues, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for travel, trades or professionals (plumbers, legal practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, landing pages, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Go here to discover quality premium themes in the ThemeForest marketplace:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can search through 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 WP themes in its directory, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Magazine or Business themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a directory for premium 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 WP themes and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo

Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s turn our attention to commercial and independent theme stores.

Commercial Theme Shops

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 all themes from SoloStream)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes creates functional themes for WordPress that are very popular and highly sought after by website users and also offers a membership option that gives you access to all themes in their growing WordPress theme portfolio.

(click on the images above to see all themes from WooThemes)

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in 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 above images to view all StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework that allows you to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, 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 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 your themes without losing any customizations you 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 all 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 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 more 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? – WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free web tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a website or blog is using (including parent and child WP themes).

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 whether a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell if a website is powered by WordPress: How To Check If A Website Was Built Using 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 whether or not the site has been built on WordPress, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used on the site and list any plugins detected.

• To use this online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn more about this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Blog Was Built Using WP Software

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

We suggested this before and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A commonly-used strategy employed by a number of hackers and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress theme repository, or use established and reputable theme merchants.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your WP theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin)

We hope that you have found the information on how to find great WP useful.

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