In a previous article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes themes so special, then go here to read our post: A Useful Guide To WordPress Themes
In this article, we explain where you can discover many professional free and paid themes for your WP 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 having to deal with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in another post, a theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed specifically with the WordPress content management system in mind.
Many professional web designers and website development companies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community can access thousands of unique themes designed for many purposes.
Finding Great WP Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!
Let’s say you were to browse over to Google and type a key phrase like the following:
- best free WP themes
- WordPress themes free
- best free WordPress themes for churches (enter whatever your business, search topic or website is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in the search listings.
So, to help you save time and make things easier, let’s just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WP themes 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 separate article. To keep things simple, we’ll only be covering the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over the design areas of your blog.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are both Free and Paid WP themes being made available. Free 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 Development Firms
There are mostly 2 places where themes can be found. The first is in theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme vendors.
WordPress theme marketplaces and WP theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers shop for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
Some of the larger theme stores 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 WP theme design houses typically develop both free and paid WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme design companies.
As you will see, many commercial or independent theme stores 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 directories .
Let’s now show you where to find the best themes for your blog.
Choosing Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to search for free WordPress themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free theme directory you should use when looking for free WP 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 contain malicious code and place your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a theme review team to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with specific quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of excellent FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Repository, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Search For Free Themes Inside Your Own WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WP admin panel with only a couple of clicks.
Use The WP Theme Filtering
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 easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with a pink colour design, with a 3-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in an earlier post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will display correctly on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and bring up only WordPress themes that are “responsive” …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that there is no cost 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 ”cons” of using free WordPress 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free 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 over one year since any updates were 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, 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 premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for your site and your business.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium themes.
Premium 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 ongoing support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WordPress Theme Marketplaces
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 15,000 premium WP themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to browse 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 general blogs and political blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for government sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes for creative work, freelancers, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, classifieds, business directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for film & tv blogs, restaurants, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. retina-ready themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, charities, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
- Retail – themes for retail stores, trades or professionals (repairers, engineering, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, landing pages, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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 emails you theme update notifications)
Go here to find great WP themes in the ThemeForest website:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse more themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can browse 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 WP themes in its marketplace, but you can easily find WordPress themes and narrow your search using theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Business themes, etc.) using their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great WP themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to see more Mojo themes)
Mojo is a marketplace 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 WordPress themes, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories (e.g. Blog or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial and independent theme design companies.
Commercial Theme Shops
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to see all themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates functional WP themes and offer a membership option that allows members to access all themes in their growing theme collection.
(click on the images above to view all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront specializes in WP themes for e-commerce. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the above images to browse more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” 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 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 make sure that it always remains 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 StudioPress themes use something called “child themes,” which are like “skins” that sit on top of the theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.
If this all 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 StudioPress themes 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 above images to view more StudioPress themes)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WP Theme Is That – WordPress Theme And Plugin Search Tool
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin search tool that allows you to easily detect what WP theme a website or blog is using.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme the website is using.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a web site was built using WordPress: Is It A WP Web Site?
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 was built on the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used and list any WP plugins detected.
- To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Does My Website Run On WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker - WP Plugin
A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the reviewed and approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A commonly-used strategy employed by many hackers and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” WordPress 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 Google for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to only download free WP themes from the official WordPress.org directory, or use well-known and trusted theme vendors.
If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could contain malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your theme files. The plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of suspicious code and outputs a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: WordPress.org Plugin Site)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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