In a separate article, we have written a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to learn more about WordPress themes and what makes themes so revolutionary in terms of web design, then go here to read the post: A Practical Guide To Understanding WordPress Themes
In this article, you will learn where you can look for free and paid themes for your 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 avoid having to deal with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As we’ve explained in another article, a theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-powered sites and designed specifically with the WP CMS platform in mind.
Many website designers and website design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of great themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.
Finding Responsive Themes For WordPress: Too Much Information … Where To Begin?
If you were to launch Google and type key phrases like the following:
- best responsive themes for WordPress
- WordPress themes free
- best free WordPress themes for authors (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in your 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 WP themes simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, 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, please note that we will 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 website.
Free vs Paid WP Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that you can find thousands of 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 are licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories vs WP Theme Design Companies
There are two different types of places where themes can be found. The first type of place is in WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent theme companies.
WP 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 find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.
Some of the bigger 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 theme development firms typically will create both free and paid WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme design and development companies.
Many commercial or independent 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 the best themes for your website or blog.
Choosing Responsive WP Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – WP Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to search for free WP themes. 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 contain malicious code and put your computer, digital presence and 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 theme review team to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with their quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official WordPress Themes Directory, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WordPress 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 within your WordPress dashboard with only a couple of mouse clicks.
Use Theme Filtering
WordPress provides a filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colours, Layout and Features …
This makes it easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly orange colour design, with a 3-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. your visitors’ laptops, smartphones and tablets) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and find only WordPress 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 customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” of 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 urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free themes ask users for donations to help cover their support costs.
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 the WordPress software is frequently updated and new features can result in conflicts or errors with older code.
If you’re just getting started and your site is still relatively 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 or even on custom theme design. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for your site and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free 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 paid themes.
Paid 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 responsive support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WordPress Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and well known theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to browse all ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and green living blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for portfolios, kindle book authors, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, social directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for selling products online, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for entertainment blogs, dining out, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching 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 health products, trades or professionals (repairers, dentists, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for topics related to activism, 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 browse many great premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest directory:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse more Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse 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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great WordPress themes crafted by independent WordPress theme designers in the Creative Market directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to browse all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a directory for premium 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 browse hundreds of WP themes and narrow your search with theme categories from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium WordPress themes in the Mojo marketplace here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s take a look at commercial theme vendors.
Commercial WordPress Theme Stores
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality WP 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 designs functional WordPress themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire WP theme collection.
(click on the images above to see all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 see more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that allows you 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 the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers like this framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently updated to reflect best coding practices and to ensure that it always remains compatible with the latest version of WordPress, 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 look and feel.
If this 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 one low price entitles 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 all StudioPress themes)
WP Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free online tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website is using (including parent and child themes).
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WP theme the website or blog is using.
Tip: If you can’t tell if a site runs on WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site is WP-driven: Does My Site Run On 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 the site was built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any plugins detected.
- To use this tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn more about using this tool go here: How Can I Tell If A Site Was Built Using WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A well-known method used by many hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” WP 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 come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use well-known and reputable theme download sites.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. The plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report with the results …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: Plugin, WordPress.org)
I hope that you have found the information on how to find the best free and commercial themes for WordPress useful.
***
"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
***