Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

In another post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

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

In this article, you will learn where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 experiencing problems like lack of customer support and poor coding.

As we’ve explained in our previous article, a WordPress theme is a special type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed specifically with the WordPress content management system in mind.

Many talented website designers and website design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community enjoy access to thousands of excellent WP themes designed to cover a wide range of purposes and needs.

Where To Find Great WP Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

If you were to launch Google and search for the following:

• best free WP themes
• best responsive themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes for writers (or whatever your business, area of interest or website 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, 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 get started, you need to know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in another article. In this article, we’ll only cover the topic of finding 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 aspects of your site.

Free vs Paid Themes

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

WP Theme Marketplaces & Theme Vendors

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

WP theme marketplaces and 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 larger directories 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 shops typically will create both free and premium themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme developer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme 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 themes for your blog.

Choosing Great Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes 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 WP theme 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 directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with high quality and security standards.

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

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

Search For Free Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WordPress admin panel with only a couple of clicks.

Use Theme Filtering

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 themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue color design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

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

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

… and display only WordPress themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it’s free to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The downside 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 immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many free themes ask users for donations to help cover their costs of providing support and updates, bug fixes, etc..

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been over one year since any change was last made, then you should think carefully about downloading it, as the WordPress software is frequently updated and this can result in conflicts or errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website or blog 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 premium themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for your site and for your business.

Now that we’ve seen how to find free WordPress themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and how to narrow down your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to paid themes.

Premium WP 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 ongoing 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 well known WordPress theme directories online.

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

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

If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP 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 photography, arts, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes suitable for sites about travel, classifieds, social directories, etc.
• eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for celebrity blogs, music venues, 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. commercial property, etc.)
• Retail – themes for boutiques, trades or professionals (plumbers, dental practitioners, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage celebrant blogs
• Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing political issues, 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 browse many great WP themes in the ThemeForest site:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

(click on the above images to view all themes on Creative Market)

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can browse many 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 go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

Mojo is a marketplace 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 WP themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and narrow your search with 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 themes in the Mojo directory here:

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial WP theme agencies.

Commercial And Independent WP 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 above images to browse more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs functional WP themes and offers a membership option that gives you access to their entire WP theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes creates stunning 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 browse all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress builds 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 designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

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

This is because themes built with the Genesis framework use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits on top of the theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

If this sounds way too technical, there’s no need to feel concerned 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 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 browse all StudioPress themes)

Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WordPress Theme Is That? – WP Theme And Plugin Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free WordPress theme and plugin search tool that allows you to easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a website uses.

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

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell whether or not a site uses the WP CMS platform: How Can I Tell If A 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 whether or not a site has been built on WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

• To use this tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
• To learn how to use this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Was Built Using The WordPress CMS Platform

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 WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.

A commonly-used tactic employed by many hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and then distribute modified themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org repository, or use well-known and reputable theme download sites.

If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WordPress theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and outputs a report …

(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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