Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

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

If you haven’t yet discovered themes and what makes WP themes unique, then go here to read the post: About WP Themes – A Guide For New WP Users

In this blog post, you will learn where to search for free and paid themes for your 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 experiencing problems like lack of customer support and poor theme coding.

As explained in another article, a theme is a unique type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed to work specifically for the WordPress CMS platform.

Many individual website designers and website design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of high quality WordPress themes covering a wide-range of uses and applications.

Finding Great Themes For WordPress: How To Avoid Information Overload

Let’s say you were to fire up Google and type key phrases like the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• best paid WordPress themes
• best responsive WordPress themes for churches (or whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)

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

So, to help you save time and make things 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 explain these differences in a different post. In this post, let’s just be covering themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over the design of your website.

Free vs Paid WordPress Themes

Next, it’s important to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are generally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be sold as Premium (paid) themes.

WordPress Theme Marketplaces And Directories & WP Theme Stores

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

Theme marketplaces and theme directories are big theme aggregators. WP theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors shop for 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 agencies can also design both free and premium WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of developer, to large web and theme design and development companies.

Many commercial theme design houses 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 WP theme directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for the best WP themes for your blog.

Choosing The Best Responsive WP Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – WordPress Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the largest and best place to search for WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free WordPress theme directory you should use when looking for free WP 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 contain malicious code and put your computer, digital presence … 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 to review and ensure that each theme listed in the directory complies with their quality and security standards.

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

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

Find WordPress Themes Inside Your Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress.org directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with only a few mouse clicks.

Use WP Theme Filters

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

Note: in an earlier article where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display without problems on all devices (e.g. your laptop, smartphone and tablet) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering option lets you do just that …

… and find only themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme. Additionally, 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 you shouldn’t expect the theme developer to provide dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation 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 more than 1 year since any change was last made, then we advise you to think twice about downloading it, as WordPress is frequently updated and these changes can create conflicts and errors with older code.

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 money on premium themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and helps to convert your site visitors into customers.

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 specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to finding premium 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, you can 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 theme directories online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (some starting from as little as $3) …

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

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

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for portfolios, writing professionals, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for entertainment 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. rentals, etc.)
• Retail – themes for health products, trades or professionals (electricians, legal firms, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to hosting, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding 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 sends you theme update notifications)

Browse thousands of great themes in the ThemeForest themes marketplace here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can search through many 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 marketplace, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Wedding themes, etc.) using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. BuddyPress or Business themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WP theme vendors.

Commercial And Independent WordPress Theme Developers

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality premium WordPress themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.

(click on above images to see all SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

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

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

StoreFront

StoreFront Themes specializes in creating WordPress 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 themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” 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 the content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web developers prefer using 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 themes are always 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 themes built using the Genesis framework 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, there’s no need to feel concerned 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 just 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 see all StudioPress themes)

WordPress Theme-Checking Tools

To round things up, here are a couple of useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WP Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That? is a free web tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme a website or blog is using.

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 website.

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 if a web site uses the WP CMS platform: Is Your Website Powered By 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 a site is powered by WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins detected.

• To use the online tool visit the website 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 WordPress

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

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

A commonly-used tactic employed by many hackers and cyber criminals is to put up sites and directories offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and distribute themes and plugins containing malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for 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 vendors.

If you are concerned 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 perform a scan of your theme files. This plugin scans the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of injected code and presents you with a report with the results …

(TAC Report Page – Source: Plugin)

We hope that you have found the information on how to find the best free and paid responsive themes for WordPress useful.

***

***