In a separate post, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about WordPress themes and what makes themes unique, then make sure to check out the post here: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Practical Guide For Website Owners
In this article, you will learn where to explore many 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 dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poor theme coding.
As we’ve explained in our previous post, a WordPress theme is a unique type of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered websites and designed to work specifically in WordPress.
Many website designers and web design agencies create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community enjoy access to thousands of professional-quality WP themes covering an extensive range of applications.
Finding Great Themes: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?
Let’s say you were to launch Google and search for the following:
- best free themes for WordPress
- best responsive themes for WordPress
- best paid WordPress themes for blogs (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
Chances are that you are 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 WordPress themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we start, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a different article. In this article, please note that we will only cover 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 your web design.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid WP themes made available. Free themes for WordPress are normally distributed as Free Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces vs WordPress Theme Developers
There are mostly two different types of places where WordPress themes can be found. The first type of place is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme vendors.
Theme marketplaces and theme directories are large aggregators of themes. 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 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 design houses typically create both free and paid WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of theme designer, to large web and theme design companies.
As you will see, many commercial or independent theme developers 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 great themes for your blog.
Where To Find The Best Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Free WordPress Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to find free WP themes. In fact, it’s probably the only free 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 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 WP site, 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 certain standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Repository, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
You Don’t Even Have To Leave Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and activate it directly from within your WP admin panel with just a few mouse clicks.
Use Theme Feature Filter
WordPress provides a filtering function inside the admin 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 a orange colour design, with a three-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 responsive themes ensure that your theme will work on all devices (e.g. computers, tablets and smartphones) …
You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and bring back only WordPress themes that use “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs nothing to download and use the theme on your site. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside of using free WP themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and you shouldn’t expect the developer to provide immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes ask users for donations to help cover 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 changes were made, then think carefully about using it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.
If you’re just getting started and your site 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 paid themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for you and for converting your site visitors into customers.
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 WordPress 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 most popular WordPress theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 15,000 premium WordPress themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the images above to view more ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and blog magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes for video galleries, arts, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about employment opportunities, holiday rentals, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, dining out, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. responsive themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. rentals, etc.)
- Retail – themes for travel, trades or professionals (electricians, legal firms, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to hosting, newsletters, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental 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 great themes in the ThemeForest site:
Creative Market
(click on the images above 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 marketplace, but you can easily find themes for WordPress 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 themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to see all themes at Mojo)
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 go through all of their WordPress themes and narrow your search with theme categories using the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great WP themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s look at commercial and independent WP theme stores.
Commercial WP Theme Stores
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality premium themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to see more themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes designs eye-catching WordPress themes and offers a membership option that lets you access their entire theme collection.
(click on the above images to view more themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating 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 images above to browse more StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework that lets users quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, 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 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 coding practices and to ensure that themes remain always 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 themes built using the Genesis framework 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 sounds 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 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 see all themes from StudioPress)
Theme-Checking Tools
Let’s finish this post with a couple of useful WP theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That.com
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WordPress theme-checking tool that lets you 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 site uses.
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 website was built using WordPress: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WP-Checking Tools
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 if the site was built using WordPress software, but it will also list the WP theme being used by the site and list any WordPress plugins it detects.
- To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Is My Website WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
A word of warning: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A tactic that is commonly used by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress directory, or use well-known and reputable sites.
If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog may be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your WordPress theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of injected code and presents you with a report …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Source: Plugin)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group
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