In a separate article, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then make sure to check out our post here: An Overview of WP Themes
In this blog post, we show you where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your site. You will also learn about the different types of WP theme resources and get tips on how to make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and how to avoid dealing with problems like lack of support and poor coding.
As we’ve explained in our previously-mentioned article, a theme is a special kind of web design template that is used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed specifically for the WP CMS platform.
Many individual website designers and web design houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users have access to thousands of uniquely-designed WP themes covering an extensive range of uses.
Where To Find WordPress Themes: How To Avoid Information Overload
Let’s say you were to launch Google and search for a key phrase like the following:
- best free WordPress themes
- best free WordPress themes
- best paid WordPress themes for blogs (type in whatever your business, area of interest or website is about)
Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of 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 later article. To keep things simple, please note that we will only 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 areas of your blog.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid themes made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they can be licensed for use as Premium (i.e. paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories & WordPress Theme Stores
There are two types of places where WP themes can be found. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WordPress theme companies.
Theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are large theme stores. WordPress theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and buyers search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
Some of the bigger 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 WordPress theme developers typically create both free and premium WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of designer, to large web and theme development companies.
As you will see, most commercial 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 search for great themes for your website.
Where To Find Responsive Themes For Your WordPress Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Theme 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 WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can put your computer, digital presence … even your entire business at risk.
The WP directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your website, but it also relies on a theme review team comprised of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets high standards of quality and security.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official WP 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.org directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and start using it directly from within your WordPress dashboard with a couple of mouse clicks.
Use WordPress Theme Filters
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 easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly pink color design, with a 4-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in another post where we present an overview of WordPress themes and discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed 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 WP themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress 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 come with a number of built-in customizable options, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The ”cons” to 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 theme developer to provide urgent support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most free 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 over a year since any updates were last made, then we advise you to think twice about using it, as the WordPress software changes quite often and this can result in 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 any money on paid themes. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free 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 theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet your specific requirements, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid WP themes.
Premium WordPress 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 great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
Theme Marketplaces And Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the biggest and best-known WordPress theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme developers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium WordPress themes listed (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to see all themes on ThemeForest)
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 environmental blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for legal sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes suitable for design, arts, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes ideal for sites related to directory listings, classifieds, community resources, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for online shopping, membership sites, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to training, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, music venues, 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. home sales, etc.)
- Retail – themes for beauty products, trades or professionals (electricians, medical centers, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to apps, landing pages, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and wedding advice 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 sends you theme update notifications)
Go here to discover great premium themes in the ThemeForest theme site:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to browse all themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse many 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Wedding themes, etc.) from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of quality premium themes crafted by independent WordPress theme designers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to browse more WordPress themes at Mojo)
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 browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. BuddyPress or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find quality premium themes in the Mojo theme directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme directories, let’s look at commercial and independent theme design companies.
Commercial And Independent Theme Design Houses
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of professional quality WordPress themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on above images to view more SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates functional WP themes and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to view all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes creates stunning 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 above images to see all StoreFront themes)
StudioPress
StudioPress designs 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 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 frequently updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that themes remain always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you may 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 design.
If this sounds 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 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 images above to browse all StudioPress themes)
Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WP Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WordPress theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WP theme a site is using.
This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WordPress theme is being used on the website.
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 WordPress-driven: How To Tell If A Site 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 then not only confirm if a site is powered by WordPress software, but it will also list the theme being used by the site 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: How Can I Check If My Site Was Built With WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – Plugin
A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A commonly-used tactic employed by many hackers and syndicates that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up websites and directories offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and distribute themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even display on Google’s search results for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and trusted theme vendors.
If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog could be infected with potentially malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your WP theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(TAC Report Page – Source: WordPress.org Plugin)
We hope that you have found this information useful.
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