In an earlier post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress themes and what makes themes so attractive to website owners, then go here to read our article: A Basic Guide To WP Themes
In this article, you will learn where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WP website or blog. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress 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 product support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in our previous article, a theme is a unique type of web template used on WordPress-driven websites and designed specifically for WordPress.
Many individual website designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of high quality themes covering a wide-range of applications.
Finding Great WP Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide
If you were to open up Google and search for the following:
- best themes for WordPress
- best responsive themes for WordPress
- best paid WordPress themes for churches (type in whatever your business, area of interest or blog is about)
Chances are that you are going to get an overwhelming amount of junk 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 users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a different article. For now, we’ll only be covering 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 your site’s web design.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s important to know that there are both 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 listed as Premium (paid) themes.
WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories & Theme Shops
There are two different types of places where you can find WordPress themes. The first place is in WP theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme houses.
WP 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 bigger theme stores 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 can also develop both free and paid WP themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme designer, to large theme development companies.
As you will see, many commercial theme stores 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 WordPress theme directories .
Let’s now show you where to find the best themes for your blog.
Where To Find The Best Themes For Your WordPress Website
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Free Theme Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the biggest and best place to download WP themes for free. 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 and even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your site, but it also uses a theme review team to review and ensure that each theme in the directory complies with high standards of quality and security.
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 WordPress Themes Inside Your Own WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress theme directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WP admin panel with only a few clicks.
Use WP 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 easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly orange colour design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly across all devices (e.g. your laptop, smartphone and tablet) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filtering function lets you search across its entire database of free themes …
… and find only WordPress themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
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. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and come with a number of customizable features, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside to 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 personal 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 more than 1 year since any change was last made, then we advise you to think carefully about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.
If you’re just getting started and your site is still quite 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 money on a theme. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free 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 ways to narrow down your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to premium WordPress themes.
Premium 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:
WordPress Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and well known WP theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme designers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium WordPress themes to choose from (you can find great themes from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to see all ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and e-magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes for visual galleries, writing professionals, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about travel, buy & sell, , etc.
- eCommerce – themes for e-commerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for fashion blogs, cafes, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. retina-ready themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, 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, engineering, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to hosting, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and romance tips and 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 quality premium themes in the ThemeForest directory:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to browse more Creative Market themes)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme directory where you can browse thousands of 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 find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great WP themes crafted by independent WP theme developers in the Creative Market marketplace here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the images above to browse more WP themes at Mojo)
Mojo is a directory 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 WP themes, but you can easily find themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. BuddyPress or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s take a look at commercial theme stores.
Commercial And Independent Theme Stores
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of high quality WP 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 functional WP themes and offer a membership option that lets you access their entire WP theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to see all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating WP 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 view all themes from StoreFront)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that lets you 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 your content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many website developers like 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 practices for coding 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 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 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 very easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing themes from StudioPress is that one low price allows 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 images above to see more themes from StudioPress)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:
What WordPress Theme Is That.com
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free online tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a website or blog uses.
This is a great resource if you ever come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what WP theme is being used on the website.
Tip: If you don’t know if a site uses WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell if a web site is powered by WordPress: How Can I Check If A Website Was Built Using 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 WordPress software, but it will also list the WordPress theme being used and list any plugins it detects.
- To use this online tool visit the website here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: The Easy Way To Tell If Your Web Site Runs On WordPress Software
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) – WP Plugin
We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we strongly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme repository.
A commonly-used tactic employed by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up sites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google for search phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s best, therefore, to only download free WP themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and reputable sites.
If you have any concerns about whether a WordPress theme installed on your site may contain potentially malicious or unwanted code, use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your WP theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin Page, WordPress.org)
We hope that you have found the information on how to find the best WP useful.
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