Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

In a previous article, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you haven’t yet discovered WordPress themes and what makes themes so attractive to website owners, then go here to read our article: An Introduction to WP Themes

In this blog post, you will learn where you can search for 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 product support and poorly-coded themes.

As we’ve explained in our previous post, a theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven sites and designed specifically on the WP CMS platform.

Many individual web designers and web design firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WordPress community have access to thousands of quality themes covering an extensive range of uses and applications.

Finding Great Themes: Let’s Simplify Things!

Let’s say you were to launch Google and type a key phrase like the following:

• best free themes for WordPress
• WordPress themes free
• best responsive WordPress themes for musicians (or 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 the search results.

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 simple.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes

Before we start, you need to know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in another article. For now, let’s just 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 web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid WordPress themes made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are made available to users as Premium (paid) themes.

WP Theme Marketplaces & Theme Shops

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

WP theme marketplaces and WP theme directories are big aggregators of themes. WP 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 directory.

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 WP theme developers can develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of developer, to large theme design companies.

As you will see, most commercial or independent theme developers 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 directories .

Let’s now show you where to search for great themes for your blog.

Choosing A Theme Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)

The official WordPress theme directory is the biggest 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 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 place your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WordPress theme directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a theme review team to review and make sure that each theme listed in the directory meets their quality and security standards.

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 start using it directly from within your WP admin panel with a couple of clicks.

Use WP Theme Filtering

WordPress has a built-in filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colors, Layout and Features …

This makes it easier to find themes with specific features. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly dark colour design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in the article where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” WP themes, we explained how these ensure that your theme will work on all devices (e.g. the PCs, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to view your website) …

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you search across its entire database of free themes …

… and display only themes that are “responsive” …

Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free WP themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme on your site. An added plus, is that 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 to using free WordPress 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 dedicated support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation 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 a year since any updates were made, then we advise you to think twice about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.

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 money on premium themes or even on custom web design. Who knows, the theme you downloaded for free may just be the thing that works for your site 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, it’s time to turn our attention to finding paid 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 Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the biggest and most popular WordPress theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WordPress theme creators to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are over 17,000 premium themes to choose from (some starting 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 WP themes in various categories, such as:

• Blog/Magazine – themes for bloggers and political blogs, etc.
• Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites or marketing purposes.
• Creative – themes for portfolios, writers, etc.
• Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to travel, buy & sell, , etc.
• eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
• Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
• Entertainment – themes for photo gallery blogs, nightlife, 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 specialty stores, trades or professionals (electricians, dentists, etc.)
• Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
• Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and marriage counselling 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 emails you theme update notifications)

Browse thousands of great premium themes in the ThemeForest directory here:

• ThemeForest

Creative Market

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can browse thousands of 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 WordPress themes in its directory, but you can easily go through all of their themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Landing Page or Popular themes, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

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

• Creative Market

Mojo Themes

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

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 search through their theme categories (e.g. Portfolio or Photography themes and theme frameworks, etc.) by choosing the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

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

• Mojo Themes

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

Commercial Theme Design Houses

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality WP 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 and offers a membership option that allows members to access their entire WordPress theme collection.

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

StoreFront

StoreFront specializes in creating e-commerce themes for WordPress. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.

(click on the above images to browse all themes from StoreFront)

StudioPress

StudioPress designs WordPress themes based on a framework that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress website, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for your content and unprecedented control of the framework.

Many web developers like the Genesis 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 make sure that it always remains compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update themes built using the Genesis framework without losing any customizations you 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 way too technical, don’t worry 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 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 themes from StudioPress)

WP Theme-Checking Tools

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

What WP Theme Is That? WP Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin search tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme and plugins a site 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 WordPress theme is being used on the website.

Tip: If you don’t know if a site was built using WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site is WP-driven: Is My Blog 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 the site is powered by WordPress, but it will also list the theme being used on the site and list any WordPress plugins it detects.

• To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
• To learn more about using this tool go here: Is Your Site Built With WordPress?

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

We said this earlier and it’s worth repeating again: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the approved themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.

A well-known tactic used by a number of hacking groups and networks that engage in cyber criminal activities is to put up sites and directories 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 display on Google 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 reputable theme merchants.

If you are in doubt about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could contain 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 installed theme on your site for signs of injected code and then outputs a report …

(Theme Authenticity Checker Report Page – Screenshot Source: WordPress.org Plugin)

We hope that you have found this information useful.

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