In an earlier article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using themes and what makes WordPress themes unique, then go here to read the post: Understanding WP Themes – A Newbies’ Guide
In this blog post, you will learn where you can look for free and paid themes for your WordPress 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 having to deal with problems like lack of customer support and poor coding.
As explained in our previously-mentioned article, a WordPress theme is a special type of web design template used on WordPress-powered blogs and designed specifically with WordPress in mind.
Many skilled web designers and website design firms create themes for WordPress. Consequently, members of the WP community can access thousands of high quality themes covering an extensive range of uses.
Finding Great Responsive Themes For WordPress: So Many Choices … Where To Begin?
If you were to browse over to Google and type a key phrase like the following:
- best premium WP themes
- WordPress themes free
- best responsive WordPress themes for musicians (type in 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 the search results.
So, to help you save time and make things easier, let’s just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress themes simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll cover these differences in a later article. For now, please note that we will only be covering 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 the design areas of your website.
Free vs Paid Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that typically, you’ll find both Free and Paid WordPress themes made available. Free themes are generally 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.
Theme Marketplaces And Directories & WordPress Theme Stores
There are mostly two places where you can find WP themes. The first place is in WordPress theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second place are the commercial and independent WP theme shops.
WP theme marketplaces and WordPress theme directories are big aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors search for these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
Some of the bigger directories 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 theme developers can develop both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual developer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme development companies.
As you will see, many commercial theme design houses 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 WP theme directories .
Let’s now show you where to find the best themes for your website.
Choosing Responsive 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 WordPress themes. 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 some 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 uses a team of theme reviewers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory meets certain quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of professionally-designed FREE WordPress themes from the official Themes Repository, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Find WordPress Themes Inside Your WordPress Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WP theme in the WordPress directory and not only find what you are looking for, but also easily install and activate it directly from inside your WordPress admin panel with only a couple of mouse clicks.
Use The WP Theme Feature Filters
WordPress has a built-in 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 pink color design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in another article where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. the PCs, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to browse your website) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …
… and bring back 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. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and offer a number of customizable options, 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 you shouldn’t expect the theme developer to provide personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many 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 changes were last made, then it’s best to think carefully about using it, as the WordPress software changes quite often and new features 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 or even on custom theme design. 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 WordPress themes in the WordPress.org theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to finding premium themes.
Paid 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, you can search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Directories
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme directories online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WordPress theme developers showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,500 premium WP themes listed (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 themes in various categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and environmental blogs, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for corporate sites and marketing purposes.
- Creative – themes for creative work, writing professionals, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, classifieds, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for selling products online, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, nightlife, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching 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 beauty products, 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 romance tips and 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 emails you theme update notifications)
Browse lots of great WP themes in the ThemeForest marketplace here:
Creative Market
(click on the above images to browse all themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WP theme marketplace where you can browse thousands of 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 WP themes in its directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from their dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great premium themes crafted by independent WordPress theme designers in the Creative Market themes directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to browse all Mojo themes)
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 WordPress themes, but you can easily browse hundreds of themes for WordPress and search through their theme categories (e.g. Blog or eCommerce themes and theme frameworks, etc.) from the site’s dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great premium WordPress themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WordPress theme directories, let’s take a look at commercial WordPress theme development firms.
Commercial And Independent Theme Shops
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of high quality themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to view all SoloStream themes)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates eye-catching premium themes that are very popular and highly sought after by web users and offer a membership option that lets you access all themes in their theme portfolio.
(click on the images above to view all WooThemes themes)
StoreFront
StoreFront creates beautiful WordPress themes for e-commerce. StoreFront themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the above images to view all StoreFront themes)
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 frequently up-to-date to reflect best practices for coding and to ensure that themes remain always compatible with the latest WordPress version, 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 too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes is that one low price entitles 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 browse all StudioPress themes)
Theme-Checking Tools
Here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That?
What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a website or blog is using.
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the site.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have published a a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a web site uses the WP CMS platform: Is It A WP Site?
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, but it will also list the WP theme being used and list any plugins detected.
- To use the tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That?
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Blog And WP-Checking Tools
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
We said this before and it’s worth repeating it again: When choosing FREE themes for your WordPress site, we highly recommend sticking with the themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A tactic that is commonly used by a number of hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” WP themes all over the web and distribute themes and plugins that contain malicious code. In fact, some of these sites even come up on Google’s search results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to stick with the official WordPress.org directory, or use established and reputable theme merchants.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your site may contain potentially malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to run a scan of your theme files. This plugin searches the source files of every them you have installed on your site for signs of suspicious code and presents you with a report as shown in the screenshot below …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot: Plugin Site, WordPress.org)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
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