Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes

This tutorial shows you where to find many great free or premium WordPress themes for your online business, e-commerce store, website, or blog.

WordPress

In a separate post, we provide new WordPress users with a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.

If you would like to learn more about WordPress themes and what makes themes so special, then go here to read our post: A Non-Technical User’s Guide To WordPress Themes

In this article, we show you 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 make sure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid having to deal with problems like lack of product support and poor coding.

As explained in our previously-mentioned article, a theme is a unique kind of web template that is used on WordPress-driven blogs and designed to work specifically for WordPress.

Many professional web designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of professional-quality themes covering a wide-range of applications.

WP themes cover a wide-range of applications.

Finding Great WordPress Themes: How To Avoid Getting Overwhelmed

If you were to open up Google and type something like this:

  • best WordPress themes
  • WordPress themes free
  • best free WordPress themes for churches (enter whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)

You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in your search results.

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 really 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 post. In this post, please note that we will only cover themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, which gives you more freedom, more options and more control over your web design.

Free vs Paid WP Themes

Next, it’s useful to know that you will easily find many Free and Paid WP themes made available. Free WP themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they are sold as Premium (paid) themes.

Theme Directories & WP Theme Vendors

There are two places where themes can be found. The first place is in theme marketplaces and theme directories. The second are the commercial and independent WordPress theme developers.

Theme marketplaces and 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 visitors find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software marketplace.

Some of the bigger marketplaces 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 development firms can create both free and paid themes, and can vary in size, from an individual theme designer or a small team of theme developer, to large theme development companies.

As you will see, most commercial 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 WordPress themes for your website or blog.

Finding The Best Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog

WordPress.org

WordPress.org - WP Theme Directory

(WordPress.org – Free 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 WP 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 put your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.

The WordPress.org directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also relies on a team of theme reviewers comprised of dedicated and code-savvy volunteers to review and make sure that each theme in the directory complies with specific 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

Tip

Search For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard

Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every theme in the WordPress.org theme 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 dashboard with only a few clicks.

Look For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard!

Use The Theme 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 Colors, Layout and Features …

Use Theme Filters

This makes it easy to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with a blue colour design, with a four-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.

Note: in another post where we discuss the importance of choosing “responsive” WordPress themes, we explained how responsive themes ensure that your theme will display correctly across all devices (e.g. the laptops, tablets and smartphones used by visitors to browse your site information) …

Use Theme Feature Filter

You should use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …

Use WP Theme Filters

… and bring back only WordPress themes that use “responsive” design standards …

Use The WP Theme Feature Filter

Pros & Cons Of Using Free WordPress Themes

The obvious “pro” to using free themes is that it costs you 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 customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.

The ”cons” 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 theme developer to provide personal support, especially if they are not getting paid. Most freely distributed themes ask users for donations to help cover their costs of providing support and updates, bug fixes, etc..

When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been well over 1 year since any changes were last made, then it’s best to think twice about downloading it, as the WordPress software changes quite often and new features can create conflicts or errors with older code.

If you’re just getting started and your website is still relatively 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 premium themes. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded may just be the thing that works for you and for your business.

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 your specific criteria, let’s turn our attention to paid WordPress themes.

Premium WordPress 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:

WP Theme Marketplaces And Directories

ThemeForest

ThemeForest

ThemeForest is one of the largest and best-known theme marketplaces online.

ThemeForest allows many professional WP theme designers to showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are well over 17,000 premium WP themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …

ThemeForest - Premium WordPress Themes

(click on the images above to view more themes on ThemeForest)

If you visit the ThemeForest theme marketplace, you will be able to browse for specific WordPress themes in a range of categories, such as:

  • Blog/Magazine – themes for personal blogs and parenting blogs, etc.
  • Corporate – themes suitable for government sites or advertising purposes.
  • Creative – themes for portfolios, ebook authors, etc.
  • Directory Listings – themes that suit sites about directory listings, classifieds, , etc.
  • eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, membership sites, etc.
  • Education – themes that suit sites related to teaching, etc.
  • Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, restaurants, 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. commercial property, etc.)
  • Retail – themes for health products, trades or professionals (electricians, chiropractors, etc.)
  • Technology – themes related to technology, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
  • Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating 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!

Useful Tip

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

(ThemeForest emails you theme update notifications)

Go here to browse many quality premium themes in the ThemeForest theme website:

Creative Market

Creative Market - WP Theme Directory

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

Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory 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 go through all of their themes for WordPress and narrow your search using theme categories from the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …

Creative Market - marketplace premium WP themes

Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WP theme designers in the Creative Market themes marketplace here:

Mojo Themes

Mojo Themes - WordPress Themes Marketplace

(click on the above images to view more themes at Mojo.com)

Mojo is a directory for premium 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 find themes for WordPress and narrow your search with theme categories from the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …

Mojo - themes

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

Now that we have looked at WordPress theme marketplaces, let’s look at commercial WordPress theme agencies.

Commercial Theme Agencies

SoloStream

SoloStream provides WordPress users with a great selection of high quality premium WP themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.

Solostream Themes

(click on above images to see more SoloStream themes)

Woo Themes

Woo Themes designs great WordPress themes and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme portfolio.

WooThemes - WP Themes

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

StoreFront

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

StoreFront Themes

(click on the above images to browse more StoreFront themes)

StudioPress

StudioPress develops WordPress themes based on a framework (called the “Genesis” framework) that lets you quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site 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 updated to reflect best practices for coding and to make sure that it is 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 a paint job that sits on top of the theme framework and gives your site its unique look and feel.

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 themes from StudioPress 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.

StudioPress Premium WordPress Themes

(click on the images above to view more themes from StudioPress)

Theme-Checking Tools

Let’s finish this article with a few more useful WordPress theme-related tools worth keeping in mind:

What WordPress Theme Is That? WordPress Theme Checker

What WordPress Theme Is That - WordPress Theme Search Tool

What WordPress Theme Is That is a free WordPress theme and plugin-checking tool that lets you easily detect what WP 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 theme the website or blog uses.

Tip

Tip: If you can’t tell if a site was built using WordPress or not, go here for a great tutorial that shows you how to tell if a web site uses the WordPress CMS platform: Is It A WP Website?

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 not only confirm whether or not a site is powered by the WP CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used and list any plugins it detects.

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

Useful Info

We suggested 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 repository.

A well-known method used by many hacking groups and cyber criminals is to put up websites offering “Free” themes for WordPress all over the web and distribute modified themes and plugins with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free WordPress themes”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free WordPress themes from the official WordPress.org repository, or use established and reputable theme download sites.

If you have any doubts about whether a WordPress theme installed on your blog may contain malware or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to scan your theme files. The TAC plugin scans the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then presents you with a report …

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) - Plugin

(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin, WordPress.org)

I hope that you have found this information useful.

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Originally published as Where To Find The Best WordPress Themes.