There are millions of websites, and more are being created every day, so it’s critical to have the best-looking site possible to attract visitors. One of the biggest failures in customer retention is a poorly designed website, but not everybody has the budget to hire a professional designer. If you have a WordPress site, there are many free WordPress themes to help your site attract those visitors.
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1. Best for Easy Customization: Astra
Astra is one of the most popular themes ever, and while most of the features are locked behind the premium version, the free version still has plenty of functionality. It comes with a ton of prebuilt page templates and full website themes, and the easy drag-and-drop elements allow for almost limitless customization.
Highlights:
- Hugely popular for its beautiful designs and ease of use
- Optimized for faster performance
- Includes the ability to customize headers, footers, colors and typography
2. Best for Powerful Customization: Elementor
No list of free themes that are best for customization would be complete without mentioning the amazing WordPress plugin Elementor. In addition to providing you with tons of simple drag-and-drop elements to make your site much better, it also gives you access to plenty of themes. While most features are available in the premium version, Elementor’s free plugin still packs a punch.
Highlights:
- One of the most-used plugins for WordPress
- Incredible functionality in addition to free themes
- Allows for near-limitless customization
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3. Best for Tech-Savvy Beginners: Hello Elementor
Requiring the hugely-popular Elementor plug-in, the Hello Elementor theme gives you a high level of customizability without the frustration, making it perfect for beginners. There are several templates to choose from, each with clear instructions on how to populate the content. It has a sleek drag-and-drop interface with a clean, modern design that’s easy to navigate.
Highlights:
- Easy to customize
- Incorporates additional features from Elementor
- No need to buy the Premium version, as the free version is highly capable
4. Best for Web Design Beginners: Twenty Twenty-Three
Every year, WordPress releases a new version of Twenty Twenty-Three, and it’s easy to see why the theme is popular. With over a million downloads, this free theme is incredibly easy to set up, starting you off with a clean, blank base. It features many elements that make it suitable for almost any kind of website, and the default theme includes ten diverse style variations. It’s an easy starting point for beginners, as it leverages the basics to make a great website that’s not overly complex.
Highlights:
- Designed and maintained by WordPress
- Simple layout with minimal complexities
- Has default content that’s easily replaced with your own
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5. Best for Personal Blogs: BUTE
The BUTE theme has a professional look that opens with a full-size image on the home page. When you click through to the content, the posts are neatly laid out with vertical header images, text snippets and social media links, making it an excellent design for blogs or news websites.
Highlights:
- Eye-catching landing page
- Step-by-step instructions
- Includes an editor for custom headers, footers and navigation menus
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6. Best for News-Style Blogs: Tenaz
If you prefer a blog theme that resembles a news website, the Tenaz theme is a perfect option. The home page features post blocks with images and text snippets, author attribution and several customizable categories. There will be no confusion as to what the website offers when visitors land on the home page.
Highlights:
- Step-by-step instructions
- Video tutorial
- Multiple categories and content types for better organization
7. Best for Online Clothing Stores: Brandstore
The beautiful Brandstore theme has everything you need to run a successful online clothing store. It has a simple, clean design that’s easy to navigate and integrates with WooCommerce. It comes with several prebuilt templates to get you up and running quickly.
Highlights:
- Beautiful layout with great image positioning
- Optimized for mobile devices
- Easily handles hundreds of products for a fast-growing business
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8. Best for Online Product Stores: Botiga
The Botiga free theme is lightweight but has everything you initially need for an online store. There is a monthly subscription for additional functions, but the free version looks professional and has more than 20,000 active installations. The large featured image on the home page instantly attracts attention, leading to more click-throughs.
Highlights:
- Optimized for both the WordPress block editor and Elementor
- Can handle many products in different categories
- Includes a few templates, like jewelry or cosmetics, for different product categories
9. Best for Photo Portfolios: Mayland
The beautiful Mayland is a free theme that is best suited for showing off your photographic skills. The clean and easy-to-navigate home page has minimal text, letting your images speak for themselves. It’s an excellent option to showcase your creativity, and you can integrate online sales into the backend.
Highlights:
- Features a striking home page with immersive photo blocks
- Step-by-step instructions and video tutorials
- Fully supports the new WordPress editor
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10. Best for Video Portfolios: Inspiro Lite
Specifically designed for videos and photos, the free version of Inspiro Lite features a full-screen video viewing area, supports the playback of Vimeo, YouTube and self-hosted videos, and is compatible with WooCommerce to sell your clips. The drag-and-drop theme is compatible with Elementor, making it easy to display your art.
Highlights:
- Easy to set up and start selling
- Features multiple sections and categories to organize your content
- Beautiful, eye-catching layout
11. Best for Agencies With a Premium Look: Phlox
Phlox is more than just a theme – it’s a complete package that makes any website stand out from others with free themes. The simple drag-and-drop site-building is compatible with Elementor and includes a host of features and customizable objects to give your site a professional look.
Highlights:
- Highly customizable with plenty of unique themes
- Easy to install and set up
- While there is a premium version, the free version has everything you need
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12. Best for Portfolios With a Premium Look: Ascend
The free Ascend theme has many functions that you would typically associate with premium themes, which is why it’s hugely popular. If you have an online store or want to showcase some of your work, this theme is perfect.
Highlights:
- Includes several options for custom header and menus
- Fully compatible with WooCommerce
- Rich galleries to show off your products
13. Best for Simple Landing Pages: Calyx
The free Calyx theme is a well-designed single page with minimal elements, making it great for a landing page. The theme includes a step-by-step video tutorial on customizing the elements through the WordPress block editor.
Highlights:
- Perfect for a “coming soon” page
- Easy to customize
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14. Best for Informational Landing Pages: Zeever
If you need a professional-looking landing page that gives visitors a quick look at what you are all about, Zeever is an excellent choice. The beautifully designed layout is clean, and the contrasting colors make navigation easy. The theme has a ready-to-use template, so you only have to plug in your text and images before launching.
Highlights:
- The default color scheme is striking, making it perfect for quickly launching a website
- Fully compatible with the Gutenverse plugin
- Created especially for digital or creative agencies or as an online portfolio
15. Best for Services Landing Pages: Iotix
With its simple, clean and modern design, Iotix is the perfect theme for an elegant landing page. It features four premade templates and patterns, multiple informational sections, and a pricing area for your services. You can easily remove the design aspects or sections you don’t need and only show the most relevant information.
Highlights:
- All content is managed through the WordPress Block Editor
- No additional costs or plug-ins are required
- Easy to set up with step-by-step instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to download free WordPress themes?
Like most things you can download online, you should always download free WordPress themes from a reputable website. There are plenty of websites that are safe for themes, but always ensure the site you use has a secure connection, read some reviews, and stick to the most popular options. Learn how to get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress site.
Where can I download more WordPress themes for free?
While there is a relatively large library on WordPress, several other websites have excellent options. These include ThemeForest and ElegantThemes, while plug-ins like Elementor and Astra have their own theme libraries.
How can I find out which WordPress theme a site is using?
You’ve come across a website with a theme you want to replicate, but how do you figure out what it is? There are several websites that can detect which theme is used on a specific WordPress website. On a site such as WPThemeDetector, you must enter the URL into the search box, and it will quickly tell you what it is and supply a link for downloading, if it’s available.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Charlie Fripp.
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