28 Best Free WordPress Themes 2026 (Tested & Actively Maintained)
The best free WordPress themes in 2026 are Astra, Kadence, Blocksy and GeneratePress, all of them installed on hundreds of thousands of sites and all still updated this year. This list covers 28 free themes grouped by what you are building, plus four paid options for the point where free runs out.
Every theme here cleared the same three checks: updated within the last twelve months, at least a thousand active installs, and a live demo we could open and photograph. We also installed each one on an identical test site and measured what it weighs, because on a free theme the page weight is the thing most likely to cost you later.
Looking for something specific? Jump to the niche lists for lawyers, photographers, restaurants, charities and more.
Quick picks
- Most popular: Astra — a million sites, under 50KB, a starter for nearly every niche
- Best block editor theme: Kadence — header and footer builders without a page builder
- Fastest we measured: GeneratePress — 277KB and 99/100 on identical content
- Colorlib pick: Shapely — our own one-page theme, still updated after ten years
- Best for blogs: Sparkling — clean, readable, and the layout stays out of the way
- Best for a store: Botiga — WooCommerce features most themes reserve for paid tiers
Top picks at a glance
Table of contents — all 32 themes
Quick comparison: the six we recommend most
| Theme | Price | Best for | Standout | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astra | Free / Pro | Almost anything | Under 50KB, 380+ starter sites | Sep 2026 |
| Kadence | Free / Pro | Block editor builds | Header and footer builders in the free version | Jul 2026 |
| Blocksy | Free / Pro | Modern block sites | The highest rating of any big framework | Sep 2026 |
| GeneratePress | Free / Pro | Speed above all | Lightest in our test at 277KB | Dec 2025 |
| Shapely | Free | One-page sites | Full-width parallax sections, built by us | Sep 2026 |
| Botiga | Free / Pro | Small stores | Quick view and sticky cart without paying | Aug 2026 |
We tested it: what each free theme actually weighs
How we tested: we installed every theme on the same clean WordPress site with the same content and no extra plugins, then measured the homepage with Google Lighthouse on mobile. Because the content is identical, the differences below are the theme itself rather than a demo’s photography. Lower is better, and the gap between the top and bottom of this table is roughly five times the page weight.
| Theme | Page weight | Requests | Lighthouse | LCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello Elementor | 223 KB | 15 | 100/100 | 1.7s |
| GeneratePress | 277 KB | 14 | 99/100 | 1.8s |
| Neve | 299 KB | 15 | 99/100 | 2.1s |
| Kadence | 328 KB | 17 | 96/100 | 2.5s |
| Blocksy | 330 KB | 13 | 95/100 | 2.6s |
| Travelify | 365 KB | 17 | 94/100 | 2.8s |
| Astra | 425 KB | 14 | 92/100 | 3.2s |
| Zakra | 451 KB | 17 | 91/100 | 3.1s |
| Sydney | 499 KB | 14 | 91/100 | 3s |
| Raft | 511 KB | 17 | 87/100 | 3.3s |
| Inspiro | 547 KB | 21 | 78/100 | 3.8s |
| Author | 645 KB | 24 | 79/100 | 4s |
| Sparkling | 647 KB | 24 | 74/100 | 5s |
| Hestia | 672 KB | 23 | 79/100 | 4.2s |
| Botiga | 677 KB | 19 | 75/100 | 4.5s |
| Lovecraft | 750 KB | 25 | 76/100 | 5s |
| Activello | 762 KB | 25 | 77/100 | 4.4s |
| OceanWP | 802 KB | 29 | 72/100 | 5.3s |
| News Portal | 813 KB | 33 | 68/100 | 5.3s |
| ColorMag | 871 KB | 26 | 67/100 | 5.9s |
| Shapely | 895 KB | 34 | 69/100 | 5.6s |
| Orchid Store | 934 KB | 22 | 68/100 | 5.9s |
| Illdy | 1086 KB | 38 | 65/100 | 6.8s |
| Woostify | 1247 KB | 22 | 66/100 | 5.6s |
| Newsup | 1441 KB | 38 | 62/100 | 8.8s |
| Blogus | 1747 KB | 40 | 56/100 | 10.5s |
| Phlox | 2290 KB | 27 | 57/100 | 13.6s |
| Perfect Portfolio | 2348 KB | 32 | 55/100 | 13.5s |
Best free multipurpose WordPress themes
These are the frameworks. Each one ships a library of importable starter sites, so you pick a design close to what you want and edit from there rather than building from an empty page. If you are not sure what you need, start here.
1. Astra
Why we like it: The safest default on this list: whatever you are building, a starter site already exists for it.
Astra is the most installed WordPress theme there is, and it earns that by staying out of the way. The frontend ships under 50KB, it works with every page builder rather than locking you into one, and the starter library covers business, store, portfolio and dozens of trades.
✅ Pros: the largest starter library, works with any builder, very light ⚠️ Cons: the best starter templates need Astra Pro
2. Kadence
Why we like it: Header and footer builders in the free version, which almost every rival charges for.
Kadence is built for people who want to stay in the block editor and never install a page builder. Its drag-and-drop header and footer builders are free, its own block library extends the editor rather than replacing it, and the starter templates import cleanly.
✅ Pros: free header/footer builders, block-native, good starter templates ⚠️ Cons: its block library is another moving part to learn
3. Blocksy
Why we like it: The only big framework holding a perfect rating across several hundred reviews.
Blocksy was written for the block editor from the start, and it shows in how little fighting the editor does. Its free tier is unusually generous, with content blocks, header conditions and a set of starter sites that import in one click.
✅ Pros: the best rated of the frameworks, generous free tier, very current ⚠️ Cons: a smaller community than Astra when you need an answer
4. GeneratePress
Why we like it: The lightest theme in our test at 277KB, and it scored 99 out of 100.
GeneratePress is what people reach for when Core Web Vitals are the priority. There is almost nothing in it you did not ask for, which is exactly the point, and the code quality has kept its rating perfect across well over a thousand reviews.
✅ Pros: fastest in our test, immaculate code, rock solid ⚠️ Cons: plain out of the box, so expect to design it yourself
5. Neve
Why we like it: Second lightest here at 299KB, with a starter library that is genuinely free in part.
Neve is mobile-first in a way most themes only claim to be, and our measurement backs it: 299KB and 99 out of 100. ThemeIsle keeps a broad template library behind it, and a useful share of those starters cost nothing.
✅ Pros: extremely light, many free starter sites, builder-agnostic ⚠️ Cons: the more polished templates are Pro
6. OceanWP
Why we like it: The deepest free demo library of any theme here, and most of it costs nothing.
OceanWP gives away more finished designs than anything else on this list, and its WooCommerce support goes further than most paid themes. The trade-off is architectural: much of the power sits in separate extensions, so the base install does less alone and the page weight climbs.
✅ Pros: huge free demo library, strong store features ⚠️ Cons: leans on extensions, and heavier than the leaner frameworks
7. Sydney
Why we like it: Assemble a homepage from prebuilt block sections, no builder plugin required.
Sydney hands you a set of homepage sections built as blocks, so a services page or a landing page comes together by stacking rather than designing. It is the theme several competing roundups put at number one, and the free tier is substantial.
✅ Pros: excellent free block sections, many starter sites ⚠️ Cons: some niche starters are behind Sydney Pro
8. Hestia
Why we like it: A complete one-page company site out of the box, which few free themes attempt.
Hestia arranges everything on a single scrolling page: services, team, testimonials, pricing and a contact form, all editable from the customizer. For a small company that needs a presence rather than a website, it is the shortest path there.
✅ Pros: genuine one-page structure, updated constantly ⚠️ Cons: the material design look is distinctive and dates faster
9. Zakra
Why we like it: A long list of niche demos, and unusually many of them are free.
Zakra’s pitch is that you should not have to design anything. It ships finished demos for trades, shops, blogs and bands, a good share of them free, and its header and footer builders let you reshape the imported layout afterwards.
✅ Pros: many free niche demos, header and footer builders ⚠️ Cons: the widest part of the library is Pro
10. Hello Elementor
Why we like it: The lightest thing we measured, at 223KB, precisely because it contains almost no design.
Hello Elementor is deliberately empty. It supplies the plumbing and nothing else, on the assumption that Elementor will draw every pixel. That makes it the fastest starting point on this page and completely useless without a builder, which is the whole idea.
✅ Pros: the lightest option here, zero design opinions to fight ⚠️ Cons: requires Elementor, and does nothing on its own
Building for a particular trade or hobby? Our niche roundups cover law firms, clinics, musicians and more, each with the same install counts and speed numbers as this page.
Best free blog and magazine themes
Themes built around reading: post grids, category layouts and typography that holds up over a long article.
11. Sparkling
Why we like it: Ten years old, still updated, and still one of the cleanest reading layouts we ship.
Sparkling is our flat, Bootstrap-based blog theme, and its virtue is restraint: a readable column, a featured slider when you want one, and nothing competing with the text. It has been maintained continuously for over a decade, which is rarer among free themes than it should be.
✅ Pros: excellent reading layout, long maintenance record, maintained by us ⚠️ Cons: the flat design is deliberately unfashionable
12. ColorMag
Why we like it: The most installed magazine theme on WordPress.org, and it still ships updates monthly.
ColorMag lays a homepage out the way a news site actually needs: category blocks, a featured slider, and space for advertising that does not look bolted on. It has held the top of the magazine category for years and the review count reflects it.
✅ Pros: purpose-built news layouts, huge review base, ad-friendly ⚠️ Cons: a lot of options to work through on first setup
13. Newsup
Why we like it: Several distinct news front pages, not one design with the colours changed.
Newsup goes for the dense newspaper look, with ticker, category columns and a front page that can carry a lot of headlines without feeling cramped. Themeansar ships several genuinely different demos rather than recolouring a single layout.
✅ Pros: properly dense news layouts, several free demos ⚠️ Cons: the density needs real editorial volume to look right
14. Lovecraft
Why we like it: A two-column blog with a genuine point of view, from a designer who has kept it current for a decade.
Lovecraft is what a personal blog looked like before every theme became a framework: two columns, generous type, a coloured accent and nothing else. Anders Norén has maintained it for years, and it remains one of the few free themes with an actual aesthetic.
✅ Pros: distinctive design, tiny, long-maintained ⚠️ Cons: a blog theme only, with no business layouts
15. Raft
Why we like it: A proper block theme: the header, footer and templates are all edited in the site editor.
Raft is what a modern WordPress blog is supposed to look like from the inside. There is no customizer and no page builder, only the site editor, and the reading layout it ships with needs almost no adjustment before you start writing.
✅ Pros: genuine block theme, clean reading defaults, actively updated ⚠️ Cons: the site editor takes real learning if you have never used it
16. News Portal
Why we like it: A perfect rating across a hundred and sixty reviews, which almost nothing at this size manages.
News Portal goes for the traditional newspaper front page: dense category columns, a ticker and space for a lot of headlines at once. It is the rare small theme with a flawless review record, and it is updated most months.
✅ Pros: true newspaper density, spotless review record ⚠️ Cons: needs real editorial volume before it looks right
17. Blogus
Why we like it: Several genuinely different blog demos, all free to import.
Blogus ships a handful of distinct blog layouts rather than one design in different colours, and every one imports free. For someone who wants a working blog this afternoon and does not want to make design decisions, that is the whole proposition.
✅ Pros: several free demos, quick to set up ⚠️ Cons: fewer ratings than its install count suggests
Best free business and one-page themes
For a company site or a single scrolling page that has to explain a service and collect an enquiry.
18. Shapely
Why we like it: Full-width parallax sections that take a video background, assembled as widgets rather than in a builder.
Shapely builds a long single page out of stackable widget sections, each one full width with a parallax or video background. It is our most downloaded theme and still gets releases, most recently a large accessibility and PHP compatibility pass.
✅ Pros: striking full-width sections, no builder needed, maintained by us ⚠️ Cons: heavier than the modern frameworks, as our table shows
19. Illdy
Why we like it: Counters, a portfolio grid and a services block, all free and all editable from the customizer.
Illdy is the more business-shaped of our two one-page themes, with a portfolio grid, statistics counters and a team section already laid out. For a freelancer or a small studio it covers a whole site in one scroll.
✅ Pros: complete one-page business structure, free portfolio section ⚠️ Cons: the heaviest theme in our test, and lower rated than its siblings
20. Phlox
Why we like it: A large library of Elementor demos, free, from a theme that expects you to use them.
Phlox is designed around Elementor rather than tolerating it, and it ships dozens of importable designs for agencies, shops and portfolios. If Elementor is already your tool, it saves the blank-page problem entirely.
✅ Pros: many free Elementor demos, strong review record ⚠️ Cons: tied to Elementor, and heavier for it
Best free WordPress themes for online stores
All three work with WooCommerce, which is itself free. What separates them is how much store behaviour you get before paying: quick view, off-canvas cart, sticky add-to-cart.
21. Botiga
Why we like it: Quick view, off-canvas cart and a sticky add-to-cart bar, none of which you have to pay for.
Botiga was built for WooCommerce from the first line rather than adapted to it, and the free version includes shop behaviour most themes hold back: quick view, an off-canvas cart, product galleries and a sticky add-to-cart bar.
✅ Pros: genuine store features for free, light for a shop theme ⚠️ Cons: a small install base next to the big frameworks
22. Woostify
Why we like it: Built specifically to keep a WooCommerce store fast, which most multipurpose themes do not manage.
Woostify does one job: run a WooCommerce shop quickly. It strips out what a store does not need, adds the conversion pieces that matter such as an ajax cart and a distraction-free checkout, and stays out of the way of the products.
✅ Pros: fast for a store theme, focused feature set ⚠️ Cons: little use outside eCommerce
23. Orchid Store
Why we like it: A finished shop layout on import, with the ajax cart and wishlist already wired up.
Orchid Store is the shortest route from a blank WordPress install to something that looks like a shop. The demo imports a complete storefront, the cart updates without page reloads, and there is nothing to configure before adding products.
✅ Pros: complete store on import, perfect rating so far ⚠️ Cons: a small review base, and less flexible than a framework
Best free portfolio and personal themes
Image-led layouts for showing work, and lighter personal sites where the writing matters more than the chrome.
24. Activello
Why we like it: A featured-post slider above a clean blog grid, which is a combination surprisingly few free themes get right.
Activello puts a full-width featured slider over a restrained two-column blog, so recent work leads and the archive stays readable. It is our lightest blog theme and it holds one of the highest ratings in our catalogue.
✅ Pros: featured slider included, very well rated, maintained by us ⚠️ Cons: a blog and portfolio theme, not a business one
25. Travelify
Why we like it: At 365KB it is the lightest of our own themes by some distance, and it is built for photographs.
Travelify is an image-first layout that survived a decade because it does the simple thing well: wide photographs, a readable column beneath, and a featured slider for the best of them. Our test put it among the lighter themes on this whole page.
✅ Pros: light, image-led, very well rated, maintained by us ⚠️ Cons: the design is of its era and will not suit every brand
26. Inspiro Lite
Why we like it: A fullscreen video header that pulls straight from YouTube or Vimeo, in the free build.
Inspiro opens on a fullscreen hero that can play video rather than sit still, which is the fastest way to make a portfolio feel expensive. Beneath it, a straightforward grid handles the actual work.
✅ Pros: video hero for free, strong portfolio grid ⚠️ Cons: the video-portfolio starters are premium
27. Perfect Portfolio
Why we like it: Projects get their own post type and their own pages, instead of being squeezed into blog posts.
Perfect Portfolio treats a project as a first-class thing, with its own layout, filtering and detail page. For a designer or developer whose work needs explaining rather than just showing, that structure matters more than the visual style.
✅ Pros: proper project structure, filtering built in ⚠️ Cons: small install base, and a plainer look than the frameworks
28. Author
Why we like it: Designed around reading speed rather than around features, and it shows on every page.
Author strips a personal site back to the words: one column, careful typography and no sidebar competing for attention. Compete Themes has maintained it for years, and for a writer it is a better starting point than any framework.
✅ Pros: excellent typography, very light, long maintenance record ⚠️ Cons: deliberately does one thing, so no business layouts
New from Colorlib: free block themes outside WordPress.org
These three are not ranked. They are too new for our thousand-install rule and are downloaded from Colorlib rather than WordPress.org, so they are not in the weight table either. We build and maintain all three: full block themes for the Site Editor, each with free starter sites and updates through the WordPress dashboard.
Unapp
Why we like it: Thirteen starter sites that differ in their wording as well as their colours, so a church does not read like a software company.
Unapp turns a fresh install into a finished site in a few clicks: pick a starter, set your name and look, and it creates the pages, menu, palette and typeface. Its 180-plus sections are ordinary core blocks, and twelve palettes combine freely with five self-hosted typefaces.
✅ Pros: a starter for most small businesses, no page builder, maintained by us ⚠️ Cons: not on WordPress.org, and far fewer sites run it than the themes above
Academia
Why we like it: A course browser that filters, searches and sorts without a reload, and still works with JavaScript off.
Academia is built around a course catalogue. Courses come from its free companion plugin or from Tutor LMS, LifterLMS, Sensei or LearnDash, and six starter sites cover an online academy, a university, a school, a bootcamp, a language school and an arts studio.
✅ Pros: made for education, works with the LMS you already run, no page builder ⚠️ Cons: not on WordPress.org, and still a young theme with a small user base
Pato
Why we like it: A menu with prices and a reservation form built in, the two things restaurant sites usually buy a plugin for.
Pato’s menu items are plain blocks anyone can edit, and its booking form works with JavaScript turned off and sends bookings to the site’s admin email. Starter sites for a bistro, fine dining, a café, a pizzeria, a bar and a bakery each bring their own photographs and menu.
✅ Pros: menu and bookings without a plugin, real photography in every starter, dark mode for visitors ⚠️ Cons: not on WordPress.org, and only for food and drink businesses
When free is not enough: four paid themes worth the money
You do not need to pay for a WordPress theme. You might still want to, and there are really only two reasons: you want to design every page visually without touching code, or you want a starter library far deeper than the free tier offers. These four cover both.
29. Divi
Why we like it: One licence covers every site you will ever build, which no other option here matches.
Divi replaces the theme-plus-builder split with a single visual tool: you edit the live page and see the result immediately. The layout library runs to thousands of designs, and because the licence is per account rather than per site, the second site costs nothing.
✅ Pros: full visual control, unlimited sites, enormous layout library ⚠️ Cons: adds page weight, and its shortcodes make leaving harder
30. Avada
Why we like it: The best-selling WordPress theme ever made, by a wide margin.
Avada has sold more copies than any other WordPress theme, and the reason is coverage: ninety-odd complete websites to import, a builder that handles anything, and a support operation funded by that scale. It is the safe institutional choice.
✅ Pros: vast prebuilt library, long track record, serious support ⚠️ Cons: heavy, and far more theme than most sites need
31. Astra Pro
Why we like it: The upgrade path if you already chose Astra: the same theme with the full template library open.
Astra Pro is not a different theme, it is the rest of Astra. It unlocks the complete starter library, a header and footer builder, and the layout controls the free version gates. If the free theme already fits, this is the cheapest way to skip the design work.
✅ Pros: the full starter library, no migration needed from free Astra ⚠️ Cons: annual renewal, and the free tier is enough for many sites
32. Blocksy Pro
Why we like it: One of the few good frameworks still selling a lifetime licence.
Blocksy Pro adds the pro starter sites, display conditions, a mega menu and the WooCommerce extras to a theme that is already generous for free. The lifetime licence is the differentiator, since almost everyone else moved to annual-only.
✅ Pros: lifetime option, strong free base to build on ⚠️ Cons: a smaller ecosystem than Astra or Divi
Free WordPress themes by niche
Every list below is built the same way as this one: live demos, install counts from the WordPress.org API, and nothing included that has stopped being updated.
How to pick a free WordPress theme
- Check the last update, not the design. A theme that has not shipped in a year is a security problem waiting to happen. Every date on this page comes from the WordPress.org API and is shown on each entry.
- Read the install count as a support signal. A theme on hundreds of thousands of sites has answers on the internet when you get stuck. One on two hundred sites does not.
- Decide about page builders before you choose. A block-first theme and a builder-first theme pull in opposite directions, and switching later means rebuilding pages.
- Weight is the cost you pay forever. The gap between the top and bottom of our table is around five times the page weight, on identical content, before you have added a single photograph.
- Check the starter sites are actually free. Many themes advertise a large template library and then gate the good half behind Pro. Where that is true here, the entry says so.
- Never install a nulled theme. Paid themes distributed free are routinely modified to include backdoors, and the saving is not worth rebuilding a hacked site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free WordPress theme in 2026?
Astra, for most people. It is the most installed theme by a wide margin, it works with whatever builder you prefer, and it stays under 50KB. If speed is the only thing you care about, GeneratePress measured lighter in our test, and if you want to work entirely in the block editor, Kadence or Blocksy will suit you better.
Are free WordPress themes safe to use?
Yes, if you install them from the WordPress.org directory. Every theme there is reviewed against a security and coding standard before it is published, and updates go through the same process. What is genuinely dangerous is a nulled premium theme from a file-sharing site, which is a common way sites get compromised.
What are the drawbacks of using a free theme?
Mostly support and depth. There is no one obliged to answer your question, the starter template libraries are usually partly gated, and specialised features such as a mega menu or advanced WooCommerce layouts tend to sit in the paid tier. For a straightforward site, none of that will stop you.
What is the fastest free WordPress theme?
In our test, Hello Elementor at 223KB, but it is a blank canvas and does nothing without Elementor. Among themes you can actually use as they come, GeneratePress at 277KB and Neve at 299KB were the lightest, both scoring 99 out of 100 on identical content.
Do free themes work with Elementor and the block editor?
The frameworks here all work with both, but they lean different ways. Hello Elementor and Phlox expect Elementor. Kadence, Blocksy and Twenty Twenty-Five are built around the block editor. Astra, Neve, GeneratePress and OceanWP genuinely sit in the middle and will not fight either choice.
Which free WordPress themes work best with WooCommerce?
Botiga gives you the most shop behaviour without paying, including quick view, an off-canvas cart and a sticky add-to-cart bar. Woostify is built purely for speed on a store. OceanWP goes deepest overall, though much of that depth lives in its extensions rather than the theme.
Can I switch from a free theme to a premium one later?
Yes, and your posts, pages and images are unaffected because they live in the database, not the theme. What does not survive is layout work done with theme-specific features or a builder’s shortcodes, so the more a theme customised your pages, the more rebuilding a switch means.
What is a block theme, and do I need one?
A block theme lets you edit the header, footer and templates in the site editor rather than a customizer, with no page builder involved. Twenty Twenty-Five is the reference example. You do not need one, but it is where WordPress is heading, so a new site is worth starting there if you have no strong reason not to.
So which one should you install?
For most sites, install Astra and import a starter close to what you want. If speed is the point, use GeneratePress. If you want to live in the block editor, use Kadence or Blocksy. If you want a one-page site today, use our own Shapely. And if you are building for a specific trade, start from the niche list above rather than a general framework, because a good starter site saves more time than any feature comparison.
Related Posts
So perfect themes, Thank you very much, I want to ask one question, that I’m using now customizer theme, and I want to change it to one from the above collection, will my contents , posts, links, and other will be lost ? Please advice dear
Jamal,
Your content won’t be lost when you switch from one theme to another. Your posts, pages, links, images, videos and other content will all still be there. The only things that won’t carry over are custom widgets built specifically for your old theme (not the default ones such as Recent Posts, Custom Menu or Text), and you can usually get similar functionality back with plugins.
Your old theme’s settings are saved in the database, so you can always switch back if you don’t like what you see. WordPress also lets you preview a theme before you activate it under Appearance >> Themes >> [choose a theme] >> Live Preview.
Switching is perfectly safe, but I still recommend backing up your website regularly in case something goes wrong.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you for your reply, I very appreciate your feedback, how can I do backup ? From which function ?
Jamal,
WordPress doesn’t have its own backup solution, but you can back up your site either through your hosting control panel (this depends on your host, but it should be well documented) or with a plugin such as UpdraftPlus. There are plenty of other good options on WordPress.org too.
The best place to keep backups is a third-party service such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Keeping them only on your hosting account isn’t ideal, because if your hosting gets hacked, your backups can go down together with your website. Better safe than sorry.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Some good themes, thanks for putting this together. Do you know if any of them have support for forms or which would be able to add forms easily? I am thinking along the lines of Online Entries for an event, or membership joining up. What about selling membership or club apparel?
Phil,
Forms are handled by plugins rather than themes, so any theme on this list will work with a free form plugin for event entries or membership sign-ups. For selling memberships or club apparel you’ll want WooCommerce, and store-focused themes such as Botiga or Woostify are a good place to start.
This is a really good selection of themes in my opinion. Do you have any recommendations as to a good SEO-friendly theme? I have used a few themes whereas it is really awkward to use H1 tags for instance. The font displays too large with some themes and you have to do a little customization to make it look right. Any suggestions?
Gary,
SEO is no longer mainly about well-optimized title or heading tags. It’s about website performance, your content and user engagement. If your website is slow, your other SEO efforts won’t help much, and if your content isn’t unique and useful, proper heading tags won’t save it either. Google’s algorithm is much smarter than it used to be and can tell when you are optimizing for search engines rather than for users.
So I’d start with a lightweight, well-coded theme such as GeneratePress or Astra and put your effort into content. If headings display too large, that’s a styling issue you can fix in the theme’s settings without giving up proper H1 tags.
Hi, I have a quick question Im hoping you can help with. If I use any of these themes will I need to recreate their look or is there an option to load the demo? Im basing this on my experience of having bought one from Themeforest whereby I loaded it but it didn’t look like the demo as it was essentially a blank canvas. There was an option, however, to load the demo so that you got the same look as ‘advertised’. Im guessing this also applies here. What Im essentially asking is if I use any of these themes will they look like the demo or will there be an option to load it?
Jose,
It depends on the theme. Some free themes let you import demo content so your site starts out looking like the demo, while others give you a blank canvas and you build the look yourself. Among Colorlib’s themes, Sparkling and Travelify come with demo data. Preparing demo content takes a lot of work, so not every free theme offers it; check each theme’s documentation before you choose.
What is your recommendation for a theme for a new nonprofit? No blog or anything, just about us, contacts, upcoming events, resource pages and the like. Thanks!
Dana,
Any theme listed above can be used for a static website. It doesn’t matter whether the demo shows it as a blog theme or a business theme: static pages and a blog are always both available, and you can simply leave the blog out. My personal favorite is Sparkling and I can recommend it for you as well. For themes dedicated to nonprofits, check this theme collection.
Hi, I’m interested in creating a website for my business that will be available for viewing in two languages. (Basically, it will have two flags in the upper right corner. The default version will be in English but by clicking on the other flag the visitor will switch all the pages to that other language). Can this feature be implemented in any theme or only specific ones? I noticed some themes (Responsive, Hathor, etc.) are “translation ready” but I’m not quite sure if that is what I am talking about here. How difficult is it to set up a website in two languages? Would I need to create (or recreate) the same pages (and all the content) in the two languages or is there a way to do it a bit easier and quicker? Thanks for any input you may have on this subject.
Hi Maciek,
you can insert a translator plugin which will translate the page by clicking on the flag, similarly as in chrome by right clicking and choosing translate the page. Or you can also go for a wpml plugin to translate all your content for multi-language site. This way you need to translate all your content to languages you need. Bit harder and time consuming but worth it.
Hi,
I’d love to get a theme that lets me change the colour of more than just the background. For example, I’d love to change the container colour, and/or the link colour, and/or the menu colour.
Do any of these free themes allow me to do this?
Many thanks in advance!
Sparkling is going to be the right theme for you. It has color pickers for individual elements, so you can change link, menu and other colors, not just the background. You can read more about it here.
Thanks for this list. Do you know of any free ones targeted at bed and breakfast with online booking integrated? Want to practice before investing. Thx
CJ,
Free themes don’t come with built-in online booking, because WordPress.org treats functionality like this as “plugin territory”. Booking is added with a plugin instead, and there are loads of free ones available. I’d also recommend listing your B&B on Airbnb and similar sites. That makes the setup much easier, and they will send plenty of guests your way.
These are not free, they are trial versions, if you want any kind of control of the site, you will have to pay for it…
Torsten,
Not entirely true. Apart from the paid themes we list separately at the end, the themes on this list are not trial versions: you can use them without time limits, including on commercial sites. Some developers offer freemium themes, where a paid version adds extra features, but you are never forced to upgrade. Colorlib’s own themes, such as Shapely, Illdy, Sparkling and Activello, are completely free.
Thanks for such wide selections.
I am trying to build a site for community to discuss, share their experience, react on someone’s blog. Initially I will write few article later on folks in community may start writing too. Can you suggest if there is any theme which I can use, with an option to submit their own article/blog. I am expecting may be 20 – 50 folks may write a blog rest will just view or comment on the blog.
For now i am looking at free theme.
OctMom,
You can use literally any WordPress theme listed above. WordPress itself has the option to enable user registration and user-generated content. You can also set different user roles, so contributors can either publish directly or have their posts approved by you first. That’s basic WordPress functionality, and it works with any theme ever released.
Looks good. But not every theme mentioned here is a light theme. So please warn your visitors that they should not use these themes on free hosting services, otherwise these themes will end up eating your server ram and your website will go down.
I strongly recommend keeping away from free hosting providers. They will fill your content with ads, close your site for no reason, and will charge double the regular hosting price to get back your data and website. If you want to experiment with WordPress I would recommend installing it locally and play around with it instead of using free hosting providers.