There is a common stereotype in the WordPress world that free themes are very risky as they aren’t supported well. Another common reason is that free themes may be developed by beginners. In some cases, it can be true but it’s very important to make sure that your free WordPress theme has a high-quality design and proper support.
Free themes in WordPress are an excellent choice for bloggers and people who want to share their ideas and thoughts in an online journal. Additionally, free themes also target the segment of businesses that want to save some money. Some free WordPress themes offer better features than some of those paid themes.
I have conducted research and selected the most important features that a good theme must-have. Those are as follows:
- Quick load speed
- Well-coded
- Good documentation
- Starter sites
- Easy theme customization
- Plugin integrations
These are exactly what we’re looking at today! I’ve selected Best free WordPress themes and can’t wait to introduce them.
Now you realize the advantages of free themes in WordPress and the most essential functionalities that they should have. So, it’s time to start our journey through the best free themes in WordPress and find out whether they offer the above-listed functionalities.
1. Astra
The first theme from my best 5 free themes on the WordPress list is Astra which is a popular multipurpose WordPress theme. It works really fast and is extremely customizable. In fact, Astra is very appealing and eye-catching because it lives up to the hype. It comes with multiple pre-built websites that you can choose and launch fast. Another important fact is that you can easily customize it without any advanced coding skills. Also, you can use it in cooperation with various page builders.
Other key functionalities offered by Astra include header options, layout settings, typography and color customization options, and superior performance. It works really fast thanks to its load time of 0.5 seconds.
Astra’s customizer offers a variety of options. For beginners, you may make color changes, use Google Fonts, and change post or page layouts. Moreover, feel free to add a logo to the left or right side of the main menu, or locate it on the top of the menu. You can also make changes to the logo width and upload different versions for mobile.
An impressive fact that differentiates Astra from other themes is its support for popular WordPress page builders. It works productively with WPBakery Page Builder, Beaver Builder, Elementor, Thrive, Architect, Brizy, Divi Builder, and Gutenberg.
More than 70 style options are present and you can even find previously built options for online shops, blogs, businesses, portfolios, and so on.
Finally, Astra is a very accessible and SEO-friendly theme that uses filters and hooks. It is flexible for translations and provides a deep knowledge base for beginners.
2. Kadence
If you’re looking for a really fast and at the same time user-friendly theme, then you should definitely check out the second theme from my list.
Kadence is a relatively new theme that is very fast-loading and lightweight. It offers a built-in drag-and-drop header and footer builder, a library stocked with starter templates and extensive integration with various popular plugins.
Kadence provides six different starter templates that can be easily and quickly imported to your website. Do you plan to open a blog? There is a separate template for that. Or maybe you would like to create a business-oriented website? Still, there is a specific template to make your experience easier and smoother.
Kadence Blocks comes with a number of various blocks that can assist you in designing a page from scratch. Additionally, it provides different advanced buttons, special spacer dividers, testimonials, accordions, and content boxes.
It is the simplest theme on this list. Although, it might be the best choice if you’re a beginner and do not want to get a number of overwhelming settings and features.
3. OceanWP
OceanWP is the next theme that we are going to explore. It is an extendable and lightweight theme.
OceanWP is worth a look as it can easily work in cooperation with popular page builder plugins such as Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, and so on. It also provides built-in SEO settings to assist you in optimizing your website easily. Due to its specific extendable codebase, OceanWP is an excellent choice in case if you are a developer with plans to add your own customizations.
The theme provides most design and styling options in the WordPress theme customizer. Thus you can notice how modifications look in real-time. Beginners will appreciate how much this helps when making changes. Other functionalities that are demonstrated under the WordPress visual editor can be used to uniquely design each page on your website. This opens limitless opportunities for building the website that you have always dreamed of.
Even though the OceanWP theme is available for free, there are still a number of PRO add-ons to use. These include pop-ups, extensions for custom page layout, Full-Screen Rolling, Cookie Notice, Instagram, White Label, Portfolio, Sticky Footer, Ocean Hooks, Elementor Widgets, Sticky Header, Footer Callout, and so on.
Another equally important reason that may guide you to choose OceanWP is that it allows the creation of a multipurpose website. Basically, it allows you to easily create a blog, “About Us” section on your website, shop, portfolio, and many more.
4. Neve
If you are searching for a modern and flexible theme that can work with certain page builders then look no further than the Neve theme.
Besides being compatible with page builder plugins including Site Origin, Elementor, Divi, and Brizy it is also compatible with Gutenberg. Moreover, Neve offers a wide range of design features. You can make changes regarding fonts, colors, and other visual design settings. It is even possible to select from a big range of background possibilities that include images, videos, sliders, and so on.
As a matter of fact, the theme features are so developed and advanced that it is considered a great tool for different agencies, freelancers, and small businesses that wish to improve their conversion rates.
Neve is a highly customizable theme in WordPress. This free WordPress theme provides you a chance to rearrange your website’s header and footer elements in almost every order by just dragging and dropping.
There are different mega menus that will help you easily and quickly organize your navigation and add as many pages as you want, meanwhile not overwhelming visitors of the website. The theme loads really fast and is fully responsive. With only a single click you can install demo content. Moreover, in the case, if you need some help in setting up you can easily find help documentation, forums, or tutorials.
Another primary advantage of the Neve theme is the fact that it allows its users to get support directly from the authors if needed.
5. GeneratePress
The last theme that we are going to explore today is GeneratePress. It is a simple and modern theme that is flexible to use for people with any skilled background.
Want some great news?
GeneratePress is so flexible that any beginner user can install the theme and start blogging within a few minutes. Isn’t it amazing?
On the other hand, for more advanced developers it is a highly customizable, free, fast, and lightweight WordPress theme. GeneratePress does not recognize any limits. It offers a premium version at a reasonable price for those who search for more advanced functionalities and settings. The premium version includes different features starting from WooCommerce support to various beautiful typographies.
As I have mentioned above GeneratePress is a lightweight theme that is less than 1MB zipped. This plays a significant role especially if you want to make your blog work fast. Additionally, GeneneratePress follows all of the WordPress coding standards and has clean coding. As a result, this advantage reduces many issues in the long run.
Another benefit to note is that the theme can be translated into more than 20 different languages. Also, it features nine widget areas for becoming unique. Hurry up as drop-down menus, five menu navigation spots and multiple sidebar layouts are waiting for you.
Summary
Congratulations! We’ve reached the end. Now you know everything necessary for using free themes in WordPress. I am sure you already realize the importance of free themes in WordPress and the numerous advantages that they offer. Above discussed themes were the best 5 free themes in WordPress that I have selected for you considering the most necessary functionalities and settings.
I hope this article helped you identify the best WordPress theme for you. If YES, then I would be glad if you share it with me in the comments section. In case you are a beginner I hope this article serves you as a guide throughout your first experience with WordPress themes.
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