There are hundreds and thousands of WordPress themes out there…too many you could say which can give anyone massive choice overload. Therefore the first thing you want to ask yourself is what does your website need? Some of these themes can be packed with so many juicy plugins and functionality that it makes you forget what your goals for your website are. If all you need is a one-page landing page that sells one product or a simple blog that’s easy to navigate then there’s no need to go for the fully functional shopping cart system with a membership program and a directory. It can make your website loading speeds very slow which is bad for the user experience. What you need is the right theme for your website needs.
I’ve put together this extensive list of simple, multi-purpose, free WordPress themes for you to try on your WordPress website.
If you haven’t got a WordPress website yet then why not?! Go ahead and read my free step-by-step guide on how to set up your WordPress website.
1. Neve
Neve is quite possible my MOST favourite free theme. It’s flexible, highly customisable and looks great out of the box. The theme is quite lightweight meaning it doesn’t slow down your WordPress with unnecessary plugins and features and the theme is suitable for a business, blog or personal website. It is multi-purpose, lightweight and beautifully crafted to make any website look professional which is why it’s the best quality free theme out there.
2. Rife Free
3. Perfect Portfolio
4. Hestia
5. Activello
6. Shapely
7. OceanWP
8. GeneratePress
9. ColorMag
10. WordPress Theme Directory
Alternative you can browse the THOUSANDS of themes which you can find in the Dashboard under Appearance > Themes > Add New or by going direct to the WordPress theme directory. Either way shows the same extensive list which you can go through and try out. Most of them are paid for but many also have trials, free versions and testers.
In general I do recommend purchasing your theme due to the support you get along from the Developer which enables you to upgrade it when bugs are fixed or new features are added. A paid theme will always counter a free theme but if you are still interested in just trying out free ones then definitely have some fun playing around with what’s out there.
Top Tips When Installing Free WordPress Themes
Check the files for the “documents” or instructions
Sometimes the theme you install will not look like the demo theme you saw online. This is for many reasons. One of those may be the theme is a free version of a paid theme so it has limited functionality but another reason is that the theme requires you to configure your WordPress and set it up accordingly. In the downloads file, there will usually be a set of instructions on how to install the theme properly so it looks like the demo version.
You don’t always need EVERYTHING that comes with the theme
Quite often after you install a theme there will be pop-ups stating all the plugins you need to install. Most of the time the theme will need these in order to function properly but in some cases you do not need the specific plugins. Plugins that you may not need will be ones that are Mail forms, Lightbox, SEO tools. I recommend downloading each plugin 1 by 1 and refreshing to see what changes it makes to your website. Therefore you will know which one does what and which ones you definitely do and don’t need.
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