The best WordPress themes: free and premium

WordPress is by far the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world. A large part of its popularity has to do with the many different designs it offers, also called themes or templates. With a WordPress-Theme, you can completely change the design of your website with just a few clicks. The numerous WordPress themes differ not only in design but are also suitable for different web projects.

The best WordPress templates at a glance

This article was last updated in February 2025.

Best free WordPress themes in detail

WordPress is not only the most popular CMS but also one of the best-known open-source projects. The community supports the system with self-created WordPress plugins (i.e., function extensions) and themes. These design templates, also known as WordPress templates, range from minimalist landing pages to extensive web presences.

You can download all the free WordPress themes from WordPress.org or through the dashboard of your website.

Hello Elementor

If you’re looking for a simple theme that’s easy to use, HelloElementor is a great solution. The popular template has been downloaded over a million times, has a lightweight design and provides both good performance and an uncluttered look for blogs and smaller websites. The theme is designed to work in conjunction with Elementor Page Builder. This is a plugin that provides you with an alternative editor that allows you to change the look of the website using drag & drop.

Features:

• simple, elegant design
• fast speed
• optimized for Elementor Page Builder

GeneratePress

GeneratePress can also be used with the Elementor Page Builder, but it is also compatible with other editors. This WordPress theme focuses on presenting your content to readers as elegantly and quickly as possible. Similar to other themes in this list, the GeneratePress team places great importance on a small file size, leading to high loading speeds. In addition to the free theme, there’s also a premium version with additional features available on the official website.

Features:

• high performance
• compatible with many page builders
• customizable – also suitable for online stores

Astra

E-commerce has its own demands on website design. The WordPress theme Astra addresses the challenges of online stores with interesting ideas: primarily, the template is built to be very lightweight. This ensures the fast browsing experience that customers desire when shopping online. With its high performance and other elements, the theme also supports you in search engine optimization (SEO). The template is rounded out by numerous customization options. With this theme, you can create not only powerful web stores but also blogs or other small projects.

Features:

• optimized for combination with WooCommerce
• minimalist & fast
• search engine optimized
• premium add-ons available

Storefront

Another theme to help your e-commerce business take off is Storefront. It is especially popular among users of WooCommerce, the comprehensive online store extension for WordPress. It’s not surprising though, since it was developed by the WooCommerce team. All the features of the store plugin and its many add-ons can be implemented with this WordPress template. Besides the product pages, you can of course also create about us page and other useful subpages with Storefront.

Features:

• specifically developed for WooCommerce
• combinable with add-ons
• various customization options

Inspiro

With Inspiro, you can create websites that showcase both images and — this is what makes this template special — videos very well. You can play videos from YouTube, Vimeo, or from your own server. In principle, this can also be done in other themes by integrating them with the Gutenberg editor, but Inspiro displays videos in a nicer layout on your website. Video backgrounds can be easily integrated, for example in headers or Footer. The manufacturer WPZOOM also offers a paid version with greater functionality.

Features:

• gallery functions for photos and videos
• various video features
• combinable with WooCommerce
• own page builder

Colibri WP

With Colibri WP by Extend Themes, you can also add video backgrounds to your website. But the WordPress template offers even more interesting features: It comes with different design elements and over 35 pre-made content blocks. Additionally, you can create your own blocks by simply dragging and dropping various objects together. This essentially turns the theme into a page builder.

Features:

• many templates
• video backgrounds
• page builder

OceanWP

The free WordPress theme OceanWP is particularly distinguished by its high adaptability. Whether you want to create a simple blog, a compelling business website, or a feature-rich online store, OceanWP can bring any web project to life. You can work with different page builders for this. The development team also ensured that the theme is prepared for search engine optimization.

Features:

• adaptable to different projects
• works with many page builders
• prepared for search engine optimization

Premium WordPress themes in detail

Especially for beginners in the WordPress field, free themes are a great way to quickly kickstart on the web. However, for long-term and professional projects, it’s worth looking towards paid themes. These are usually created by design agencies and have a unique look that will definitely make your web presence stand out on the internet.

Kayn

Artists, photographers, and media designers especially will find in Kayn a theme that highlights their own works effectively. The minimalist design doesn’t distract from the actual content of the website but enhances every portfolio. Additionally, the theme impresses with dynamic navigation elements, search engine optimization features, and many design options. Thanks to a 30-day money-back guarantee, the theme can be tested risk-free.

Features:

• perfect for portfolios
• elegant design
• search engine optimization
• professional web design elements
• large color selection and many fonts included

Price: $ / one-off payment

Zuki

Most blogs have a clear but somewhat uninspired structure. The WordPress theme Zuki from Elmastudio offers a more interesting presentation style. Like in a magazine, articles are arranged above and next to each other, giving the blog a more dynamic look. You can customize each post individually and easily add elements like quotes with the in-house widget and text boxes. This makes the theme suitable for both passionate hobby bloggers and professional editors.

Features:

• magazine design
• options to customize posts
• own widget for quotes

Price: $ / one-off payment

EcoCoded

Running servers understandably costs energy—especially when hosting complex applications. The team at SuperbThemes aims to address this with EcoCoded: The theme’s source code is so efficiently built that barely any server processing power is needed. The streamlined WordPress template is also available for free, but it is only in the premium version that you get features like search engine optimization. Additionally, you can only customize each design element in this version of the theme.

Features:

• resource-efficient source code
• fast loading times
• search engine optimization
• highly adaptable

Price: $$ / one-off or annual payment

Eimear

With the Eimear theme from WebMan Design, you can give your online store a very modern and interesting design. Set how many products should be placed next to each other and in what alignment. A particularly nice idea is that with this theme, you don’t have to use only rectangular thumbnails. The design template includes a mask for the small preview images, which livens up the appearance of overview pages. The developer of the WordPress theme places special emphasis on accessibility. The theme is therefore fully aligned with WCAG 2.1.

Features:

• developed for e-commerce
• compatible with WooCommerce
• lively look
• special thumbnails
• accessibility

Price: $$ / one-time payment

Foodica

Foodica is primarily aimed at website operators who engage with the topic of food in all its facets: Large-format images with slider functions display dishes and foods in an appetizing way. Additionally, there are many different display options and color schemes. Since bloggers typically rely on ad revenue, Foodica already includes preset placeholders for ads. The theme also includes a small web store where items like merchandise can be sold.

Features:

• enhanced image display
• many customization options
• placeholders for ads
• integrated online store

Price: $$$ / one-off or annual payment

Divi

If you choose the highly popular premium theme Divi, you’ll get a small website builder. You can move elements via drag-and-drop and adjust the entire appearance with just a few clicks—without having to master CSS. If you want to create new pages, you can choose from several templates and easily tailor them to your preferences. Divi works perfectly with WooCommerce and also includes various marketing features. Split testing, for example, which allows you to compare the effectiveness of different designs, is particularly interesting.

Features:

• website builder
• multiple page templates
• marketing functions
• compatible with WooCommerce

Price: $$$ / one-off or annual payment