When I started using Wordpress a few years ago, I never knew the existence of a whole world of Wordpress Theme providers out there. I basically searched for free themes that were available in the WordPress extend themes directory. But after searching a few times through the free Wordpress Themes directory I wanted more and ventured out into the internet to find more Wordpress Themes. Below are some tips on finding reliable and clean Wordpress Themes.
1. Use well-defined Google Search Terms
Do not fall into the trap of downloading free themes from torrent or free downloading sites. After extraction they are filled with viruses and crash your machine. Some even after activation will bring down your WordPress Website. So always search with quality terms and download from legal Wordpress Theme Providers. Do google searches on terms such as
- ‘Premium WordPress Themes’
- ‘Premium WordPress Templates’
- Elegant WordPress Themes
2. Visit your Favorite Theme Providers
Commercial Theme providers are the most popular way to download WordPress themes. These themes are designed by professionals with high quality and functionality. The only problem I find when browsing through commercial theme providers is just picking one theme. All the themes they provide look so professional, now some providers offer theme packages where you can pay one fee to have access to download all their themes. There are many theme providers, some of my favourite commercial theme providers are:
- Templatic
- AppThemes
- Has 5 premium WordPress themes that specialize in creating a website for job search, coupon deals, Classified Ads, business directory (not launched yet), and a How to website (not launched yet)
- ElegantThemes
- Graph Paper Press
- over 25 WordPress themes that specialize in Photography, video, blog and portfolio templates.
- WooThemes
- I really love the WooThemes layouts. They are clean and do not have a lot of clutter. WooThemes has over 100 themes now ranging from News/magazine templates, blog, online stores, business, portfolios, Photography, videos, real estate and more.
- PremiumPress
- They have 7 great WordPress themes that specialize around creating an online auction, YouTube video, online shopping , coupon, business directory, Classified Ads and a real estate website
3. Search for themes in Theme Marketplaces
Most often some designers do not have their own websites, but chose to submit their WordPress themes to a market place that showcases their themes. These marketplaces display themes that are from many different authors. A popular Wordpress Theme marketplace is:
- Themeforest
- There are hundreds of WordPress themes in Themeforest. Most of them are really cheap and prices start as low as $30.
- WordPress themes in here vary from business, creative, Photography/portfolio, video blogs, blogs, mobile, retail, review, restaurant, hotel and much more.
4. Search for reliable Wordpress Theme Collections
If you read through some reputable WordPress bloggers, you will find some good collection of themes. There is a lot of time that goes into tracking down WordPress theme lists. Only the best are collected and are sorted into different categories. You can find these theme collections by doing a google search on terms such as:
- ‘Top Magazine WordPress Themes’
- ‘Best News WordPress Templates’
- ‘Top 10 Photography WordPress Themes’
- etc…
5. Search for Specific Website Needs
If you already have a website in mind that you want to clone off of you can search for those specific terms. For example if you need to create a website like Yelp, a site like Craigslist, or even an ESPN Clone you can punch in those keywords into your Google search. Search for terms such as:
- Craigslist Clone WordPress Theme
- ESPN Clone WordPress Theme
- Hotel Clone WordPress Theme
- eBay Clone WordPress Theme
- wedding photography WordPress Theme
- etc..
It is important to use trusted sources when searching for a WordPress Theme. You don’t want to fall into the trap of downloading a theme that isn’t safe or full or errors and bugs. Some hackers modify a free WordPress theme to add tracking or open up security holes in your website. So stick to the good stuff. You will find tons of WordPress themes out there. If you have a favourite WordPress theme collection, let me know. Feel free to share them in the comments.