Looking for the Best WordPress Themes for your blog? If yes, then you are on the right page.
Do you know that a theme does much more than change the look of your website? A theme can even decide the fortune of your online business.
Blogging is now a business. Many will disagree, but that’s a fact. All business needs investment to grow. The same goes for blogging. Investing in a high-quality theme is one of the best investments for your blogging career.
I started blogging in 2018, and I was not in the mood to spend money on premium themes. I assumed that themes are to change the look of your blog. That’s it.
I was wrong. Themes do much more than change the look. When I learned about SEO, I discovered that themes play a significant role.
Of late, speed has become a crucial factor in ranking. A good theme contributes broadly to the speed of a website. Having a fast and SEO-friendly theme is a must if you are serious about blogging.
There are thousands of themes available in the market. Choosing the best is a troublesome job. We took that pain and compiled a list of the Best WordPress Themes in this article.
Table of Contents
What Is A Theme?
Like how an operating system acts as the backbone of a computer, a theme is the backbone of a website.
Almost all the functions and features of your website or blog are controlled by the theme.
Starting from styling and function, it dominates the way other plugins work. It also creates a platform for plugins to communicate between your web browser and a web server.
A theme is a collection of templates, stylesheets, and functions. They can be easily changed or added from the WordPress dashboard.
Why Do We Need A Premium Theme?
In this world, nothing comes for free. If you use a free WordPress theme and feel that you have done a great job, then you are wrong.
All free themes come with their own set of limitations and issues. That’s why we should always choose a premium theme.
Below are a few reasons why you should consider using a premium theme.
Clean and Standard coding
All premium themes typically come with clean coding and adhere to the standards set by various regulations.
Due to the stiff competition, all theme vendors follow the best practices to differentiate their themes from others.
Security
Security is a concern for free themes. Since it’s free, developers often don’t put effort into adding security features to free themes.
Premium themes have a different story, as they must include security features. Otherwise, no one will buy that theme.
SEO & Speed
This is one of the key reasons why we should always choose a premium theme. No matter how good a free theme is, it can not match the SEO features of a premium theme. The same applies to speed as well.
Features To Look For In A Premium Theme
Now that we have discovered that premium themes are the way to go, we have to have some criteria for choosing a good premium theme.
The premium theme market is overflowing, and we need to select the best based on the following criteria.
Lightweight and Fast
A lightweight and Fast theme is a key parameter for blogging success. A lightweight theme helps reduce bandwidth usage. A fast theme decreases the bounce rate, which in turn helps with ranking.
SEO friendly
Gone are those days when you could rank your articles without doing proper SEO. Now, you can not rank your blog without a good SEO-friendly theme.
With Google continually updating its ranking factors, it is evident that a premium, SEO-friendly theme is a must.
Responsiveness
More than 50% of traffic now comes through mobile devices. A responsive theme compresses the blog layout to fit a mobile screen, which in turn facilitates good user interaction. So, choose a theme that has a responsive version.
Clean Coding
Clean coding has many benefits. It helps make your website faster and more SEO-friendly. Themes with excessive JavaScript, comments interspersed throughout the code, and multiple nested loops should be avoided.
Although, as a casual user, it’s hard to check codes, it is always recommended that you buy themes from reputable companies.
Schema Enabled
Schema is essential for SEO. It’s for the search engine to understand what your post content is all about.
Schema helps you to be in Feature Snippets and offers rich snippets in search results. Unfortunately, only reputed vendors are offering schema-enabled themes.
AMP Compatibility
AMP is the latest standard for Google to serve content on mobile devices at lightning-fast speeds.
AMP framework removes all JavaScript and other things that hinder the rendering of websites on mobile devices.
Of course, it is not a must to have AMP, but it’s better to be future-ready with AMP-enabled themes.
Future Updates
Go for a theme that offers unlimited future updates. With WordPress being updated regularly, it’s a good idea to choose a theme that offers unlimited future updates.
Avoid themes that require additional fees for future updates.
Now that we know why we should use a premium theme and what we should look into before buying a theme, let’s find out the 10 Best WordPress Themes.
1. GeneratePress
GeneratePress Theme
GeneratePress is a lightweight, fast, and highly customizable WordPress theme built for performance and flexibility
GeneratePress is one of the fastest WordPress themes available in the market now. A fresh installation of GeneratePress is just under 30 KB and loads in under half a second.
If you are in the market for the Best WordPress Theme For Speed, then the GeneratePress theme is miles ahead of the competition.
With vanilla JavaScript coding and schema enabled, it’s the best bet to start a WordPress blog with this theme.
Forum-driven support is always available to help you if you need it. GeneratePress works well with page builders like Thrive Architect or Elementor.
GeneratePress offers a range of ready-made demos tailored to various industries, enabling you to easily build your website. You will save time as you don’t have to start from scratch.
When GeneratePress is paired with a high-quality hosting service like Cloudways, it becomes the fastest WordPress theme to use.
If you are looking for the Best WordPress Themes For Blogs, then no other theme can beat GeneratePress.
GeneratePress Pricing
GeneratePress offers a free version that is ideal for exploring its capabilities. But the free version is elementary.
The Pro version has all the bells and whistles. The pro version costs $59/year.
If you choose the yearly plan, you must renew your theme subscription annually to receive updates and support. They offer up to 40% discount during renewal.
GeneratePress Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Swift and lightweight theme
- Plenty of ready-made templates
- Schema supported
- Excellent support forum
👎 Cons
- No lifetime plan
- You will need other plugins to have some essential affiliate features
2. Astra
Astra Theme
Astra is the fastest, most flexible WordPress theme trusted by millions to build beautiful, responsive websites with ease
Astra Theme is a feature-rich and swift WordPress theme. With a clean install, Astra weighs approximately 50 KB and loads in under half a second in most cases.
Astra is one of the Best WordPress Themes For Beginners. In fact, it is also the Best WordPress Themes For Small Businesses.
Like GeneratePress, Astra also dumped traditional jQuery and instead uses Vanilla JavaScript. The theme is packed with SEO features and comes built with schema markups.
Astra has more than 100 pre-built starter sites, which you can easily copy and edit to meet your requirements. You can create a professional website with Astra in less than 30 minutes.
Astra can be used with page builders like Thrive Architect or Elementor, and in fact, Astra + Elementor is a brilliant combination for creating an attractive and professional website.
Astra is one of the best WordPress themes for business websites. It has multiple demos tailored to different businesses.
Astra Theme Pricing
You can purchase an Astra theme as a standalone product or as a package that includes useful plugins, such as Convert Pro and Schema Pro.
The yearly pricing starts at $59 and ranges up to $199. For lifetime plans, the pricing varies from $199 to $599. They also have a monthly plan starting from $4.99
Astra Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Loads in less than half a second with a clean install
- Page size is less than 50 KB with only WordPress installed
- SEO-friendly and built-in schema
- Can be used on unlimited websites
- A lifetime plan is available
- Good support
👎 Cons
- Pricing is very high
- The theme is not completely bug-free
3. Kadence
Kadence Theme
Kadence Theme lets you build fast, beautiful, and fully customizable WordPress websites effortlessly with a modern, lightweight design.
Kadence is a feature-rich theme that enables you to build intuitive websites, blogs, or online stores. The Kadence theme’s basic version is free, whereas the pro version comes with a healthy list of features.
If you want to create a minimalist website, then the free version should be more than enough. However, you can install the Kadence block plugin (also available for free) if you want to enhance your creativity.
Kadence Pro comes bundled with useful plugins like Kadence Block, Kadence Conversion, and the Kadence WooCommerce toolkit.
Although the theme is feature-packed, it is swift. All the SEO features are available in the theme. It also supports schema markup.
You can use the Kadence conversion plugin (free with the Full Bundle) if you want to collect leads on your website for improved conversion.
Essentially, the Kadence theme encompasses all the elements that a perfect theme should have. You don’t have to buy any other plugin to create a conversion-friendly, eye-catching blog.
Kadence Theme Pricing
The pricing starts at $59 per year and increases to $299 per year for the ultimate plan. Please note that this is the pricing of the package that contains different useful plugins, along with the pro version of the Kadence theme
Kadence Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- All-in-one theme package available
- SEO Friendly and schema-optimized
- Fast-loading and lightweight
- Sales funnel plugin for free
👎 Cons
- The lifetime license is costly
- The support is a hit-or-miss
4. Newspaper Theme
Newspaper Theme
Newspaper Theme is a powerful WordPress theme designed for news, blogs, and magazine websites with speed, style, and flexibility.
The newspaper theme is often overlooked for WordPress. You may not see any blogger ever mentioning this theme in their listicles.
Why?
Because 90% of bloggers list themes based on the affiliate commission they earn, newspapers, being a ThemeForest theme, do not pay hefty commissions. That’s why no bloggers mention this theme in their articles.
However, we don’t dare to suggest good themes, even if they’re free. Ultimately, we are committed to providing you with accurate and unbiased information.
The Newspaper theme was known for magazine/news-style blogs. But with the latest version, you can create any blog with this theme.
It comes bundled with its page builder called tagDiv Composer, so there is no need to buy any other page builder. The theme is speedy if you know how to optimize it.
The newspaper theme is optimized for AMP and comes packed with SEO features. If your monetization strategy involves Google AdSense, then this theme is ideal for maximizing the effectiveness of ads.
Many themes use hooks to add Google AdSense codes, but the Newspaper theme has built-in hooks that allow for the use of those codes. If you are looking for the Best WordPress theme for AdSense approval, then choose the Newspaper theme.
The newspaper theme has several demo websites that you can copy to build your website. That will ensure that you don’t have to start from scratch.
Yes, the support is not up to the mark, and the tagDiv composer has its share of bugs, but it is still one of the best WordPress themes for news blogs.
Even if you want to create a tech blog, a Newspaper theme is the Best WordPress Theme For a Tech Blog.
Newspaper Theme Pricing
The newspaper theme is available on Themeforest for $59. One license can be used on only one website.
Newspaper Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Great for a news blog
- Loads very fast if optimized properly
- Optimized for earning through Google AdSense
- AMP is ready and optimized for SEO
- Numerous sample websites to build from
👎 Cons
- The default tagDiv Composer has tons of bugs
- The support team’s response is slow
- Can be used on one website per license
5. OceanWP Theme
OceanWP Theme
OceanWP is a fast, lightweight, and highly extendable WordPress theme perfect for any website, from blogs to eCommerce stores.
The OceanWP theme is very popular among newbie bloggers due to its easy customization and a handful of premium extensions that come for free.
It offers a free version in the WordPress repository, with over a million downloads and a nearly five-star average rating. That shows the popularity of this theme.
The Pro version is feature-packed, offering 15 premium extensions, royalty-free image downloads from Freepik, unlimited icon downloads from Flaticon, and over 200 demos.
With support for page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder, you can create any website with Ocean WP.
It also supports WooCommerce integration, making it a suitable choice for those looking to venture into e-commerce.
OceanWP Theme Pricing
The pricing starts at $35 per year for one website and increases to $143 per year for 300 websites.
OceanWP Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- The free version has plenty of features
- Seamless Woo-commerce integration
- Fast and SEO optimized
- Supports third-party page builders
- A license for a single website is cheap
👎 Cons
- Lacks the fluidity of Astra and GeneratePress
- Support is a painful affair
6. Divi Theme
Divi Theme
Divi is a powerful WordPress theme and visual builder that lets you design stunning, responsive websites with drag-and-drop ease
Divi is one of the most popular and widely used WordPress themes. The theme comes equipped with its own page builder, called Divi Builder.
If you purchase the bundle, it includes two handy plugins: Monarch and Bloom. Monarch is a social share plugin similar to Social Snap, and Bloom is a lead magnet plugin similar to ConvertKit.
Essentially, purchasing the Divi bundle eliminates the need to spend money on page builders, social share plugins, and lead magnet plugins.
The Divi theme boasts numerous features and is relatively fast, too, provided you know how to optimize it. However, it is not as fast as themes like Astra and GeneratePress.
Divi offers numerous starter sites that you can copy and customize to suit your needs. Although Divi has a reputation for poor support and customization, which can be challenging, it’s a good theme if you have a basic understanding of coding.
Divi Theme Pricing
The price of Divi, including all its modules, is $89 per year. If you opt for a lifetime plan, the cost is $277.
A single license can be used for an unlimited number of websites. Divi also offers a 30-day trial, so if you are not satisfied, you can request a refund.
Divi Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Feature-rich and SEO friendly
- Plenty of starter sites to copy from
- Loads comparatively fast if optimized properly
- Cheap lifetime plan
👎 Cons
- Support is bad. Takes a couple of days to reply
- Out of the box, Divi loads very slowly
7. Rehub Theme
Rehub Theme
REHub is an all-in-one WordPress theme built for affiliate marketing, price comparison, and multi-vendor websites
Hands down! This is the best multipurpose WordPress theme. If you want to create a blog, an online store, or an affiliate website, the Rehub theme has all the advanced features that you need.
Rehub is also the Best WordPress Theme For Affiliate Marketing.
If you use the Rehub theme, you will not require any other plugin to get some of the essential features that you need for an affiliate website.
The Rehub theme is also one of the most intuitive themes, with eye-catching colors, conversion-friendly charts, product lists, and many other features.
The best feature of the Rehub theme is that it can be used on any website, blog, or WooCommerce store. It features multiple ready-made templates that you can use, eliminating the need to start from scratch.
You might think that a theme with so many features could be slow. But you are wrong here. The Rehub theme is speedy, too. It loads in less than half a second in most cases.
Rehub theme supports schema. It is SEO-friendly. It has a couple of blocks where you can activate schema on the go.
Rehub theme can be used with Elementor, although I won’t suggest using Elementor as it will make your site super slow.
Rehub Theme with Greenshift is the ideal combination for your blog to achieve an eye-catching look and a comprehensive list of features.
If you want to create an Amazon Associates website or store, you can use the Rehub theme with the Amazon Associate plugin, and you will notice a high conversion rate.
If you are looking for the best WordPress themes for affiliate marketing, then choose no other theme than the Rehub theme. Rehub is also the Best WordPress theme for WooCommerce stores.
Do you know that Amazon has honored the Rehub theme as one of the best WordPress themes for Amazon Affiliate?
If you want to build an e-commerce store, then the Rehub theme is also the Best WordPress Theme For an e-commerce Website, as it offers numerous features for a conversion-friendly e-commerce store.
Rehub Theme Pricing
The Rehub theme is available on Themeforest for $59. Periodically, they offer some discounts. You can use one license on one website only. However, you will receive lifetime updates at no additional cost.
The support is available for free for up to 6 months. Additionally, you will need to renew the support subscription.
Rehub Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Very intuitive theme
- Recommended by Amazon
- Can be used on any website, blog, or online store
- Plenty of useful plugins for free
- Loads super fast and clean coding
- Frequent updates
👎 Cons
- Customization is not easy for a newbie
- Too many features may confuse you
8. StudioPress Theme
Genesis Theme
Genesis Pro offers powerful tools and premium block-based themes to build fast, secure, and SEO-optimized WordPress websites
Genesis Pro is a theme package from Studiopress. Buying a Genesis Pro subscription gives you access to all StudioPress themes. Genesis Pro comes with the Genesis Framework and 10 StudioPress themes.
All themes are Super fast, lightweight, and well SEO optimized. If you are looking for the Best WordPress Theme For SEO, then the Genesis Pro bundle should be your choice.
All themes are built on the Genesis Framework and work out of the box. No need for any page builder as these themes are optimized for Gutenberg.
The Genesis Framework is one of the most secure frameworks for themes, serving as the backbone of StudioPress themes. Therefore, if you prioritize the security of your website, you should opt for Genesis Pro.
You cannot buy StudioPress themes separately; you must purchase the Genesis Pro subscription, and all the themes will be included for free.
Genesis Pro Pricing
The price of a Genesis Pro yearly subscription is $360. You can use it on an unlimited number of websites.
If you are an individual blogger, this theme may not be for you, as you likely don’t need 10 themes. Right? The Genesis theme bundle is best suited for agencies.
If you want to use Genesis Pro for free, you can buy any WP Engine hosting plan. All WP Engine hosting plans include this theme bundle at no additional cost.
StudioPress Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Built on Genesis Framework
- Class-leading security at its core
- Superfast and SEO-friendly
- No page builder is needed
- One license for unlimited websites
👎 Cons
- Not intuitive compared to other premium themes
- Very costly yearly subscription
9. Thrive Theme
Thrive Theme
Thrive Theme Builder lets you create fully customized, conversion-focused WordPress websites with ease and flexibility
Trust me, Thrive Theme would have been listed in the top five if they hadn’t changed their pricing and forced us to buy the Thrive Suite.
Yes, you can not buy the Thrive theme separately; you need to buy the Thrive theme suite, which also contains the following plugins.
- Thrive Architect
- Thrive Quiz Builder
- Thrive Leads
- Thrive Apprentice
- Thrive Ultimatum
- Thrive Ovation
- Thrive Optimize
- Thrive Comments
- Thrive Automator
If you buy the Thrive theme suite, you no longer need to buy any other plugins, as the bundle contains all the premium plugins that you need to create a conversion-friendly blog.
I have used Thrive Leads and Thrive Architect before; both are excellent plugins. Both plugins have long dominated the affiliate marketing niche.
Thrive theme or Thrive theme builder supports full site editing. This means you can edit almost any element of your site using it.
You will get access to four child themes that you can copy to create your blog. But my personal suggestion would be to take advantage of the full site editing and start from scratch.
Since the Thrive Suite has many premium plugins, it won’t be tough for you to create a professional blog. The support team is constructive if you need any help.
Thrive Theme Pricing
You can not buy the Thrive Theme separately. You need to buy Thrive Suite, which costs $299 per year. Unfortunately, there is no lifetime plan.
You can use Thrive Suite on up to five websites with one subscription.
They have a 30-day money-back policy. If you are unhappy with it, you can request a refund.
Thrive Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Full site editing
- Multiple premium themes for free
- Conversion focused
- A lot of customization options
- Excellent support
👎 Cons
- You are forced to buy the Thrive Suite
- No lifetime plan
- Can be used only on five websites
10. Blocksy Theme
Blocksy Theme
Blocksy is a lightning-fast, Gutenberg-ready WordPress theme built for modern design, flexibility, and performance.
Blocksy is an excellent theme if you plan to use the Gutenberg editor. It features an advanced header and footer builder, allowing you to insert professional elements, such as a language or currency switcher.
The theme supports a hook-based archive page and post builder, rather than a hardcoded layout. That gives you a lot of freedom to insert elements that you need.
You can create mega menus, insert icons into menus, add hooks to menus, and set design styles for menus using the Blocksy theme.
Although the theme has many features, it does not affect its speed. Blocky is very fast out of the box, as it utilizes Gutenberg and adopts a modular, block-based design.
Blocksy Theme Pricing
Blocky offers both annual and lifetime plans. The yearly plan starts at $69 for a single website and increases to $149 per year for unlimited websites.
The lifetime plan starts at $199 for a single website and ranges up to $499 for unlimited websites.
Blocksy Theme Positives And Negatives
👍 Pros
- Has a ton of features
- Block-based modular theme
- Supports menu customization
- A relatively cheaper lifetime plan
👎 Cons
- The theme is good at everything but best at nothing
- You will need a few other plugins to build an affiliate website
Conclusion: Best WordPress Themes
Themes are the backbone of a blog. Please don’t compromise when choosing a theme. It’s a challenging and painful task if you select a different theme after your blog has run for a couple of years. So, choose the theme wisely.
Every theme has its positives and negatives, and you should choose the theme that suits your needs.
However, you have to look for certain basic and essential features before choosing a theme.
Try to choose a theme that offers a lifetime license for unlimited websites, as this saves a significant amount of money if you plan to launch multiple micro niche blogs.
Out of all those 10 themes, my pick would be GeneratePress if you plan to run a blog. If you plan to run an Amazon affiliate blog, then Rehub is the best theme.
If you are concerned about website security, then nothing can beat Genesis Pro. However, for News and Magazine blogs, the Newspaper theme is still the king.
FAQ | Best WordPress Themes
What Are The Best WordPress Themes?
GeneratePress, Astra, and Rehub are among the top WordPress themes for blogs. However, every theme targets a different set of niches. You may also find other themes that suit your business based on your niche.
Are WordPress Themes Free?
Most premium WordPress themes have a free version with fundamental features. To unlock the full potential of a theme, you may need to purchase the pro version.
Can WordPress Themes Be Customized?
Yes, almost all themes can be customized using the customizer panel or a child theme. Some themes utilize a modular design, allowing you to disable features that you do not need.
How To Choose The Best WordPress Theme?
When choosing the best WordPress theme, consider various factors. However, speed, lightweight design, and SEO compatibility are a few key factors that you should prioritize.
What Is The Best WordPress Theme For Blogging?
Astra and GeneratePress are two of the best wordpress themes for blogging.
What Is The Best WordPress Theme For e-commerce?
It all depends on the type of eCommerce store you want to create. However, Rehub is one such thing that can be used for any Ecommerce store.
What WordPress Theme Is Best For SEO
Genesis Pro bundle is undoubtedly the best WordPress theme for SEO and website security.
