The success of your website often begins with selecting the perfect WordPress theme. A well-chosen theme not only enhances user experience but also strengthens your online presence and can positively impact your search engine rankings. By aligning your design with the best WordPress themes, you set the foundation for a visually appealing, functional, and SEO-friendly website.
Whether you’re looking to boost mobile responsiveness, enhance ecommerce features, or explore advanced tools, these 17 popular WordPress themes have you covered. Once you select the perfect theme, you can easily use one of its starter templates to build your website. Even better, if you’ve already created pages with a visual page builder like Elementor, you can quickly export them to your new theme, streamlining the entire setup process.
Why Choosing the Right WordPress Theme Matters
Each theme brings something unique to the table. As such, it is vital that you find the right one for your particular business needs. Here are a few things you should focus on when making your choice:
- Find the right theme to improve user experience and unlock diverse layout choices.
- Understand if the theme has specific features that might assist in your search engine optimization.
- Through a new theme’s responsive design, you might boost your website’s mobile scores and increase page loading speed.
Factors to Consider When Selecting a WordPress Theme
Digital agencies carefully select WordPress themes to ensure the perfect fit for each client’s unique needs. They prioritize visual designs that create a lasting impact for a business website. In a similar way, if you’re making your own choice, here are a few key factors to consider to ensure your theme aligns with your goals:
- Purpose: Decide between basic blogging themes and designs that have ecommerce compatibility built in.
- Customizability: Consider compatibility and the range of customization options when using popular page builders and SEO plugins.
- SEO and Speed Optimization: Use lightweight themes to increase loading speed and enhance mobile compatibility.
- Support and Updates: Find themes that receive updates every once in a while and that are getting advanced functionality over time.
- Compatibility: Ensure integration with third-party plugins such as Elementor, Divi Builder, Beaver Builder, and WP Bakery.
The 17 Definitive WordPress Themes
If you’re looking to create great-looking yet accessible websites, you should consider using any one of these following popular and multipurpose themes:
Astra works with all the biggest visual page builders, including Fusion Builder, WP Bakery, Spectra, and Elementor. Aside from giving you access to an attractive layout, this premium theme is created with the highest coding standards in mind. It allows modification of background images, animated buttons, and other elements for maximum user experience.
Astra starter templates are completely free, but you can get additional functionality with premium versions. Even the basic plan will allow you to create all kinds of websites for your business. With the right theme builder for entrepreneurs, Astra can be used to create unlimited client websites.
This lightweight theme is perfect for users who want to focus on responsiveness. It allows you to create ready-made sites in minimal time. It comes with nice buttons for social media platforms, mega menus, bold typography, and other advanced elements.
OceanWP is a very versatile theme that receives regular updates. You can use it to create sites for booking services, food delivery services, online fashion outlets, and just about any other company under the sun. I love the fact that you can get Ocean WP for free (paid ones cost from $35 to $143 a year).
Divi theme is made by the same company that gave us Divi Builder. Besides having a responsive design, this theme is easy to set up. It comes with a wide variety of starter templates, giving you a lot of flexibility for unlimited client websites and personal blogs.
With its block editor, you can move around different elements. My favorite thing is the minimalist layouts, which instill life into each website I make. Due to its flexibility and numerous templates, Divi is perfect for design agencies. The theme costs $89 a year or $249 for lifetime access.
The best way to create beautiful websites is by using themes such as GeneratePress. The theme comes with a Gutenberg block editor, which helps you create exciting blog layouts. GeneratePress works well with all popular page builders, including Beaver Builder and Elementor.
My favorite thing about the theme is crisp typography and the fact you can get it in 25 languages. You also get to choose between 5 sidebar layouts. Generate Press costs $149 a year and is a perfect solution for personal blogs.
If you’re looking to create beautiful fast-loading sites, then Neve is the right solution for you. With this WP theme, you’ll be able to create personal blogs and eCommerce platforms with minimal time invested. Although the theme comes with minimalist layouts, you can easily customize the site’s appearance.
Its code is made specifically for Google, helping you place higher in the search. Neve has a free version, while the paid plans cost $69, $149, and $259 per year. The cheapest plan is ideal for smaller blogs, the medium is better for e-commerce companies, and the most expensive one is recommended for agencies.
Further Reading: The 15 Best WordPress Blog Hosting Sites for 2025
This popular theme was made specifically for the Elementor page builder. It is an open-source theme, which makes it ideal for companies with professional graphic designers. I love the fact that Hello is rather simple, and you won’t need much time to get used to basic features.
When you use Hello with Elementor, you have the option of customizing elements any way you see fit. The theme is completely free but if you need additional support, you can get a paid plan. Hello is perfect for smaller blogs.
Further Reading: Top 15 WordPress Theme Detectors for Competitor Analysis
With Kadence, you’re able to create a site that opens quickly on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. The theme comes with numerous starter templates that are easy to modify. You also gain full color and font controls.
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The theme integrates with all major page builders and marketing plugins. The free version works just fine for me, but you can also get a paid plan of $79/year, $149/year, or $219/year.
The best thing about Sydney is how much freedom it gives you when creating a professional website. Besides controlling layouts, you can modify fonts, colors, buttons, logos, sticky navigation, and header images.
The theme comes with a wide variety of building blocks that are vital for creating a unique site appearance. As with most themes on the list, Sydney is completely free but comes with paid upgrades. The theme is relatively cheap, being priced at $55, $104, and $174 a year.
My favorite thing about Zakra is that it comes with 40 initial templates, giving you unparalleled flexibility when creating sites. It works with all the popular third-party plugins and builders. Zakra is optimized to maximize page loading speed and mobile friendliness.
Due to a large number of templates, the theme is perfect for agencies. You can use it to create all sorts of visual identities and unique stores. If you’re a single user, Zakra’s free version will be perfect for you. Otherwise, you can choose between $48, $90, and $499 per-year plans.
Further Reading: 7 WordPress AI Website Builders to Experiment With
If you run your eCommerce projects on WooCommerce, you might consider adding Storefront to the mix. The theme integrates well with this shopping platform, giving you maximum versatility during the website-building process.
The popular theme comes with several layout and color options, although it isn’t as versatile as some other themes on the list. The theme is completely free and I would recommend it for smaller, beginer stores that don’t require extensive functionality or complex visuals.
Avada is well-optimized for speed and eCommerce. By relying on a live visual builder, you can move around different elements until you find the perfect branding for your company.
Avada helps you modify headers, footers, store pages, pop-ups, content, layouts, and just about anything that appears on your site. The WordPress theme is perfect for single online stores, and given it’s $69, it is quite a bargain.
Hestia is an excellent choice if you’re looking to build one-page websites. It is much more suitable for small businesses and blogs than for large platforms. Specifically, you shouldn’t use Hestia if you’re reliant on the blog section.
The theme works with Elementor, WooCommerce, and a few other essential plugins (although its plugin support is limited). Hestia costs $69/year, $149/year, and $299/year. My opinion is that the price is somewhat high given that other themes offer more for the same or less money.
Further Reading: 15 Exceptional WordPress AI Plugins to Grow Your Business
Blocksy is my favorite theme and I’m currently using it for my website. The theme uses the Gutenberg block editor, allowing you to change layouts at your whim. The creator used lightweight coding, making Blocksy suitable for those who prioritize search engine optimization and user experience.
Blocksy works best with Beaver Builder, Elementor, Visual Composer, and Brizy. Another reason why this is my favorite is the fact it comes with a free plan (paid plans are $69, $99, and $149 per year). Cheaper plans are better for single users, while more expensive ones are tailored for agencies.
Thrive comes with six unique templates, numerous blog post layouts, Elementor support, shortcode, widgets, and other elements. If you’re using it with Elementor, you can easily move around blocks and utilize 70+ available elements without any coding.
Thrive is best suited for modern, creative agencies. It shines for large marketing and design firms, but you can also gain solid value as a single user. By paying $69 once, you’ll get lifetime access to the theme as well as accompanying support.
Further Reading: How to Start a WordPress Blog from Scratch TODAY!
Authority Pro comes with numerous integrations that allow you to create a perfect website for your business. The WP theme integrates with HubSpot and WooCommerce, setting the basis for effective eCommerce, marketing, and sales. The fantastic theme comes with Gutenberg editor, allowing you to move blocks around and create a perfect layout.
Use this solution to create 4 separate widget areas, tweak colors, buttons, and other elements, and optimize the theme for mobile devices. The theme is free, and you can get a few extra options with the paid plan. Authority Pro is ideal for smaller entrepreneurs regardless of their industry.
Ultra is a heavily optimized theme that allows you to create a wide variety of websites. This theme is specifically made to work with SiteOrigin. It benefits from its native functions and page builder, helping you customize the theme for your specific needs.
I love the fact you can introduce sticky menus and a full-width smart slider. Anyone can use this theme for free. If you want a few extra options, you can donate some money to the company. For example, for just $5 donation, you’ll get full access to some incredible features.
17. X
X offers you excellent, responsive design on all devices. The WordPress theme has several pre-made templates that can serve as a great starting point for your website creation.
With X, you’re able to modify the website layout and appearance of different elements. You can utilize a live preview to see what your platform will look like before rolling out changes. X will cost you $79 for lifetime use. The theme is perfect for small bloggers and companies.
How to Choose the Right WordPress Theme for Your Needs
With so many available themes on the market, it is often hard to choose the right one. These are the things you should focus on when making your choice:
- Look for a theme that will provide your website with the necessary features and functionalities.
- Check how a theme responds to different devices before the full-scale rollout.
- Read reviews to learn more about the company’s support. Look for themes that have a massive community behind them.
- I always like buying themes that have previews. That way, I can see how it would look like beforehand.
Conclusion
Selecting the right WordPress theme can be a challenge, as popular themes vary widely in visual design, installation processes, pricing, and features.
To make the best choice, start by clearly defining your goals. Choose a theme that aligns with your business size and objectives, ensuring it delivers the functionality and user experience needed to maximize conversions.
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