Best WordPress Themes for Bloggers both free and premium paid options.

Last Updated on May 28, 2023

There are a vast number of WordPress themes available for you to choose from and the decision of which to buy can be somewhat overwhelming, I am sure you agree?!

So – what are the best WordPress themes that are worth considering? What are the pros and cons of each? Well, below I look at 10 themes I have personally tried and that I believe are worth considering, each for a different reason.

Table of Contents

1. Divi Theme (What we use)

Divi Theme Overview

The theme that we use for this site, and which is our favorite, is the Divi Theme.

This theme is from Elegant Themes and is one of the most popular themes on the market worldwide.

Once you use Divi it is easy to see why thousands of people have chosen this theme over others.

This is a framework that comes with a choice of over 80 themes if you buy the package as a one-off purchase.

The fantastic thing is that there are no licensing restrictions (Avada theme discussed later, requires an annual fee) and you can use the framework for as many sites as you want.

One of the key features of Divi is the “Divi Builder” which makes it possible for users without good technical ability or programming skills to create a stylish and dynamic site.

You can fairly easily create just about any design you wish to, using the builder.

The Divi builder that you use to build the blog structure — With a few clicks, you can build and design your website from scratch

Divi column choices as you build your blog — Divi also makes page design with the choice of columns and many other design aspects, really easy.

What We Love About Divi

Excellent support – We have been extremely impressed with the support. Submit a ticket and they will answer your specific questions on any design issues you have. Brilliant support from our own experience.
Access to over 80 templates – if you buy the Divi Framework as a one-off purchase, having access to so many templates and license-free, is great if you might want to use Divi for several sites.
Design – You can indeed create quite stylish sites using the theme builder. Anything goes!

Possible issues with the Divi Theme

Price = It is not cheap to buy as a one-off package, i.e. it does involve a small investment. There are cheaper options available, including from ThemeForest, as I will discuss below.
Speed – Divi sites are not generally going to be as fast as if you choose the Genesis theme (discussed later) but you should still, nonetheless, be able to discuss a site fast enough for what you need.
Learning curve – Even though the Divi builder is meant to be very intuitive, and even with some past experience in web design such as via Dreamweaver, I still found that there was a steep learning path involved, mainly because you have to work out where everything is. It seems a fair problem to have though if you want to design a dynamic site.

Overall thoughts:

We love the Divi theme!

The Divi theme is what we use on this site, so it is a testament to our belief in this product. Click this banner to view the Elegant Themes you can use with Divi

2. Genesis WordPress Theme

Genesis Theme Overview

The Genesis theme is for advanced users and one of the key benefits is that it utilizes HTML 5 and is thus a framework that is designed for great site speed (an important consideration for getting good search positions for your site).

When you buy Genesis, you are, in effect, buying the main theme, which you then design around by creating a child theme to customize your blog or website design.

If you do have good programming skills, can afford to hire a programmer, or enjoy learning new things (such as coding) then Genesis is the future, and starting off with Genesis from the beginning can be a great way forward.

Do beware that, if you buy the Genesis Framework, you will still need to buy a theme to go with it. You can buy the two together from StudioPress.

What we like:

Having set up a site in the Genesis theme and tested the site speed using Pingdom, the speed did, in fact, rank us in the top 5% of sites worldwide. The clean and minimalistic coding absolutely does make this framework and theme a force for the future.
When you use this theme, you are forced to create a Child theme, something many people using WordPress tend not otherwise to do, even though it is advisable. (Having a child theme means that, when the theme is updated, your local specific settings are kept and attached to the theme).

Possible issues

It really was hard to use and we did have to hire a programmer to help us and this can really eat into your budget if you are a small business or solo blogger. It may be marketed as easy to use but, from our experience, it was not easy.

Overall thoughts

If you are a developer by nature and have excellent programming skills, then this is the framework and template I would definitely recommend. It is the future with the HTML 5 coding and better to get on-board now if you have the skills to design with Genesis!

By programmers, this is often considered one of the best WordPress themes on the market.

3. Volt WordPress Theme

Volt Theme Overview

This is the theme I have used on some of my other blogs in the past and it is a theme that is great if you have a blog you would like to show as a magazine-style site, with lots of features and news bytes.

It is quite stylish and also designed with all of the main features you would expect from a good theme, including responsive design (meaning suitable for mobile devices and screen sizes), WooCommerce compatible (meaning it’s easy to integrate a storefront on the site if you want) and it comes with customizable styles.

What we like about this theme

Similar to the Divi theme, the support is excellent for the Volt theme, although you do have to pay around $40 a year extra for 1 year of support with the Volt theme.

This theme though can be excellent for new bloggers and business owners and is really a quite simple template to use when starting off.

If you are new to WordPress you will still, of course, need time to familiarise yourself with the layout of WordPress and to work out how to use Volt, but overall it is relatively easy to use and well-designed – including for SEO (search engine optimization).

Possible issues

For some of you, the design might feel a little too busy in that this is magazine-style, designed to throw lots of information in front of the reader.

You may not want to pay annual support fees but you do not have to. I would suggest that, after one year, you will know most of what you need to for the template.

Overall thoughts

This is a great option and nice template sold through Themeforest, which is really cheap (USD$59 at the time of writing), is suitable for showing your site on all devices, and is decent for a beginner blogger. BUY IT HERE!

4. Avada Theme

Theme Overview

This is another fully responsive theme (works well on all devices including iPad and mobile phones) and this is similar, in some ways, to the Divi theme, in that it has its own builder.

The Avada builder makes it very easy for you to add every type of feature that you will find on most dynamic websites, as highlighted with some examples shown below:

Avada comes with a number of theme choices and is highly customizable and, for new bloggers and business owners, it is really quite easy to use (aside from the normal learning curve to learn WordPress itself).

What we like

The choice of features and tools is excellent and the theme enables you to create very high-level jazzy sites that look extremely professional. The theme is also affordable.

Possible issues

On testing the site speed with a site we designed with Avada, we did find it quite code-heavy and thus a lot slower than a similar site in the Genesis theme.

The focus of this theme, I would suggest, is for more beginner or intermediate-level bloggers when it comes to coding ability.

Overall, almost half a million users use the Avada theme, and the attraction of why is clear with the clean and affordable designs, which are usable by any level blogger.

Overall thoughts

You can produce high-quality dynamic professional sites but it can be quite code-heavy. Overall though, great for non-programmers. Available here.

5. The Ark Template – for Freelancers

There Overview

This template is designed specifically with freelancers in mind.

So, if you work for yourself and are looking for a jazzy theme that has a lot of inbuilt tools to make it quite easy for you, this is a great option.

This template is quite intuitive and fairly easy to use. With over 4000 sales and a 5-star rating, this is further proof of its popularity.

What we like

I have used this template on a client’s site and it is quite easy to use but does take a little getting used to.

To work a few things out, I had to use their support and the feedback was always excellent and speedy.

Whatever template I work with, I find that there are always a few questions to be asked, to know where to find things, given I am not a programmer.

Support was excellent and the features and what you can do with this template are impressive.

Possible issues

Some complete beginners to WordPress might find this a little hard to use (although this also applies to the Genesis theme and a few others).

Overall thoughts

Good value and available from ThemeForest. BUY IT HERE!

6. Allegiant (Free)

Allegiant theme which is one of the best free WordPress themes in our view

Overview

This is a free theme that nonetheless is powerful in that it has a lot of features and provides those of you on low budgets with an easy way to develop a professional site.

What we like

For free it is hard to complain and yet this is more than just your average free theme in our view. This theme is very customizable and offers a clean and fresh-looking site design.

Possible issues

Free templates, of course, are always less flexible than paid themes but, if a free theme is all you can afford to get started, you cannot go far wrong with the Allegiant theme.

Overall thoughts

Can you go wrong for free? You can get this theme here.

7. Sydney Theme (Free)

Overview

This is another classy free WordPress theme and it is great whether you are a blogger or business owner.

With over 200,000 downloads, you can begin to appreciate the popularity of this template.

What we like

Much like the Allegiant theme, being a free template that is responsive (works nicely on all devices i.e. including mobile phones), and with a clean design, you cannot go too far wrong with this theme.

Possible issues

Ultimately, if you are a serious blogger who is looking to build an online business, I recommend going for a paid theme such as Divi, Genesis, or Avada.

To start off though, the Sydney design is a great free option.

Overall thoughts

If you want a free template, this is a great choice!

8. X Theme

Overview

The X Theme is popular in many web design and blogging circles and this is the biggest ever selling theme on the Themeforest site.

What we like

It is a solution that gives you everything you need. Great template options, well coded and responsive, and worth using, whether you are a beginner to WordPress or an experienced programmer.

This theme is suitable for all, given it is very flexible, easy to customize and it has all the functions you will likely need. It is also cheap to buy!

Possible issues

Just the learning curve with WordPress itself, if you are a beginner to WordPress.

If you struggle at the start with this theme, then it is likely to be with getting familiar with where everything is in WordPress.

Overall thoughts

A great option. I have only placed this down in 8th because my experience with this template is less than with the others listed. This might be the best template for you. BUY IT HERE!