Maybe you’re a new and aspiring website designer learning how to use WordPress, or you’re trying to create your own website for your business, and of course, you’re looking for an affordable option to begin with. Most designers start with free WordPress themes.
Whether you’re a web designer creating sites for clients or simply starting your blog, these themes offer incredible features, performance, and customization options—all for zero cost! Let’s dive into 10 of the best free WordPress themes and what makes them stand out.
1. Hello Elementor
Why It’s Great: This is at the top of the list because this is the preferred theme here at WebCraft Studio. Hello Elementor is the ultimate lightweight theme, it was designed specifically to work with the Elementor page builder. It acts as a blank canvas, allowing web designers to create fully custom layouts with no distractions and unnecessary bloats from pre-designed elements. This theme is blazing fast, super clean, and ideal for anyone looking to build a personalized and fast website.
- Ultra-Lightweight: The barebones structure ensures your site is fast and optimized right from the start.
- Perfect for Elementor Users: Integration with Elementor makes it easy to drag and drop your way to a professional site.
- Endless Customization: Since it’s minimal, you can mold it into anything—from blogs to portfolios to eCommerce sites.
If you’re an Elementor enthusiast or just a web designer who loves complete creative freedom, Hello Elementor is a no-brainer.
2. Astra
Why It’s Great: Astra is a powerhouse in the WordPress theme world. It’s lightweight, it’s versatile and it offers loads of pre-built templates to jumpstart your design. It’s great for beginners and pros alike.
- Starter Templates: Astra encourages you to install the “Starter Templates” plugins and thus easily import premade templates for Gutenberg, Elementor and Beaver Builder. And even the free version gives you a wide range of templates.
- Lightweight: Astra is lightweight meaning it has as little JS, HTML, and CSS as possible.
Astra integrates beautifully with all major page builders, including Elementor, Gutenberg, Spectra and Beaver Builder.
3. Neve
Why It’s Great: Neve offers a modern design with a focus on speed and mobile-first responsiveness.
- Gutenberg: It works efficiently with Gutenberg. Never was the Theme I chose to work with when I first practiced how to use the Gutenberg Builder
- Templates: The free version of Never comes with a handful of free templates/starter sites which can also you get started with a simplistic design.
- APM: Its integration with AMP (Application Monitoring Performance) ensures your site stays lightning-fast, while its customization features let you tweak your design to perfection.
4. OceanWP
Why It’s Great: OceanWP is an all-rounder that’s fantastic for building eCommerce sites, portfolios, and business websites. It comes packed with features, but it’s still lightweight and speedy. Its compatibility with WooCommerce makes it a favorite for many online stores.
- Website Builders: OceanWP works best with Elementor. We’ve also managed to use SiteOrigin on OceanWP and it works great with this theme.
- Ocean Extra and Templates: Ocean WP is an extension to the OceanWP theme giving it extra features that will help you build a great-looking website. Ocean Extra allows you to import pre-made layouts at no costs.
5. GeneratePress
Why It‘s Great: Known for its speed and simplicity.
It offers a clean, responsive design and is fully compatible with major plugins like WooCommerce and Elementor.
6. Hestia
Why It’s Great: Hestia’s one-page layout and sleek design are great for startups, portfolios, small businesses, or anyone who needs a quick landing page. I would recommend this theme if you don’t have time to learn all the technical things around WordPress. Hestia offers a great and easy-to-understand tutorial to get yourself started.
It’s WooCommerce-ready and offers a professional feel straight out of the box.
7. Zakra
Why It’s Great: Zakra is a multi-purpose theme that comes with pre-built templates for blogs, businesses, and niche sites, making it a time-saver for new web designers.
8. Sydney
Why It’s Great: Sydney is a professional-looking theme with bold design elements, perfect for freelancers or small businesses. Its full-screen header and smooth animations make it stand out, while its customization options ensure it’s easy to use.
9. Blocksy
Why It’s Great: Built for the modern Gutenberg editor, Blocksy is fast, intuitive, and packed with features. It’s perfect for blogs, eCommerce stores, and portfolios. Its mobile responsiveness and clean coding are major wins for web designers.
10. ColorMag
Why It’s Great: Ideal for magazines, news, or blog sites, ColorMag offers a polished grid-style layout. It’s highly customizable and widget-ready, making it perfect for organizing large amounts of content.
What Makes These Themes ‘Good’?
Each of these themes is highly rated, regularly updated and designed to meet the needs of modern websites. They excel in:
- Responsiveness: Ensuring your site looks great on all devices.
- Customization Options: This gives you the flexibility to match your brand’s identity.
- Speed Optimization: Keeping your site fast, which is essential for user experience and SEO.
- Plugin Compatibility: Working seamlessly with popular tools like Gutenberg, WooCommerce, Elementor, and Yoast SEO.
Whether you’re a web designer working on multiple projects or someone building a site for the first time, these themes offer excellent starting points.
Start Your Design Journey Without Breaking the Bank
There’s no need to dive straight into premium themes when these free options are so robust. Themes like Hello Elementor, Astra, Neve, and OceanWP provide everything you need to create beautiful, functional websites that are fast, responsive, and user-friendly.
So go ahead, test them out, and bring your creative vision to life. Remember, even the best web designers started with simple tools. These themes could be the foundation of your next great website.
Happy designing!
