How to Choose a WordPress Theme in 2025

What are WordPress Themes?

WordPress themes are pre-designed templates that determine a WordPress website’s overall appearance, layout, and functionality. They serve as the visual and structural foundation for a website, allowing users to customize the look and feel of their site without needing to code from scratch. Themes act like outfits for your website. They are made up of files that work together to display your website content in a specific way.

Types of WordPress Themes

There are thousands of free and paid themes available, so you can find one that matches the style and purpose of your website. You can also customize most themes to a certain degree, allowing you to add your personal touch. Here’s a breakdown of some popular free and paid WordPress themes, along with a few examples:

Paid Premium Themes

Paid WordPress themes are premium website templates available for purchase from developers or marketplaces. These themes offer advanced features, customization options, and professional design elements beyond what is typically found in free themes. They are perfect for established businesses looking for high-quality design, advanced functionality, and professional support. Freelancers and web design agencies will find premium themes ideal for their clients, as they are reliable and feature-rich. Here are some of their best examples:

1. Divi: Powerful drag-and-drop theme and page builder with a visual interface for easy customization.
2. Themify Ultra: Multipurpose theme with various pre-built layouts and a built-in page builder.
3. Avada: Popular multipurpose theme with many features and customization options.
4. GeneratePress: Lightweight and performance-focused theme with good customization options.
5. Theme X: Drag-and-drop page builder theme with a focus on creative layouts.

Free Themes

Free WordPress themes are pre-designed website templates available for use without cost. The developers distribute these themes freely through the WordPress theme directory or other sources. These themes are also suitable for budget-conscious users who need a simple website without advanced features. Additionally, non-profit organizations, charities, or small non-profits can benefit from free themes. They provide a way to establish an online presence without spending money. Here are some of their most popular examples:

1. Astra: Lightweight, fast, and highly customizable, making it a good general-purpose theme.
2. OceanWP: Multipurpose theme with a focus on e-commerce functionality.
3. Hestia: Simple and beginner-friendly theme, suitable for basic websites and blogs.
4. Neve: Lightweight and mobile-responsive theme with a focus on speed.
5. Blocksy: Lightweight theme with a focus on Gutenberg block editor integration. (These last two examples are relatively new but gaining popularity)

Classic Themes

Classic or traditional themes have been the center of attention for the longest time. They are built via PHP and aren’t easy to customize. Instead, these themes enable site owners and developers to customize design elements and layout configurations using the WordPress Customizer and widget zones. They are ideal for experienced WordPress users familiar with the traditional WordPress way of building and managing themes. Traditional businesses that prefer a stable, long-term solution will find classic themes suitable. Developers who enjoy coding and customizing themes using PHP, HTML, and CSS will also appreciate classic themes’ flexibility. However, classic themes are less common now with the addition of WordPress’ Block Editor.

Block Themes

Block themes came to the website development world after the Site Editor’s introduction in WordPress 6.1. These themes provide full-site editing capabilities that extend to templates, headers, footers, etc. You can use the Site Editor to build everything on your website via HTML-based templates made of blocks, expanding beyond traditional content like posts and pages. These themes are perfect for modern bloggers and content creators who enjoy using the block editor for a more visual and flexible content creation experience. They also suit marketers and content strategists who want to build engaging, interactive pages quickly.

Niche Themes

Niche themes are designed specifically for a particular industry or kind of website. They offer pre-built features and layouts tailored to the needs of that niche, making it easier and faster to set up a professional-looking website. They are best suited for industry-specific businesses that want a theme designed specifically for their sectors, such as medical practices, law firms, or real estate agencies. Professional photographers and artists who need a portfolio site with features tailored to showcase their work will find niche themes ideal. Here is a list of the most popular niche theme categories:

• Ecommerce: These themes are designed for online stores and prioritize product display, shopping carts, and secure checkout processes.
• Photography: Highlighting visuals, these themes offer clean layouts and galleries to showcase your photographic work.
• Blog: Optimized for content creation, blog themes prioritize readability and easy navigation for frequent updates.
• Portfolio: These themes are perfect for showcasing creative work and offer various gallery and layout options to display your skills.
• Podcast: Streamlines website creation for podcasters. It provides a professional platform to showcase your work, connect with listeners, and potentially grow your audience.
• Restaurant: Restaurant themes are often designed to attract customers and include menus, reservation forms, and mouthwatering food imagery.
• Real Estate: Focus on property presentation. They often include high-quality image and video galleries, interactive maps with property locations, search filters for specific features, and contact forms for inquiries.

Multipurpose Themes

Multipurpose themes are designed to be adaptable to various websites and industries. They offer broad features and functionalities, often achieved through drag-and-drop page builders or pre-built layouts. This flexibility allows you to customize the theme to fit your needs without requiring a niche-specific theme. Small to medium-sized businesses will find these themes suitable, as they can adapt to various needs without switching themes for different projects. Web developers and designers who work on multiple projects for different clients will appreciate multipurpose themes for their flexibility and extensive options.

Page Builder Themes

WordPress Page builders are powerful design tools that bring a new level of ease and customization to building WordPress sites without code. You can see your changes in real time on the front end of your website without switching between different screens or refreshing your browser. They are easy to use and often come with ready-made designs to help you get started faster. Graphic designers and creatives will find these themes ideal for creating highly customized and visually appealing designs with minimal coding. Intermediate users with WordPress experience who want to build unique, professional-looking layouts easily using page builder themes will also benefit.

Most page builders, like Elementor and Beaver Builder, are plugins that can integrate with WordPress themes (if compatible). Most premium WordPress will make sure they are compatible with popular page builders.