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Best WordPress Themes for Blogs
Presentation is paramount for blogs. Whether you want to blog as a side hobby or for a business venture, it’s essential to find the right platform and theme for your blogging needs.
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Luckily, WordPress is one of the largest online content management systems (CMS) and offers many customizable themes for blogs.
Different themes will determine how easy it is to navigate your blog.
As WordPress stores over 100 diverse themes, it can be daunting trying to find the right one for you.
However, there’s no need to worry, as we’ve narrowed it down and found the seven best WordPress themes for blogs.
This in-depth guide includes reviews for a mix of free and paid WordPress themes with a methodology for choosing the best theme for your needs.
Seven Best WordPress Themes for Blogs
#1 – Olsen Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Lifestyle and Fashion Blogs
If you are a lifestyle or fashion blogger looking for a place to store all of your content among a focused layout with crisp fonts, Olsen is the perfect theme for you.
Providing a fluid and peaceful reading experience, Olsen is the theme for anyone who wants their images to stand out next to their content.
Olsen is completely customizable and is the perfect place to show off your best work.
Two unique elements this theme offers are a Featured Content slider and an Instagram footer widget.
Both elements are great for sharing your work with readers.
The Featured Content slider is a little different from the average Featured Content add-on.
This element allows you to pick up to six images or posts and include them at the front of your blog.
The reader can navigate this slider by clicking the left or right arrow.
The Instagram footer widget is unique and doesn’t appear in any other theme on this list.
This is the perfect add-on for a fashion or lifestyle blogger who wants to showcase their photos.
It shows the widget at the bottom of your blog and features your most recent Instagram posts in a large single row.
The downside is for people who want the Instagram feature for free.
Unfortunately, you must pay for the theme or buy a plan to use it, but we think this trade-off is worth it.
You can get started with Olsen today for just $57 or get it for free with a Premium or Business WordPress plan.
#2 – Baskerville 2 Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Most Standard Blogs
If you’re looking to start a blog that contains writing, photos, and videos, then Baskerville 2 is the theme for you.
WordPress restricts many themes to a particular category, making it difficult for people who want to operate a standard blog.
However, Baskerville 2 is a simple theme that is easy to use and navigate.
It has added flexibility that will allow you to use your blog to its full potential.
The theme is easy to customize, so you don’t have to be tech-savvy to use it.
With recently upgraded flexibility, it now comes with a custom menu option just below the header.
This allows you to easily add menus that link to different parts of your blog.
Baskerville 2 offers many features, including:
- Custom backgrounds
- Custom colors
- Custom and flexible headers
- Full-width templates
- RTL Language support
- Site logo
- Author bio
- Threaded comments
Not only does this theme have many helpful features for a standard blog, but it’s also free.
You can use Baskerville 2 to create an outstanding blog with little investment, which is great if you are blogging as a side hobby.
With the new upgrades, this theme now supports all content options stored by WordPress.
You can choose how you display your content, including choosing to showcase your work in a full post or as an excerpt.
This is a unique option for free themes, but it’s significant because customizable displays will make your blog less cluttered and easier to read.
#3 – Hemingway Rewritten Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Photography Blogs
Hemingway Rewritten is the theme made for photographers. As soon as someone enters your blog, it greets them with elegant design and stunning visuals included as part of a featured header image.
The featured header image is perfect for any photographer wanting to share their visuals boldly.
WordPress suggests using a decorative background image as the most appropriate header, as the image can vary slightly depending on desktop, mobile, or tablet use.
However, not being able to use any photo for the featured header can be a disadvantage.
Alongside featured images, Hemingway Rewritten supports different post formats such as ‘aside,’ ‘image,’ and ‘quote.’ I found ‘image’ to be a great format if you want to add images to your blog with a small caption underneath, which lets you tell a story.
Similar to Baskerville 2, the Hemingway Rewritten theme lets you:
- Customize your header
- Customize your background
- Customize your menu
- Add sticky posts
- Add widgets
However, a unique element of this theme is the parallax-scrolling header.
The subtle fade of your header as someone scrolls through your blog adds extra points for presentation.
Hemingway Rewritten gives you a lot of room to be creative as a theme focused on photography.
The customizable featured header is one of the most important aspects, as it’s the first thing people will see once they enter your blog.
This theme is free for WordPress users, with no limit on customizations or posting.
#4 – Maxwell Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Online Creator Blogs
Maxwell is the most expensive theme on this list, and it’s considered a premium theme. However, the price shows how high-quality it is. This modern theme is ultra-clean and is best for online creators.
If you’re a YouTuber, musician, or artist, this theme will be the best choice for you as it supports the ‘featured content’ option.
‘Featured Content’ allows you to highlight your three most important posts at the top of your blog.
You can include links to videos, too, which is especially useful for YouTubers and streamers.
Maxwell is an easy theme to navigate, with a separate customizer section for adding a site logo, header, and background.
Alongside the basic features, Maxwell includes:
- A mobile-ready layout for any device
- Multiple menus
- A hashtag section for visibility
- A location section where you can add maps
- Social media widgets
Since this is a premium theme, Maxwell gives you six free color palettes to choose from.
For unlimited customizable colors and typography packs, you will need to upgrade to a premium or business WordPress plan.
If you are a free WordPress user, you can purchase Maxwell separately for $100, which is a little pricey and may be a downside for some.
However, you receive this theme for free when purchasing either WordPress plan.
- Premium plan: $10 per month
- Business plan: $33 per month
If you love the look and features of Maxwell, it would be best to try out the premium plan, as you get advanced design customization at a cheaper price point.
#5 – Escutcheon Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Writing Blogs
Escutcheon is by far the most simple yet effective theme on this list. This theme is best for writers who want to stand out from the crowd.
The theme looks like a virtual journal, with posts listed in reverse chronological order. With bold, large typography, blog posts quickly catch the eye of the reader.
The Escutcheon is a minimalist theme that gives just enough information to entice the reader.
The font and color palette makes it easy for readers to navigate and read your blog.
As this is a theme for writers, your writing is the main showcase, leaving images on the sidelines.
However, Escutcheon supports large featured images within blog posts, displayed beneath the post title if you want to add more life into your blog posts.
Like most WordPress themes, Escutcheon comes with drop-down menus, social media widgets, and customizable headers. However, it also offers:
- A ‘related’ section so readers can find similar blog posts with ease
- A search barComment section
- Site logo
The only problem with this theme is that it shows widgets on posts instead of your actual blog or archive page.
The Escutcheon is another free WordPress theme and is the last free option on this list.
This theme is perfect for a blogger looking for a place to share their stories.
#6 – Perle Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Portfolio Blogs
Just as the name suggests, Perle is an elegant theme.
If you want to start a blog that showcases your portfolio projects, Perle is the best choice for you.
Similar to Escutcheon and Maxwell, this theme has a simple look and offers different layouts that are super clean.
Perle keeps your portfolio polished with featured content.
You can highlight up to four portfolio pieces, pages, or posts on the front page of your blog with this add-on.
Among features like author bio, site logo, a social menu, and featured images, Perle offers a few unique elements, including:
- Overhanging images that let you place an image in the middle of your text
- Drop caps that let you enlarge the first letter of your sentence, making your text look super stylish
- Subheadings that let you italicize your text, making it stand out
- Subtle animation to create a soft fade on your image when a reader is scrolling
Perle is a little cheaper than Maxwell, costing $71.
However, you can get this theme for free when purchasing a Premium or Business WordPress plan.
#7 – Veggie Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Food Blogs
The Veggie is the perfect theme for the foodie in you.
This theme perfectly suits food bloggers or recipe writers who wish to showcase tasty treats and recipes.
This theme comes with easy-to-read typography packs and minimalist designs so you can easily share your passion with the world.
Veggie has a very responsive page and blog layout, which is customizable in seconds.
It’s easy to read and navigate on a desktop, mobile, or tablet.
This theme has a wide variety of unique options, which is paramount for blogging success.
Veggie comes with six different blog layouts and five diverse templates.
With these options, you can add a sidebar, grid, list, or full-width display.
Not only is there a wide variety, but Veggie can change into a resourceful restaurant website.
This premium theme offers several homepage layouts that let you engage with a whole new audience.
If you’re interested in this multipurpose design, Veggie is $86 as an individual theme or free with a Premium or Business WordPress plan.
What I Looked at to Find the Best WordPress Theme
Now that you know our seven best theme recommendations, it’s important to understand what matters.
Make the right decision by following these considerations.
Know Your Blogging Niche
It sounds self-explanatory, but it’s relevant when choosing the perfect theme.
Today we looked at the seven most common blogging niches, and how each theme suited for those niches is different.
When choosing a theme, you must know your blogging niche because you don’t want to install Veggie if fashion blogging is your focus.
Different niches require different themes with distinct features, layouts, and designs.
I would suggest creating a list of your most passionate hobbies and start there.
Customization is Key
Having a customizable theme is crucial for an easily-navigated blog.
It’s okay if you are not interested in investing money into your blog.
However, many free themes have limits on customizing, whether for headers, colors, or layouts.
Every theme on this list is customizable to some extent, some more than others, so it’s important to look into the nitty-gritty before installing.
Features
Every theme listed here today has some incredible features that work best for its particular niche.
However, some themes have more unique elements than others, and it’s critical to weigh whether you need them.
Paid themes are more likely to have more unique elements, such as Olsen with the Instagram footer widget, and Perle with the subtle animation.
If you know you won’t need an Instagram footer or subtle animation as a writer, it’s best to keep your money in your pocket.
Some basic features that are imperative for most blogs include:
- Custom colors
- Site logo
- Flexible display
- Classic menu
- Widgets
So, make sure you look for these when installing any theme.
Summary
Running a successful WordPress blog isn’t easy. Having the right theme helps a lot.
Here’s the complete list of my top recommendations:
- Olsen – Best WordPress theme for lifestyle and fashion blogs
- Baskerville 2 – Best WordPress theme for most standard blogs
- Hemingway Rewritten – Best WordPress theme for photography blogs
- Maxwell – Best WordPress theme for online creator blogs
- Escutcheon – Best WordPress theme for writing blogs
- Perle – Best WordPress theme for portfolio blogs
- Veggie – Best WordPress theme for food blogs
Baskerville 2, Hemingway Rewritten, and Maxwell are our top three WordPress theme recommendations for a blog.
Two of the three are free, making them very affordable.
However, Maxwell is worth the cost if you’re looking to invest in a more high-end design with features suitable for professional blogging.
All three are easy to use, non-technical, and presentable.
With that said, your niche and blogging needs will dictate the perfect theme for you. However, if you follow our considerations closely, it will make finding a theme that much easier.
The post, Best WordPress Themes for Blogs appeared first on Neil Patel.
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Best Ecommerce WordPress Themes
Do you dream of having an online shop that attracts customers immediately? You need an e-commerce website that makes it easy for you to sell and for customers to buy.
Don’t think your WordPress theme matters? Think again.
WordPress already comes with inherent features. An intuitive, well-suited theme enhances your e-commerce website’s performance.
This guide will help you find an e-commerce WordPress theme that works to your shop’s advantage and offers everything you need to keep selling.
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
The Top 7 Options for E-commerce WordPress Themes
- Astra—Best for Overall E-commerce Customizability
- Divi—Best for E-commerce Shop Design Features
- Flatsome—Best for Convenient E-commerce Shop Maintenance
- OceanWP—Best for Improving E-commerce Sales
- Porto—Best for Niche E-commerce Setups
- Shopkeeper—Best for E-commerce Shops with Blogs
- Halena—Best for Pre-Built E-commerce Shops
How to Choose the Best E-commerce WordPress Theme for You
Choosing a WordPress e-commerce theme is about more than just looks. It matters for your optimization, too.
With over 11,000 WordPress themes, the options can feel overwhelming. Knowing exactly what you need for your online shop helps you determine which theme will work best for your business before you commit.
You can certainly get free themes, but in most cases, you’ll want to spring for a paid one. Paid themes usually have better design, usability, SEO features, and customizability.
You should also pay attention to certain features that apply to all themes across the board, from the ease of use to visual aesthetic to SEO rankings.
In terms of being user-friendly and accessible, follow the three-click rule. In other words, buyers should be able to find what they need within three clicks.
Loading Speed
According to Marketing Dive, 53% of users will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. Loading speed also contributes to the user experience, so slow loading means a lower ranking.
You might not think your page loading speed is a theme issue, but it is. Before you buy one, check how it displays images and products, and look for ways to improve it to meet the three-second rule.
Mobile-Friendliness
As more people use smartphones and tablets to shop, it becomes more important to meet them there. According to Sweor, 85% of adults think a website should look and function as well or better than it does on a desktop.
If you don’t have a mobile-friendly shop, it will drastically reduce your customer service base. Not to mention, Google has implemented mobile-friendliness as part of its ranking criteria. Before you buy a theme, test the mobile version to verify its performance.
Security Features
Security is crucial for your customers, so it should be important to you, too. Some WordPress e-commerce themes come with extra security features beyond what your web host already offers. A secure e-commerce site builds trust between you and your customers, meaning that these features can only help your business.
The Different Types of Ecommerce WordPress Themes
With so many e-commerce WordPress themes available, you don’t need to settle for a generic setup. And if you want to stand out, you shouldn’t settle for anything.
Different types of WordPress themes offer different e-commerce capabilities and features. Here are a few types you should look for to create the optimal e-commerce site.
Responsive
A responsive theme lets your e-commerce website adapt to any device. You won’t have to worry about mobile compatibility because it’s already designed to work on laptops, tablets, smartphones, or virtually any device the customer uses.
Multipurpose
Multipurpose themes work for many different types of e-commerce shops. Do you have an online apparel store? An online shop for your bakery? A hotel?
Multipurpose themes’ adaptability allows room for your business’s growth, saving you time and money later.
Corporate
The larger your business, the more you need an e-commerce WordPress theme that can accommodate it. Corporate e-commerce WordPress themes let you expand your catalog as much as you need and still make it easy for buyers to find products with the three-click rule.
Corporate themes are often more customizable to your brand, have more flexibility, and higher quality.
Examples of Ecommerce WordPress Themes
#1 — Astra—Best for Overall E-commerce Customizability
Astra is one of the most popular WordPress themes, even outside of e-commerce. It works with different page builders, like Elementor, and has tons of features for performance, design, layout, and more.
Even with the free version, you get everything from custom and responsive fonts to SEO integrations. When you upgrade to the Pro version, that’s when the real magic begins. It has all the e-commerce features missing from the free version.
With Pro, you can make online shopping more convenient for your customers. You can enable custom features like infinite scroll, a dropdown cart, quick view, sales bubble style, and more. You even have plenty of gallery options to create a comprehensive catalog or portfolio.
Astra Pro also lets you create a unique look for your e-commerce WordPress site using custom headers, footers, and even 404 error pages. It also gives you display conditions so you can implement custom layouts sitewide or on one page. Plus, you get many color and typography options.
Astra comes in three paid tiers:
- Astra Pro: $59 annually or $249 for a lifetime license
- Mini Agency Bundle: $169 annually or $499 for a lifetime license
- Agency Bundle: $249 annually or $699 for a lifetime license
You get over 20 starter templates at the Pro level, plus one-on-one support, training, and unlimited website usage. The Mini Agency level bumps you up to more than 55 starter templates along with all of Astra Pro’s features. You also get the WordPress portfolio plugin and a page builder addon of your choice.
At the Agency tier, you get all the Mini Agency features and Ultimate Addons for Elementor and Builder Beaver, so you don’t have to choose. You also get Convert Pro and Schema Pro plugins.
Perhaps most impressive, the Agency package comes with SkillJet Academy. This course shows you how to use marketing to your advantage and grow your business using your website.
Astra takes a little extra work to build compared to some other e-commerce WordPress themes. But if you’re willing to put in the work to set up your site, you can create a truly exceptional, customized experience for your customers.
#2 — Divi—Best for E-commerce Shop Design Features
Divi is a multipurpose theme with over 1,000 layouts to design your WordPress e-commerce site. When you buy Divi from Elegant Themes, you also get access to their other products—Extra, Bloom, and Monarch.
Divi doesn’t have a free version, and it only has one paid tier. For $67 a year or $187 for life, you get a theme that allows you to customize your shop’s design more than any other. It even has an e-commerce-specific design layout.
Divi comes with features that include:
- Advanced code editing
- Filters and effects
- Animations
- Shape dividers
- Shadows
- Element styling
You won’t run out of ways to make your site match your branding. Even better, it has convenient tools to help both you and your customers.
With multi-select and bulk editing, copy and paste styles, extendable styles, and Divi quick editing, you won’t need to spend hours redesigning your site. WooCommerce modules also let you create product layouts to make your items pop.
Aside from the design features, Divi comes with built-in marketing tools. It can also integrate with other products from Elegant Themes, like Monarch, to reach your social following and expand your reach, and Bloom, an email opt-in and lead generation plugin.
Divi also has a robust help section with Quick Action to help users find video tutorials and search all available options to get the most out of their site.
#3 — Flatsome—Best for Convenient E-commerce Shop Maintenance
Flatsome’s design focuses on making e-commerce easier for people on both sides of the screen. That’s part of what makes it the most popular WordPress theme on ThemeForest.
Its versatility makes it easy to use and especially convenient when you need to make quick site changes, list new products, or even do a complete overhaul. Flatsome’s designs focus on being intuitive for users and do updates regularly to keep everything current. If you use WooCommerce, it is nice to know that Flatsome is the number one best-selling WooCommerce theme with thousands of five-star reviews.
With over 300 layouts for customization, it has fewer design features than Divi and Astra. The good news is that if you don’t need a complex website, Flatsome does most of the work for you. Plus, its fast loading speeds and intuitive design make for an overall positive user experience.
Flatsome makes it easy to maintain your site, whether you do it yourself or have someone to handle it for you. They claim you need absolutely no coding experience to get the most out of their theme using their responsive Live Page Builder and an extensive library of building and customizable elements.
Flatsome doesn’t have a free version. For $59, you get all features with a regular license.
#4 — OceanWP—Best for Improving E-commerce Sales
OceanWP’s responsive, fast-loading theme comes with e-commerce features, built-in SEO, and even language translation. Since it has built-in ecommerce features, you don’t have to worry about tacking on extras. Ocean WP also integrates well with other page builders.
This e-commerce WordPress theme comes with a native cart popup that increases conversion rates by an average of 8%. Combine that with the floating add to cart bar that increases conversions by 5% on average, and you have a recipe for better sales by simply choosing the right theme.
OceanWP makes a great customer experience by utilizing Quick View, where people can hover over a product listing to see more details without needing to load another page. Ocean WP also gets top marks for fast loading times. Another feature is importing live demos, giving your customers an even better understanding of your products.
You can try the free OceanWP theme before you commit to the paid version. Once you decide to buy, you have the choice of three tiers:
- Personal: $39 annually or $159 for a lifetime license for one site
- Business: $79 annually or $319 for a lifetime license for three sites
- Agency: $129 annually or $519 for a lifetime license for 25 sites
Unfortunately, you don’t get any additional features with the upgraded tiers. You are paying more to use the theme on more sites.
#5 — Porto—Best for Niche E-commerce Setups
Porto has an e-commerce-specific design with over 20 premade demos to help you build your site. It even divides its design variations into niches, making it easy for you to choose the right one for your business without sifting through a list of layouts.
Many of Porto’s designs look similar, so if you want something completely one-of-a-kind, it may not work for you. However, the designs it does have give any site a functional, clean look ready for any e-commerce industry.
You can tailor your site to what you sell, so your theme matches your brand. With customizable headers, product quick view, and product page customization, you have what you need to help your listings stand out.
Porto offers six different versions of product detail pages to give your customers exactly the right view of your products and also has an extensive library of documentation and responsive support to help you get your site up and running ASAP.
When it comes to conversions, Porto’s SEO-friendly setup helps you get noticed in searches. Plus, with a responsive, organized theme, customers will want to stay on your site. Porto is even Retina-ready, so you’ll have no problem displaying high-quality images.
You can get this theme from ThemeForest for $35 for a regular license.
#6 — Shopkeeper—Best for E-commerce Shops with Blogs
Shopkeeper focuses on e-commerce first by prioritizing conversions and sales for your shop. With extensive product pages for long-form content, reviews, images, and related products, you have all the tools you need to draw in customers.
Shopkeeper works well for beginners and people who don’t want to spend a ton of time building their site before starting to sell their products. This theme has pre-built layouts for your homepage and individual product pages, so you don’t have to worry about coding.
Auto-updates take the effort out of site maintenance. Plus, with drag-and-drop page building and plenty of stylistic features, Shopkeeper gives you a convenient way to create the e-commerce site you want. It even has built-in space for your blog and portfolio.
If you ever need to turn off purchasing options, such as if you are out of stock, Shopkeeper has a Catalog Mode, where you can quickly turn on and off the ability to make a purchase. Your site is still active in Catalog Mode, and users can continue to view your products and descriptions and read your blog.
With a responsive, fast-loading design, this e-commerce WordPress theme gives you the foundation for a high-quality shop.
At $59 for a regular license, it offers everything you need to impress and convert site visitors.
#7 — Halena—Best for Pre-Built Ecommerce Shops
Halena works well for people who want a minimalist, no-frills shop. It has plenty of pre-built templates, so you don’t have to do any heavy lifting to get your shop off the ground.
Despite its minimalist design, Halena still has enough options to make your shop stand out, including:
- Quick view
- Product display options
- Lookbooks
- Shopping cart
- Accounts and order tracking
Despite being pre-built, Halena still offers a good amount of customization. You can add progress bars and customized pricing tables, milestone counters, change button types, and add calls to action throughout your site. If you have physical locations, you’ll love the integrated Google Maps feature so customers know where to find you.
At just $49 for a regular license, Halena does all the hard work for you. The theme also includes WPBakery Page Builder and a drag-and-drop content editor, making it easy when it comes to site-building. Despite its ease of use, Halena still offers features like the advanced AJAX filter so that customers can find products in a few clicks.
Summary
No single e-commerce WordPress theme works best for every shop. Choose the right one for you based on your products, niche, and personal preference.
While you want to consider your customer’s experience, consider your own, too. A well-designed theme can make or break your e-commerce business, so weigh each feature before you commit to one.
The post Best Ecommerce WordPress Themes appeared first on Neil Patel.
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