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For most beginner bloggers, the million dollar question is: what are the best free WordPress themes for blogs?
There are literally thousands of choices, each offering something different to users. It can be tricky to determine which free WordPress theme will do the most to help you achieve your ultimate blogging goals.
We took the time to sift through the massive collection of free themes and are here to bring you our choices for the 20 best free WordPress themes for blogs!
Free WordPress Themes vs Premium Themes
If you’re not a master coder or experienced developer, starting a blog can be super intimidating… With so many moving parts, it can be hard to even know where to start!
But with more and more people interested in building websites on their own (because who can afford a web developer these days?), WordPress themes have become an increasingly popular and accessible way to create and design any kind website including blogs.
There are two kinds of WordPress themes: premium themes and free themes.
Premium themes are ones that you pay for and they can cost anywhere between $5 and $80. They make it extremely easy to get your website up and running with little effort. Plus, because you’ve paid for it, you tend to get a lot more control over design options, color choices, typography settings, and more.
On the other hand, free themes don’t cost anything to download and use but you may find they provide you with less functionality than premium themes. Typically, free themes are less flexible with things like layout, color, and typography but still give you room to customize a website to your preferences.
When you first start out on your blogging journey, a free blog theme is a great direction to take, especially if you don’t want to invest any more money into blog set-up. Free themes are a good way to get acquainted with WordPress and web design without pulling from your pockets just yet.
While you might start out with a free WordPress theme, down the road you may find that you want a little more control over the look and feel of your blog. Luckily, most free themes have a Pro or Premium option that you can upgrade to and in return, be granted more functionality with the theme.
If you’re looking for a premium theme, check out Divi by Elegant Themes! Not only is it a theme, but Divi is a visual page builder too, allowing you to design your blog with unlimited possibilities and complete ease.
However, for beginner bloggers or anyone looking to build a website with minimal costs, a free WordPress theme will serve you well for the time being.
Best Free WordPress Themes for Blogs
There are thousands upon thousands of free WordPress themes for blogs that you can use to set up a website of your own. However, with so many options to choose from, how can you find the perfect fit for your needs?
Not all WordPress themes are created equally and this is especially true with free themes. Depending on the creator, you’ll get different customization options, a range of demo choices, and various functionality.
What you’ll realize quickly is that while one theme may have all the customization choices you’re looking for, they may be lacking in social media integration or the performance department.
Some themes that perform exceptionally well may not have as many choices when it comes to the design department.
To help you out, we’ve taken the time to sort through the free blog theme options out there and have come up with this master list of 20 of the best free WordPress themes for blogs to guide you in the right direction when it’s time to start putting together your website.
Astra
There’s a reason that Astra frequently appears at the top of lists for best WordPress themes (in almost every category) and that’s because it really is one of the top choices out there.
It’s lightweight, fast, and able to be used for just about any website under the sun. Not to mention the free version comes with several stunning demos that you can use with ease to get your blog up and running.
Astra is incredibly user-friendly and revered both by beginners and professionals alike… Give it a go yourself to see what the hype is about!
Key Features:
Neve
One of the best free WordPress themes out there, Neve is steadily gaining popularity due to its great functionality and sleek design.
One of the biggest draws to Neve is it’s compatible with the Elementor page builder, allowing you to build your website by dragging and dropping components… it couldn’t be easier!
Other reasons to love Neve are that it’s fast and lightweight, easy to set up, and generally quite customizable considering it’s free.
P.S. With the free version, there are a whopping 32 demos to choose from!
Key Features:
OceanWP
Beautiful, easy to work with, and fully responsive on any device, OceanWP is a highly functional free WordPress theme for blogs that comes with awesome capabilities. It’s ready for ecommerce with a WooCommerce integration, translation, and RTL-ready, and optimized for SEO to help get your articles ranking.
OceanWP also has a handful of custom extensions that allow you to modify your website and add cool components like a cookie notice, Instagram feed, pop-up login, and more! It’s also compatible with Elementor, making it easy to get your website looking just right.
Key Features:
Zakra
A blog theme that combines performance with design, Zakra is fast, fun, and well-designed. Zakra has been fully optimized for speed and displays beautifully on all devices. It’s compatible with page builders (like Elementor) for ease of editing and is quite customizable, as well.
There’s a large variety of demos to choose from to create a blog of your own and great support if you ever run into any issues along the way.
Key Features:
Hestia
Hestia is one of the best free WordPress themes for bloggers because it’s so easy to set up, customize, and create the site that you’ve been dreaming of. The Customizer makes it easy to design your website, but if you’re looking for a step up, it’s fully compatible with page builders as well.
Hestia’s designs are wide, fullscreen with plenty of room for displaying graphics, blog content, and photos. Hestia comes with a handful of starter sites to import and work from, and is WooCommerce-ready.
Key Features:
GeneratePress
Lightweight, secure, and super speedy, GeneratePress is an outstanding free WordPress theme for creating standout blogs. It comes with plenty of user-friendly features like tons of colors and typography, control over the layout, and more.
GeneratePress is also page builder-friendly and compatible with your favorite WordPress plugins. The demos available are sleek and modern, perfect for any kind of blog you’re hoping to create.
Key Features:
ColorMag
Perfect for blogs, ColorMag is fast, optimized for SEO, and easy to customize. Since it’s a free blog theme, you don’t have complete control over the blog’s look but there are lots of customization options when it comes to colors, typography, and inserting custom widgets.
With a single click, you can import one of the 15+ starter sites (7 of which are free) to get your blog going… it couldn’t be easier!
Key Features:
Blossom Travel
For travel bloggers looking for a stellar free WordPress theme, Blossom Travel is a really great option. The free demo is lovely with a bright design and fun layout.
Blossom has social media integrations, different theme color options, and background patterns for use. It also has a banner slider layout and other nice design features (like the map section!) that will make your blog look great.
Key Features:
Bard
Bard is a sleek, free WordPress theme for blogs that makes it easy to present your content in a fashionable way.
Bard can be used for any kind of blog, whether it’s food, travel, lifestyle, photography, or anything else! It’s fully responsive on any device and is easy to use, even for beginners.
Some key features of Bard include a featured slider, WooCommerce integration, SEO optimization, and promo boxes to display eye-catching images.
Key Features:
Purea Magazine
Editorial bloggers love Purea Magazine, as it’s modern, clean, and easy to use. You can customize just about any part of the theme from the built-in Customizer and play around with the fun features like the trending news slider, unique widgets, and more.
Purea Magazine is compatible with page builders like Elementor, which makes it even more simple to design your website to look just the way you want it.
While the free version is great, it may be worth looking into the Pro option if you’re after social media icons, more font settings, and different header styles.
Key Features:
Kale
A minimalist free WordPress blog theme that’s a favorite with food bloggers, Kale is clean, stunning, and engaging, just waiting to be filled out with your content.
It’s really easy to get Kale set up and once you do, you’re able to upload your own logo, change the background color or image, integrate your favorite plugins and connect your social media accounts.
While Kale only has a single demo, it’s engaging and tidy, captivating for any kind of blogger.
Key Features:
Article Lite
Article Lite is an awesome free WordPress theme suitable for any kind of blogger. It has a fully responsive design, optimized for speed and SEO, WooCommerce and translation-ready, and made to perform beautifully.
From lifestyle to food to anything in between, Article Lite is a standout theme for bloggers because of its dynamic layout, engaging design, and advanced functionality.
Key Features:
StrangerWP
Bright and simple, StrangerWP was designed as a multi-purpose WordPress theme for any type of blog or website. It has different homepage layouts to choose from and variations for the header and footer.
When designing your website with StrangerWP, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is with the live customizer. There are multiple blog layout designs, different portfolio gallery layouts, and support for WooCommerce.
StrangerWP is ready for whatever you have to throw at it!
Key Features:
Polite
Polite is a minimal and stylish blog theme with 3 different free demos to choose from. The homepage designs are modern with unique elements, and some key features include social integration, SEO optimization, and Google Fonts.
With the free version of Polite, there are 2 different blog layouts to choose from, the option to add a header image, color controls, Instagram in the footer, and so much more!
Key Features:
Ashe
For a trendy-looking blog, Ashe is one of the best free WordPress themes for blogs out there. It’s great for any kind of blog and is packed with features designed to make it easy to create the website you have in your mind.
Ashe comes complete with a featured slider, promo boxes, and lots of other elements that can be incorporated into the free demos for a unique and eye-catching layout.
Ashe is fully responsive on any device, retina-ready, and optimized for SEO, giving you function along with style.
Key Features:
Cenote
Cenote is an ideal theme for creative bloggers looking for an easy way to get a website up and running. This theme was designed to be extremely intuitive to set up, making the process streamlined and simple.
Cenote has 3 free starter sites that can be imported with one click and easy customization options for making the theme your own.
Above all else, this theme performs spectacularly in both the speed and SEO departments… Who says you can’t have it all?
Key Features:
Grip
While many free themes are all over the place, Grip is one that’s professional-looking and spot-on for bloggers. It’s really simple to use, with powerful features to get your blog looking the way you want and in front of your audience.
Grip is fully equipped with social link options, advertising space, different sidebar choices, footer options, and more! There are also unique widgets with this theme, the option to change the typography and color, a carousel slider, and responsive design.
Plus, it’s totally SEO-friendly!
Key Features:
Color Blog
Color Blog offers different creative layouts for creating your blog. It comes with unlimited primary color options to make your website yours, and is compatible with different WordPress page builders for ease of design.
Color Blog allows you to make blogs that really pop, with unique page layouts, homepage designs, and more. The responsive design looks great on any device and the theme is totally compatible with most WordPress plugins.
For lots of choice when it comes to designing your blog with a free theme, Color Blog is a knockout option!
Key Features:
Edge
No matter what type of browser you’re using, you can be assured that Edge will show up beautifully. This free WordPress theme for blogs has a responsive design, SEO optimization, and multiple layouts to make it truly yours.
Edge is an amazing choice because you can choose from infinite color options and integrate your social media and set up WooCommerce, if you wish. The demo can be imported with a single click and has a sleek design to keep readers focused on the content you’re providing.
Designing a blog is a pleasure using this free WordPress theme.
Key Features:
Pushan
Fun, colorful, and bright are some words to describe Pushan, a free WordPress blog theme. The free demo features a wide screen, scrollable design with plenty of call to actions, social media buttons, and space for your killer content.
If you’re looking for a free theme that’s unlike the rest, Pushan is a great choice. It comes with different layouts and multiple post formats, a customizable header and footer, premade Elementor templates, WooCommerce integration and so many more awesome features!
You’ll definitely make your blog memorable with Pushan.
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Get Started Now with a Free WordPress Blog Theme
The number of free WordPress themes is mind-boggling and overwhelming but you’ll quickly learn that not all free themes are made equally.
It takes some digging to find the best free WordPress themes, but hopefully this list points you in the right direction and gets you one step closer to creating the blog of your dreams!
Looking for hosting for your new blog? We personally use and recommend Bluehost. You can start your blog for just $2.95 a month and you’ll also get free domain registration when you sign up with them!
If you need some more pointers when it comes to starting a blog, be sure to check out our free online training where we walk you through all you need to know.
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