There is no doubt about it — there are so many reasons why you should put up a website. If you are a business, you can easily see your profits growing with an established online presence, to adapt to the new behavior of consumers who canvas products and services online before they avail of them. If you are using the website for personal use, you can easily express your opinions in a platform that is not high-maintenance. In addition, it would be good to have all those features you want to have to fully optimize your site, and it’s fortunate that WordPress, a reliable website building content management system, gives you all that.
However, an online asset may be expensive for some people, especially for start-ups and bloggers who use this for nonprofit. But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying all the benefits you get from a good website. There are many WordPress themes that are highly functional, beautifully-designed, yet are free! Yes, they do exist. Here are the best free WordPress themes of 2017 that can be used for various purposes, and promise to deliver without you breaking the bank.
OnePress
OnePress is an impressively feature-packed theme that is free. For added features, you can also purchase the OnePress Plus, but the free version in itself is already good enough. The theme allows the website to be flexible for any purpose, whether commercial or personal. For instance, the free version is WooCommerce compatible, so you can sell products through your site.
Other features include a theme customizer, SEO optimization, browser compatibility, smooth parallax effect, custom page templates, and page speed optimization. However, because it is free, it has several limitations. For instance, the free version does not have drag and drop section orders, the capacity to add new sections, and stylization of sections. It also does not allow upload of background video. It lacks a pricing section, testimonial section, and even a call to action section. It allows only two background slides and limited number of items under each preset section.
Optimizer
Optimizer is another modern and sleek free WordPress theme. Unlike OnePress, Optimizer has different versions to choose from: Free, Pro Version, and Ultimate Version. The Pro and Ultimate versions are one-time payments and you can have all the features immediately. To avail of the Free version, you wouldn’t need to sign-up or use your credit card as what others require.
The Free version is very limited, considering it only has basic customization, limited features, and lacks preset templates. Support and updates for the free version is also relatively slow. However, you are still entitled to a lifetime of updates even though you just purchase the free version. In any case, free versions are still SEO optimized, several theme options, and other good-to-have features. Although features are limited, Optimizer seems to already be a good catch considering that its design is already sleek, modern, and easy to use, especially for beginners.
BizLand
BizLand is a plain theme that you can get for free, although you are allowed to get more features if you pay for them. There is not much highlights for this theme, except it gives you standard features and a clean layout that you can tweak, but only to a certain extent if you are getting this for free. It is not advisable to use the theme for personal uses as the design seems to fit a more commercial purpose.
If you get BizLand for free, you are limited to certain features of the theme. With the free version, you can’t access the support center, you have sponsored links on your website, you can’t fully customize your footer, and you can’t use the theme to develop sites for your clients. You are limited to theme updates, unlimited use of the theme for other websites, and use for personal or commercial projects.
Sydney
Sydney is another modern theme that can be used for any purpose, whether for commercial purposes or for personal blogs. The design is simple and clean, yet it looks impressive as it starts with a full-width background image that can easily capture people’s attention. Its typography is well-chosen, too. It has theme options, has parallax backgrounds, and is translation ready. It also has social media integration. It has a live customizer, fast support, and cross browser support. It also has a responsive layout.
Sydney has standard features for its theme, but the design is really its highest point. Aside from flexibility and good typography, everything just really works in the site. There are certain animations that can be used that are not too tacky for visitors. Users just need to maximize the design. Overall, Sydney is definitely a good theme that you do not have to spend a fortune on.
Plain Blog
Plain WordPress blog theme is a clean and elegant theme for personal and professional blogging. The design of the theme is eye catching and it is built on the bootstrap framework. This theme is fully mobile responsive and compatible with all the browsers. This theme is easy to install and can be customize easily. The theme comes with and without side bar and has inbuilt social sharing buttons of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. The theme has easy navigation and each post can be categorized into different categories. Plain Blog theme comes with inbuilt search box which makes users experience even better.
Some highlighted features of the theme are mentioned below:
* SEO friendly
* Responsive layout
* Clean codes
* Social sharing buttons etc.
Hestia
It is really a pleasant surprise that Hestia is a free theme, considering that it is well-designed even with its standard features. It seems to be perfect for budding online businesses who can’t afford to break the bank with just a good website theme. Hestia’s design is modern and beautiful, and it is also powerful and functional enough for its price of zero dollars.
It is good to note that Hestia is already WooCommerce compatible, making it perfect for those who want to sell online. For a theme that’s free, Hestia will definitely make you save a lot by not purchasing the WooCommerce plugin separately. It also has a responsive design which a lot of free themes are now adapting. In addition, you can easily customize your theme with a drag-and-drop builder, which is perfect for those who don’t know how to write codes. It’s definitely worth it for its price.
TheBiz
TheBiz is a very simple theme for commercial purposes, although if you like it for personal purposes, you are free to use it. Its design is really straight-forward and standard, but it is clean so if you prefer a simple and clean layout, TheBiz just might work for you. Looking at its live preview, TheBiz is fairly limiting, which is not surprising for a theme you can get for free, but at least you have standard features of TheBiz that you can enjoy such as being highly responsive and customizable.
Free themes are usually limited, so the free version of TheBiz includes only a couple of features such as the theme updates and bug fixes, use in unlimited sites and domains, and use in personal or commercial projects. The access to the support center, ability to fully customize footers, and capacity to delete sponsored links have to be paid for.
Screenr
Screenr is a sleek, modern theme that is fit and marketed for businesses. The design exudes professionalism with creativity, which is usually what creative agencies go for when they need online presence as it reflects the nature of the business. However, the design in itself is not really very unique. A lot of modern websites targeting creative agencies already look similar to Screenr.
Even the features of Screenr are very standard. It has a responsive design, uses parallax background effects, has advanced theme customization, is SEO optimized, supports cross-browser compatibility, has custom theme widgets, and is optimized for fast loading. Screenr is relatively normal for a theme for creative agencies, but since it is free, it could be a good option as the design is already above average. However, bigger companies need more features on their website so Screenr might probably work for start-ups who can’t afford to spend much.
Zerif Lite
Zerif Lite is another theme that is a beautiful design despite it being free. It employs a parallax effect, which is not uncommon in the world of WordPress themes yet it is hard to look for one that is free. What is good about Zerif Lite is that it is not limited to just one purpose. It is actually WooCommerce compatible, so you can opt to use this for online shops or any form of selling.
Zerif Lite has a live customizer, making it easy for beginners to edit their site the way they want to without making mistakes. For extra guidance, Zerif Lite developers are nice enough to include video tutorials on how to use the theme. The theme is also already SEO optimized and has one-click updates and fast support. It is surprising that Zerif Lite is free, considering that all its offerings are usually seen in paid themes.
Talon
Zerif Lite is another theme that is a beautiful design despite it being free. It employs a parallax effect, which is not uncommon in the world of WordPress themes yet it is hard to look for one that is free. What is good about Zerif Lite is that it is not limited to just one purpose. It is actually WooCommerce compatible, so you can opt to use this for online shops or any form of selling.
Zerif Lite has a live customizer, making it easy for beginners to edit their site the way they want to without making mistakes. For extra guidance, Zerif Lite developers are nice enough to include video tutorials on how to use the theme. The theme is also already SEO optimized and has one-click updates and fast support. It is surprising that Zerif Lite is free, considering that all its offerings are usually seen in paid themes.
Astrid
Astrid is a standard, modern-looking theme that has a clean design. It is not very unique, as the layout is pretty common these days, especially since more and more people are inclined to use modern themes. It has a standard full-width background image, and the home page could be navigated by scrolling down. Its features are pretty standard, too. It has theme options, is translation-ready, and has a responsive design. It also has a live customizer and cross-browser support.
Because Astrid has a common modern look, it becomes more flexible to use. It can be used for personal purposes or for business uses, as seen on its Business Layout feature. Astrid is definitely one good modern and clean theme that is good to have especially for those starting their website, considering it is free. Astrid does not have anything fancy to offer, but at least it looks visually appealing.
Integral
One thing that customers of Integral have in common is that they find the theme easy to use and elegant. Integral does have a sleek and elegant look to its design. Because of this, it can easily be used by creative agencies, freelancers, or even businesses. The design of Integral can be described as modern and simple, but the typography and color choices for the design of Integral make the theme visually appealing in its simplicity.
Integral is offered for free, but for more features, customers can purchase the Pro version. The free version of Integral is not WooCommerce compatible, lacks a brands section, and other important sections that businesses or freelancers would totally maximize. The Pro version definitely adds more streamlined features to the site, but the free version is already enough for first-timers. Overall, as a free theme, Integral is a very good option because of its design.
Illdy
Illdy is a modern and clean, free WordPress theme that uses good typography in its design. It looks very standard, but the icons, font colors, and font faces are well-thought of, making the design look visually appealing. It can actually be described as minimalist despite the various colors on the design. Based on how it looks like, it seems that Illdy is good for freelancers or creative agencies who need to put up projects on their website as the theme does it beautifully.
Illdy has very standard features, though, but even with that, the theme is already as good as the other paid themes. It is retina-ready, has a responsive and flat design, allows a full-screen hero image, is translation-ready and even WooCommerce compatible. This makes the theme even more flexible in its uses. Overall, Illdy offers a lot more than what people can actually expect from a free theme.
Activello
Activello is another free WordPress theme that is very visually appealing in its simplicity and modernity. It seems like it applies a minimalist design despite the use of unlimited colors on the theme options, but all its frills are contained and not overbearing. It has a full-screen image that welcomes the visitors, and it is followed by a two-column layout that shows the web content and the side widgets. Based on how Activello looks, it is best used by writers and personal bloggers, but it may be flexible.
The theme has regular features, but it is good to note that some of its features are not offered by other free WordPress themes. For instance, Activello is already WooCommerce compatible, which makes it multi-purpose for those who want to use it to sell products online. It also has an infinite scroll option, which is present in a lot of modern themes nowadays.
Parallax One
Parallax One is named as such because its design banks on its parallax effects that is supposedly in charge creating a good website visitor experience through smooth scrolling. The theme seems to be developed specifically for creative agencies as the layout is designed to be that way. For instance, the theme has a client’s section, team section, and client testimonials section so it is obviously for businesses who are in the servicing industry.
As for its other features, the parallax effects are the most unique already, although of course this is already pretty common in a lot of themes. It uses a single design page that makes for easier navigation and better website design. Other features include cross-browser compatibility, ensuring that your website looks great in any browser, a theme options panel, and localization, which is helpful for businesses. Overall, Parallax One is a satisfactory modern-looking theme that is free.
Spacious
As the name suggests, Spacious is one of those themes that take note of breathing spaces in design, which is actually a good booster for the experience of visitors in websites. Its design is very modern and clean, and it actually looks very minimalistic. It does this by adding icons to the design instead of purely text to make sure that the website is not too wordy. Using Spacious is a very visual experience.
Although Spacious can be downloaded for free, it can also be purchased for more features. The free version gives you four sliders, but the paid version gives you unlimited ones. Other good features of the paid version include having more color options, additional headers, and additional widgets. Overall, however, the free version of Spacious is good in itself most especially if you do not really need some of the additional features of the paid version.
Vantage
Vantage is one of those free WordPress themes that you will be glad to stumble upon precisely because it is free. The design looks amazing for those who want a professional website, especially for those who plan to put up websites for their start-ups. Vantage gives you the freedom to make your website as simple or as complex as you want it, depending on the need of your website. It is actually good for any type of business, so anyone who wants to establish their online presence may find Vantage a good first theme.
What is good about Vantage is that it does not limit you, despite being free. It prides itself for having seamless plugin integration, which makes it easier for users to use when working with third-party plug-ins that they need for their website. In fact, Vantage is already WooCommerce compatible. The theme is also already WooCommerce compatible.
Edge
Edge is a good deal for a free WordPress theme. It definitely will not make you feel as if the theme you used is free. It looks visually stunning in its simplicity as the design is well-thought of. In fact, Edge is elegant enough to be used for editorial websites. It seems, though, that Edge is a multi-purpose theme. It has three defined layouts to choose from depending on the need of the user of the theme.
Just like most free themes, Edge also has a paid version which is packed with more features. The free version only has two Google Fonts to choose from, lacks a font size option and slider settings, has only one widget, and other limited features. For more freedom, of course the paid version of Edge can offer more. Overall, Edge is a beautiful theme, but it would be good to have more features to go with it.
Olsen Light
Olsen Light is a minimalist theme that is good for lifestyle blogging. In fact, it is marketed as such and the intent is very obvious in the design used. Its look is very simple but elegant. The theme has a white background, and almost all the texts are black, with the exception of links. The typography is simple, too, but not in a plain way. It exudes sophistication, which is what lifestyle blogs would usually show.
Olsen Light has good features with it. It has custom widgets, customizer options, social networking options, Instagram integration, is SEO optimized, and translation-ready. It even has customizer support if you feel lost customizing the theme. It also has a paid version that has more options in terms of typography and color, among others. Generally, Olsen Light, the free version, is already a good deal just by looking at the design as it is visually appealing.
Shopstar
As the name suggests, Shopstar seems to be developed for those who want to sell online or put up an online store and is looking for a perfect theme. However, it should be noted that the limitation of Shopstar covers what the store is planning to sell online as it seems that Shopstar is good for lifestyle products like clothes and other lifestyle items. The design is simple and modern, too.
Shopstar has a paid version, too, known as the premium version. It allows the website to put up a sticky header, which is good for online stores since they can promote products through that feature. The paid version also allows for a slideshow mode for the slider for better visual effects. Other features include link to social media platforms for a good online integration. Shopstar’s free version is good, but could be too limited, especially for an online shop.
Astera
Astera is another one of those free themes that are plain enough to be flexible. The look is a common template, and the typography is average. It does have a slider, and the layout of Astera could be easily navigated. Although it looks modern enough, it looks very clinical and uptight. Given these considerations, Astera seems to be good for news sites or businesses that want to be seen as a very serious company.
Astera has very standard features. Even if you pay for the theme, there are no bonus features to look forward to. When you pay for the theme, you get access to the support center, your website will not have sponsored links, and you can fully customize your footer. Astera as a whole is very average as a theme, but for those who find the theme’s plainness fit for their use, it could be a good option.
Breviter
Breviter is definitely a dainty, free WordPress theme that is good for blogging, either personal or commercial. It looks very simple, but not too plain to be dismissed as boring. It has its own touches and it knows what to include to put up a good statement in terms of design. It basically follows a two-column layout with the actual web content and a sidebar where you can place widgets. It also has a footer for additional placements of widgets.
Breviter seems to have standard features. It is marketed, however, to support various types of blogging and posts such as images, videos, quotes, links, and audio. Like most of free sites, Breviter has a paid version which has more features such as more header styles, footer styles, blog feed styles, custom widgets, social media support, a fancy preloader, and many other features. Breviter is a good option for a cute theme.
eConcept
eConcept is as plain as it can get. It seems to be designed for commercial purposes such as businesses or news publications. It looks exactly like BizLand, TheBiz, and Astera in its being clinical and plain. Given this consideration, eConcept is just your plain old free WordPress theme that makes it easy for you to get your website up and going if you are just starting.
Just like the mentioned themes, eConcept offers the same features as the free versions of BizLand, TheBiz, and Astera. Even the paid versions have the same features. In fairness to the theme, it has a clean layout that is easy to navigate. It also allows for a more informative website without being too wordy. However, for those who want to look approachable, eConcept will not give you that since it looks very serious. This theme is for the more traditional and conservative taste.
Thanks for the list of free themes. Can you suggest a full screen free theme? It will be awesome if the full screen background image can change while the user is on the site.