When creating a new WordPress website, selecting a suitable theme is a crucial step in the process. As important as hosting, the theme you pick determines the look and feel of your site and is an essential part of creating a fast, reliable source of information for your potential customers. In this post, we’ll review our top picks for the best WordPress themes so you can determine which one is right for your business.
What Features Should the Best WordPress Themes Include?
When searching for the best WordPress theme for your website, there are several factors you should keep in mind. You should consider customization options, performance, compatibility with your favorite page builder, and the level of support you need. Additionally, you should choose a theme that fits the specific needs of your business. For example, if you have plans to create an online store, make sure that the theme you choose is compatible with ecommerce software such as WooCommerce.
10 Best WordPress Themes
When researching the best WordPress themes, we considered several factors, including compatibility with popular plugins and customization options. Another thing that weighed heavily with us is how lightweight the theme is. All the themes on our list have a good reputation within the community, offer excellent features, and compatibility with popular page builders such as Elementor, Divi Builder, and Beaver Builder. So, without further delay, let’s dive into our list.
1. Divi
Let’s kick off our list of best WordPress themes with Divi, widely recognized as the most customizable theme on our list. Divi boasts various unique features that set it apart from its competitors. For instance, it offers a no-code design Visual Builder that allows you to make design changes on the front end, enabling you to edit your page designs in real time. With over 200 customizable elements available to design your website, Divi provides complete flexibility through modules like blurbs, accordions, sliders, carousels, and more.
Furthermore, Divi is fully responsive, ensuring your website looks great on all devices. It’s also incredibly capable of improving your workflow with bulk-editing modules, keyboard shortcuts, global style settings, and more, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to create a professional-looking website with ease.
Key Features for Divi
- Front-end Visual Builder
- Build page templates with Theme Builder
- Over 200 design modules
- 2200+ professionally designed layouts
- Integration with popular plugins
Divi has plenty of other features to make your website-building experience seamless. For instance, it comes equipped with over 2200 pre-made design layouts, making it easier to achieve your desired look and feel without needing a developer. Additionally, it’s fully compatible with WooCommerce, with over 20 Woo-specific modules to help you create stunning product and shop layouts. It also has a stellar support system with tech gurus available 24/7. Plus, you can enhance its already impressive capabilities with an extensive community support system offering tutorials, plugins, and other resources through the Divi Marketplace.
Perhaps one of Divi’s most impressive features is the Theme Builder, which allows you to create custom page templates, global headers and footers, and everything in between, ensuring your website is unique and accurately reflects your brand.
Divi is best for:
Anyone looking for a fully-responsive, highly customizable WordPress theme that makes it easy for beginners as well as tech-savvy developers to create a beautiful, functional website.
| Divi | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $89/year |
| Websites | Unlimited |
| Free Layouts | 2200+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Divi | |
2. Hello Elementor
Next on our list of best WordPress themes is Hello Elementor, which uses the Elementor page builder plugin to help you create beautiful websites with a drag-and-drop editor. Elementor is fully responsive, allowing you to preview how your pages look on all screen sizes. Elementor also enables you to create templates for headers and footers, blog post layouts, and more if you upgrade to the pro version. For those looking to incorporate ecommerce into their sites, Elementor offers 100 design widgets, including 24 for WooCommmerce, to turn your site into a revenue-generating online store.
Key Features for Elementor
- 100+ design widgets
- Support for WooCommerce
- Drag and Drop page builder
- 300+ templates
For those looking to build a website fast, the Elementor kit library provides you with more than 300 website templates for any type of site, including ecommerce, portfolio, blog, business, and more. For those looking to extend Elementor, you’ll have support for various third-party integrations such as MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, FontAwesome, Google Maps, and more.
Elementor is best for:
Those wanting to create a custom WordPress website without the need for coding or design skills will like Elementor. With Elementor template kits, even beginners can create a website for their business to help them stand out from the crowd.
| Elementor | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $59/year |
| Websites | 1 |
| Free Layouts | 100+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Elementor | |
3. Astra
Our next best WordPress theme entry is Astra, one of the lightest themes on the market. Focused on performance, Astra boasts several performance-enhancing features to make it light and speedy, thanks to its optimized code, vanilla javascript (without jquery), and ability to self-host Google fonts. Astra has a built-in WooCommerce module, making it a great choice for those looking to display products on their site. However, it’s worth noting that a premium license is required to fully unlock Astra’s ecommerce potential.
Key Features for Astra
- Gutenberg block page editing
- WooCommerce ready (pro version)
- Global style settings
- Create web stories for showcasing content
While Astra’s page editing is done through the Gutenberg block editor, which can sometimes be limiting, it offers seamless integration with the powerful Spectra page editor plugin. Spectra extends Gutenberg’s core functionalities with an intuitive front-end page builder, ready-to-use page templates, and pattern blocks that make creating web pages effortless and visually stunning.
Apart from this, Astra provides a global color palette, enabling you to control colors across your website. The integration with the Web Stories plugin also allows you to showcase your content in a popular format used by major social media platforms. With Astra’s dedicated support team available 24/7, you’ll receive assistance whenever needed. Moreover, Astra’s comprehensive knowledge base and video tutorials make it easy to start.
Astra is best for:
Those seeking a highly customizable, lightweight WordPress theme will like Astra. That said, lightweight comes with a caveat. You’ll need to install various other plugins to get the most out of Astra. Those looking for an all-in-one solution should consider other options, such as Divi or Avada.
| Astra | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $59/year |
| Websites | Unlimited |
| Free Layouts | 240+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Astra | |
4. Themify Ultra
Our next best WordPress theme, Themify Ultra, is a highly customizable theme that uses a proprietary builder plugin, Themify page builder. It provides front-end page editing, so you can see your changes as you make them. The builder contains over 40 professionally designed layouts. You can also create your own with modules with 60+ animation effects and custom styling for backgrounds, text, spacing, and global styles. However, you won’t be able to edit the theme with it, as it’s strictly a page editor designed to work within the Themify Ultra theme.
Key Features for Themify Ultra
- Premade demo layouts
- Themify page builder
- 60+ animation effects
- Global styling options
Themify Ultra is one of the most straightforward WordPress themes to work with, thanks to its front-end drag-and-drop builder. Additionally, Ultra comes packed with 60+ premade design skins and demo layouts to help you create a website fast. You can easily import a layout, then use the builder to edit images, text, and more. Ultra is an excellent solution for those without design knowledge or coding skills. In addition to premade layouts, Ultra comes with builder add-ons to provide subtle movement to your pages with modules such as a countdown timer, a progress bar, and typewriter text effects and includes support for WooCommerce.
Themify Ultra is best for:
If you’re looking for a quick website solution with a pre-designed theme, Themify’s Ultra is a great choice. Its front-end visual builder allows easy editing of text, images, and other elements, making website creation a breeze. However, it’s important to note that, unlike Divi and Elementor, Ultra doesn’t offer a theme editing option. So, to create custom templates for 404, search, or category pages, you’ll need to explore other options.
| Ultra | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $59/year |
| Websites | Unlimited |
| Free Layouts | 60+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Ultra | |
5. OceanWP
Our next WordPress theme, OceanWP, is a lightweight and versatile option compatible with Elementor and Gutenberg. With OceanWP, you can easily create your pages from scratch or choose from over 220 pre-made design layouts to build upon. OceanWP also offers seven customizable header styles and three mobile menu styles, allowing you to create a unique and personalized website. Additionally, you have complete control over your blog posts with nine elements for the title, metadata, author box, related posts, and more.
Key Features for OceanWP
- 220+ premade layouts
- Compatible with Elementor and Gutenberg blocks
- Multiple page, header, and blog layout options
- Enhance functionality with OceanWP Extra plugin
For more features and customization options, the OceanWP Extra plugin allows you to customize your site with the OceanWP panel to install demos easily, enable SVG support, add Google reCAPTCHA, integrate Mailchimp, enable Adobe fonts, and add recommended plugins such as WP Forms, Elementor, and Hubspot, to name a few.
OceanWP adds a handy meta box to posts, pages, products, and custom post types to control settings for headers, content and sidebar, padding, breadcrumbs, footer styling, and more at the page level.
OceanWP is best for:
For those who want to build their website with an easy-to-use, highly customizable, and free WordPress theme, OceanWP is a perfect choice.
| OceanWP | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $54/year |
| Websites | 3 |
| Free Layouts | 220+ |
| Theme Builder | ⌠|
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit OceanWP | |
6. Hestia
Next up on our list of best WordPress themes is Hestia by ThemeIsle. Hestia is a full-featured theme that integrates with popular page builders such as Visual Composer, Elementor, and others, as well as native Gutenberg support.
Key Features for Hestia
- Compatible with page builders
- Control theme settings with the WordPress Customizer
- WooCommerce-specific layouts (pro)
Customization is controlled through the theme customizer. You can configure the header, footer, page layout settings, and global options for typography, colors, and more. For advanced WooCommerce options, you’ll need to upgrade to the pro version of Hestia. With it, you’ll get two highly configurable store layouts with options for product filtering and widgets for best-selling products and categories. Finally, the OrbitFox plugin is encouraged to extend Hestia’s functionality with additional modules for Elementor, social sharing buttons and icons, one-click page template imports, and more.
Hestia is best for:
Bloggers and small business owners who prefer configuring settings in the familiar WordPress customizer will like Hestia. It is compatible with Elementor and other popular page builders, making creating pages quick and easy for beginners.
| Hestia | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $99/year |
| Websites | 1 |
| Free Layouts | 9 |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Hestia | |
7. Avada
Next on our list of the best WordPress themes is Avada, a highly customizable theme with many options to create a truly unique website. With Avada, you can build custom mega menus, popups, and sliding bars using the off-canvas builder, choose from multiple header and footer layouts, and even build custom forms. Alternatively, you can select from over 120 professionally designed layout templates to create your site effortlessly.
Key Features for Avada
- Fusion Builder for front-end page editing
- Build custom menus with Avada mega menu builder
- Built-in popup maker, form builder, and sliding bars
- Performance wizard to boost site speed
Avada utilizes a front-end page editor, Fusion Builder, which enables you to create pages, posts, and custom layouts for every aspect of your site, including global headers and footers, page templates, and more. It’s fully responsive and provides real-time previews for all screen sizes, so you’ll know exactly how your site will appear on multiple devices. Additionally, a handy performance wizard is used to eliminate features you aren’t using, manage fonts, and configure advanced optimization for CSS to speed up your website.
Avada is best for:
Overall, Avada is a comprehensive and versatile WordPress theme with a wide range of features, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to create a professional-looking website.
| Avada | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $69/year |
| Websites | 1 |
| Free Layouts | 120+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Avada | |
8. Inspiro
Next up is Inspiro, a WordPress theme ideal for blogs and portfolio websites. Using the recommended WPZOOM portfolio plugin, you can easily create a stunning website to showcase your photography, projects, and other creative work. Regarding page editing, you can use Gutenberg, Elementor, or any other preferred page builder plugin. However, for optimal results, WPZOOM suggests using Elementor.
Key Features for Inspiro
- Adds a portfolio custom post type
- Works with Gutenberg or Elementor
- Quick start guide
- WordPress live customizer for theme options
Inspiro provides a quick start guide upon installing the theme that allows you to customize the homepage hero area, and site logo, import demo content, choose a header or footer layout, and set custom fonts and colors using the WordPress theme customizer. If you upgrade to the pro version, you can add image and video slideshows, integrate videos into portfolio items, gain WooCommerce support, import one of nine starter sites, and control site settings with a proprietary theme options panel. The lite and pro versions have a support suite but chat and email support is restricted to pro users only.
Inspiro is best for:
The Inspiro theme best suits photographers, artists, and creatives who want to showcase their work. Those looking for ecommerce functionality are better off looking for a more suitable option, such as Divi or Avada.
| Inspiro | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $79/year |
| Websites | 3 |
| Free Layouts | 9 |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Inspiro | |
9. Generate Press
Our next WordPress theme, Generate Press, is a block-based theme that offers endless customization options for your website while being one of our list’s fastest themes. Weighing in at a mere 7.5kb on the front end, it has a minimal footprint, making it load webpages fast. Thanks to its block theme foundation, you can use Generate Press with any page builder plugin. Still, you don’t need to because it has all the features you need to build a website.
Generate Press comes in both free and premium versions, with the free version offering a great introduction to its capabilities. However, we highly recommend upgrading to the premium version for the best experience and access to its advanced features.
Key Features for Generate Press
- Gutenberg block theme
- Extend with the GenerateBlocks plugin
- Lightweight for faster page loading times
- Works with any page builder
- Excellent support
While using any page builder with Generate Press is possible, Generateblocks is highly recommended for the best and most lightweight experience. Generateblocks allows you to create advanced layout containers and grids, custom headline effects, and more. If you upgrade to the premium license, you’ll benefit from unparalleled support, with most tickets resolved on the same day. Another advantage of upgrading is gaining access to the Theme Builder, where you can design and build templates using Generate Press’s dynamic block elements. Additionally, you’ll have access to the site library, which enables you to easily import a template and quickly customize it by changing out text and images to make it your own.
Generate Press is best for:
Generate Press is a good choice for people who prefer a block-based WordPress theme. It’s lightweight, expandable, and robust, which makes it an ideal theme for anyone looking to launch a blazing-fast website.
| Generate Press | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $59/year |
| Websites | 500 |
| Free Layouts | 9 |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Generate Press | |
10. Neve
The final WordPress theme we’d like to highlight is Neve by ThemeIsle. It’s compatible with popular page builder plugins, including Divi Builder, Elementor, Beaver Builder, Site Origin, and Visual Composer. Additionally, it’s incredibly lightweight at just 28Kb for basic installs and offers extensive customization options such as global color palettes. Neve also has multiple blog layouts (pro) and a header and footer builder (pro), providing users with plenty of design flexibility.
Key Features for Neve
- 40+ starter templates
- Compatibility with popular page builders
- Enhanced WooCommerce features (pro)
- Intuitive Neve control panel
- White-label for client sites
Regarding design flexibility, Neve offers over 40 starter templates through their Cloud Templates & Patterns Collection plugin, some of which are available with Neve’s free version. These starter templates provide a quick and easy way to build your site, then edit pages as needed. Additional features include the Neve options panel, which provides quick links for theme customizer options, documentation, and the WooCommerce and block editor booster features (pro). Another cool feature of Neve is its white-label feature. You can easily remove ThemeIsle branding to replace it with your own, which is an excellent feature for those building client websites.
Neve is best for:
With a lightweight footprint, integration with virtually all page builder plugins, and white labeling, Neve is an excellent choice for freelancers wanting to build speedy client websites.
| Neve | |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $59/year |
| Websites | Unlimited |
| Free Layouts | 60+ |
| Theme Builder | âœ”ï¸ |
| eCommerce Integration | âœ”ï¸ |
| Visit Neve | |
Final Thoughts on the Best WordPress Themes
Of the ten best WordPress themes we’ve outlined for you, we feel Divi or Elementor have the most to offer. Both offer front-end drag-and-drop builders, the ability to create custom templates, and plenty of premade designs. If you need help deciding, go with Divi because of its superior customer support, documentation, and extensive global styling options.
| Starting Price | Websites | Free Layouts | Theme Builder | eCommerce Integration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Divi | $89/year | Unlimited | 2300+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 🥈 Elementor | $59/year | 1 | 100+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 🥉 Astra | $59/year | Unlimited | 240+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Themify Ultra | $59/year | Unlimited | 60+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| OceanWP | $54/year | 3 | 220+ | ⌠| âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Hestia | $99/year | 1 | 9 | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Avada | $69/year | 1 | 90+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Inspiro | $79/year | 3 | 9 | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Generate Press | $59/year | 500 | 9 | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| Neve | $59/year | Unlimited | 60+ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
No matter which theme you choose, each theme on our list provides excellent value, many customization options, and support for ecommerce websites.
Are you looking for more reviews? Check out our ultimate list of best WordPress plugins to research the next step of your WordPress project.
The post 10 Best WordPress Themes in 2023 (Compared & Ranked) appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.
If you’re using Elementor to build your website, then you’re probably someone who is highly motivated to create something that not only functions well, but is visually stunning. However, with so many “best Elementor themes” out there, it can be difficult to know which one to pair with this popular page builder. Well, you can rest assured that all of the Elementor themes featured on this list will not only look good, but will also provide you with the functionality you need to achieve your goals – whether that’s to build a blog, an ecommerce store, or something else entirely.
