29 brilliant WordPress themes for your blog (2025)
29 brilliant WordPress themes for your blog (incl. selection tips)
The first impression is important.
Not only when meeting someone else, but also when it comes to your website or blog.
And what's the first thing visitors see about it?
Right, the design!
That's why it should knock her off her stool!
The decisive factor is which theme you use for your WordPress blog.
That's why I looked at a number of blogs and websites and spent days browsing through theme libraries to find the best and most beautiful themes for your blog!
- 1. All-in-One-Themes
- 2. Theme Frameworks
- 3. Classic Blog Themes
- 4. Magazine Themes
- 5. My favorite developers
- 6. Theme search tips
- 7. FAQ
1. All-in-One-Themes
All-in-one themes are jack of all trades:
They are very versatile and can be used for almost any type of website, be it an online magazine, blog or company website.
They usually contain so-called page builders, which you can use to design your website without having any knowledge of HTML or CSS. Therefore, they are particularly suitable for beginners.
However, the high flexibility and the large range of functions also have disadvantages:
Because these themes already have everything imaginable on board and bring integrations for umpteen services or plugins (and sometimes even require the installation of various plugins), all-in-one themes are often heavyweights.
With numerous loaded Javascript and CSS files, they not only slow down the loading time of your blog, but sometimes also your WordPress admin area.
And that although you will probably never use more than half of the features offered.
Unlock ($60)
With over 400,000 sales, Avada is probably the best-selling premium theme worldwide and has been continuously developed since 2012.
And not without reason, because Avada comes with its own website builder, offers several options for design customization, an active community, compatibility and integrations for many different plugins and several demos for different website types and theme areas that you can use with a click can install.
What I personally like:
You can use many features of the theme, such as For example, turn off the integrated slider, Google Maps or FontAwesome if you don't need them.
Divi ($249 or $89/year)
Divi is also a very popular all-in-one theme that is very changeable, has a page builder (Divi Builder) and many other features.
Unlike Avada, Divi Builder lets you edit on the front end, so you can see changes to your blog in real time. It is possible to use 46 different elements for individual page design. You can install over 20 demo layouts to get inspiration or to have a basic design framework.
OceanWP (free)
OceanWP is one of the few free all-in-one themes that I really recommend. With 60,000+ active installations, it is among the most used themes from the WordPress repository.
It is very versatile, compatible with various page builders (Visual Composer, Divi Builder, SiteOrigin) and compatible with WooCommerce. It can be expanded with 18 free and paid extensions to include features such as an Instagram feed, sticky header or post sliders.
2. Theme Frameworks
Theme frameworks are themes that, like all-in-one themes, are very variable, but only represent a basic framework. Additional functions usually have to be added via plugin, custom CSS and/or child theme.
They have the great advantage that they are not quite as inflated as Avada, Divi and Co., which means that you can achieve significantly better loading times.
Genesis (59,95 USD)
Genesis by StudioPress is probably the most popular and well-known theme framework for WordPress.
It can be adjusted very variably via the WordPress Customizer (colors, page layout, widgets, header, footer, etc.). The default design is modern and minimalist. It is well programmed and ensures fast loading times.
The special feature of Genesis is the large selection of different child themes that can be purchased both on the StudioPress website and from other developers.
PS: Nice child themes for bloggers are e.g. e.g.:
- Brunch Pro (great for food bloggers!)
- Foodie Pro (great for food bloggers!)
- Modern Studio Pro
GeneratePress ($39.95/year)
I'm a big fan of GeneratePress . Both Blogmojo and our family blog Faminino are based on it.
While it did take quite a bit of customization work to make both sites look the way they do now.
On the other hand, both websites load in well under a second and have a minimalist and tidy design without ballast.
Besides the great loading time, I also like GeneratePress:
- The Sections module , which is like a small page builder
- That I can really style every part of the design the way I want via the customizer
- The Elements module , with which you can create your own hooks, layouts and page headers.
- It is constantly being developed and improved
- The support and documentation is great
It's also really cheap at $49.95 a year for unlimited(!) sites.
There is also a 40% discount for license extensions, which means from the second year you only pay $29.97 annually.
3. Classic Blog Themes
If your blog should be structured like a classic blog, i.e. focus on the latest posts and you as the author, then these themes are something for you. They are suitable for many different subject areas, e.g. B. lifestyle, food, parenting, beauty, fitness, literature, fashion or travel bloggers.
Rosemary (49 USD)
Rosemary by Solo Pine is a very popular blog theme, primarily among German bloggers. It's minimalist and tidy and is great for fashion or lifestyle bloggers.
Among other things, it offers an Instagram feed in the footer, 5 different blog layouts and various custom widgets.
In addition to Rosemary, Solo Pine offers other great themes for bloggers, such as e.g.:
- Hemlock
- Hawthorne
- Laurel
- Redwood
- Sprout & Spoon (for food bloggers)
Weta (€18 per year)
Weta and other Elmastudio themes are also very popular with German bloggers. They are characterized by their tidy and minimalist design, are properly programmed (good loading times!) and inexpensive (18 € for a single theme and 48 € for all themes per year)
Personally, I don't like the fonts used and the basic design of the themes (e.g. large white areas) in some themes, but this can be adjusted using CSS or a customizer if necessary.
Other themes from Elmastudio that are very suitable for bloggers:
- Pukeko
- Three
- Zuki
Caroline (29 USD)
Caroline is a minimalist and sleek blog theme for WordPress. The colors, fonts and layout can be easily adjusted using the WordPress Customizer.
Besides beautiful promo boxes and integrating an Instagram feed in the footer, it offers integrations for popular plugins WooCommerce (in case you want to integrate an online store ), Contact Form 7 and Mailchimp for WP. At $29 USD, it is very cheap for a premium theme.
Lets Blog (49 USD)
Lets Blog is an elegant and minimalist WordPress theme that can be easily adapted to your own needs thanks to numerous setting options with the WordPress Customizer and 10 pre-installed blog layouts and a demo importer.
It offers various features and integration, such as B. an Instagram feed, FontAwesome icons, a mega menu, shortcodes and 500 different Google fonts.
CheerUp (32 USD)
CheerUp is a magazine and blog theme that can be easily adapted to your own needs thanks to a large number of options in the WordPress Customizer, an integrated page builder (Visual Composer) and 11 ready-made demos.
I particularly like that the developers value fast loading times and z. B. have made sure that the theme is compatible with common caching plugins and Autoptimize.
TheBlogger (49 USD)
4. Magazine Themes
Here I present some themes that are more suitable for blogazines, i.e. blogs with a magazine character, advice blogs or blogs with many different topics. They offer a variety of options for clearly displaying your posts and categories.
Hueman (Freemium)
Hueman (formerly developed by AlxMedia , now by Press Customizr ) is one of the most popular free WordPress themes and one of the top rated, with over 80,000 active installations.
I personally use it on 3 smaller blogs. I particularly like the diverse setting options, the modern design and the ongoing development (updated regularly and new features added).
Voice (69 USD)
The guys at Meks make great themes and are among my favorite developers. voice e.g. B. I have been using on many different blogs for years. It looks sleek and modern and offers many different post layouts, which can be used to create beautiful and uncluttered homepages and themed pages.
The theme options allow you to customize a lot of the design without having to work on the code. With the included plugins (social icons, author profile, etc.) you can create great sidebars.
Other nice themes from Meks for blogs or blogazines are e.g. e.g.:
- Herald
- Gridlove
Newspaper (59 USD)
Newspaper is a theme that is very suitable for blogazines or online magazines. We have been using it on Faminino for about 2 years. With almost 60,000 sales, it is one of the most popular themes at Themeforest .
It offers many setting and design options: A page builder for designing landing pages or category pages, different header layouts, theme-specific widgets, pre-installed demos, umpteen different post layouts, easy integration of advertising banners and much more.
Newspaper is particularly interesting for blogs with several subject areas, because individual themes can be clearly differentiated from one another by various design elements (colors, sliders, post blocks, etc.).
SimpleMag (59 USD)
Like Newspaper, SimpleMag is a very versatile WordPress theme for blogazines that can be used for many different topics (fashion, DIY, travel, etc.).
It's a bit more minimalist than Newspaper and more recommended if you prefer a classic blog layout.
5. My favorite developers
When I'm looking for a new theme, I often don't look in the WordPress Repository or Themeforest , but at my favorite developers.
This includes:
- Solopine
- Elma studio
- AlxMedia
- Anders Norén (all themes are free!)
- Max
- StudioPress
- MH Themes (Freemium-Themes)
6. Theme search tips
How do you know if a theme is really good and fits my blog? What should you pay attention to when searching for a theme?
So that you don't fall flat on your face with a theme, I've created a small checklist that you can use to assess the quality of a theme in advance:
Tip #1: Pay attention to ongoing development
With themes and plugins, it is important that they are continuously developed.
This not only means that the themes are regularly supplemented with new features, but also that they are adapted to the requirements of new WordPress or PHP versions, integrated plugins or third-party libraries are updated and that security gaps and bugs are eliminated.
The best way to check this is to look at the changelog (just google it or check the developer's website). If the theme hasn't been updated in over a year, I'd rather stay away from it.
Tip #2: Check loading time
It is super important that your blog loads quickly. Not only to reduce the bounce rate and provide a better user experience, but also so that the Google and Facebook algorithms are kind to you.
I run the theme demo (or optionally showcase websites) through tools like Pingdom or GTMetrix before buying to see how fast it loads, how many CSS and JS scripts are loaded and also look in the browser how fast is the perceived loading time.
Tip #3: How popular is the theme? How well is it rated?
When many people use a theme and also rate it well, it is more likely to be of high quality. Makes sense right?
You can e.g. B. pay attention to the following things:
- the number of active installations (in the WordPress repository)
- the number of sales (e.g. at ThemeForest)
- the number of likes (e.g. at Creative Market)
- the number of comments (e.g. at Creative Market or ThemeForest)
- the number and quality of reviews
- Number of fans, followers and ratings of the theme developer
Tip #4: Try the theme first!
It is of course ideal to try out the theme before the changeover. I often set up a test installation for this purpose so that I can check it at my leisure:
- how the theme would look on my blog,
- how much do i need to adjust
- if everything works correctly
- whether I can set everything the way I want it to be,
- and the theme is compatible with my WordPress versions, my server and my plugins.
Unfortunately, this is not the case with many theme marketplaces, e.g. B. ThemeForest , not possible. You often only get the theme files after purchase and you can't claim a money-back guarantee if you don't like them.
Some developers, such as B. Meks , however, offer the possibility to create a time-limited demo installation in order to be able to try out the theme (not with your own setup, but still!).
7. FAQ
Here I have compiled the answers to the most frequently asked questions about WordPress themes:
Which WordPress Theme for Beginners?
For beginners who start their own small or larger blog, I recommend a classic blog theme such as B. Rosemary, as it is very popular among German bloggers. It's minimalist and tidy and is great for fashion or lifestyle bloggers.
Among other things, it offers an Instagram feed in the footer, 5 different blog layouts and various custom widgets.
What should I pay attention to when choosing a theme?
Most themes make a good first impression on the surface. However, this good impression often lives on the pictures. However, since you want to use your own images, the images in the theme shouldn't matter. So that you don't fall flat on your face with a theme, I've created a small checklist that you can use to assess the quality of a theme in advance:
- Pay attention to ongoing development
- Check loading time
- How popular is the theme? How well is it rated?
- Try the theme first!
Which WordPress Theme is the Best?
There is no such thing as THE best WordPress theme.
In this blog article I will introduce you to 29 different WordPress themes, not all of which compete directly with each other, since I also present theme frameworks, classic blog themes and magazine themes in addition to all-in-one themes. So there are different answers to the question of the best theme for every application.
Are there free WordPress themes?
Yes, there are good free WordPress themes such as B. OceanWP. In addition to an extensive selection of free WordPress themes, there are also some freemium providers and, of course, various premium themes that cost something once or annually.
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