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Top 10 Free WordPress Themes

WordPress, trusted by 43 percent of global web users, is the most used Content Management System (CMS). Using WordPress makes the process of creating a website relatively easily, regardless of your technical experience. Especially if you’re using WP themes with pre-built websites, plugins, and website builders.

Some fundamental tips can help you choose the right WordPress theme for your project. And we’ll list them below:

  • A WordPress theme must be responsive and lightweight. That will improve not only the website optimization but also the user experience.
  • You should choose a WordPress theme that has regular updates. Moreover, you should use the latest officially supported WordPress version.
  • Consider the number of active installations. Keep in mind that the higher the number, the better the theme.
  • Acknowledge the number of good and bad reviews of the theme. It’s a good thing to learn from others’ previous experiences, whether it’s good or bad.
  • Don’t underestimate the company that is behind the theme. That company’s track record should be a huge consideration for you.
  • Beware of the PHP version required. Many of these free WordPress themes need  PHP 5.6 compatibility, and with PHP 8 already in production, you need to stay away from deprecated PHP versions.

And now, let’s dive into the most popular free WordPress themes out there.

The Best Free WordPress Themes in 2022 and Beyond

Astra

Active Installations: 1+ million  |  Last updated: May 18, 2023  |  Rating: 5 stars

Astra Free WordPress Theme
Astra Free WordPress Theme

Astra has 1.2+ million active installations and more than 7400 daily downloads. That must mean something, right? Plus, it gained users’ trust with over 5000 top-rated reviews.

This theme created by Brainstorm Force is Gutenberg compatible and has seamless integration with some WordPress tools such as Elementor, BeaverBuilder, WooCommerce, Yoast, etc.

Astra is a lightweight theme (less than 50KB on the front-end), making it fast. Also, it’s fully customizable and suitable for different types of projects, including blogs, e-commerce, and business websites.

To further explore the possibilities with Astra, you can check out their website templates designed specifically for businesses. You can easily create a stunning and functional business website that aligns with your brand’s unique identity using a variety of professionally crafted templates. Whether you’re starting a new business or revamping an existing website, Astra’s business templates provide a solid foundation to build on. 

Zakra

Active Installations: 60,000+  |  Last updated: May 16, 2023  |  Rating: 5 stars

Zakra Free WordPress Theme
Zakra Free WordPress Theme

Zakra is a lightweight theme created by ThemeGrill. It has over 80 templates and more than 60K happy Zakra theme users.

It’s Gutenberg and page builder compatible and fully SEO optimized with the major SEO plugins’ support. If you need more help with optimization, check out our WordPress SEO checklist. Zakra offers a multilingual sites option and a WooCommerce integration. That makes it suitable for e-commerce websites but also personal profile projects and blogs.

OceanWP

Active Installations: 700,000+  | Last updated: May 23, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

OceanWP Free WordPress Theme
OceanWP Free WordPress Theme

Next on the list is the OceanWP theme with over 5300 5-star reviews. It’s swift and responsive with excellent SEO practices and unique WooCommerce features that can help you increase conversions. OceanWP is lightweight and extendable, making it suitable for projects such as blogs, WooCommerce stores, big and small company websites, etc.

This theme, created by OceanWP, is requiring a PHP version 7.2 or higher, which is good.

Neve

Active Installations: 300,000+  | Last updated: May 30, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

Neve Free WordPress Theme
Neve Free WordPress Theme

Neve is created by Themeisle and has 980 5-star reviews, which should not be underestimated. It has a mobile-first approach that contributes to the responsive design, and the websites can be loaded in mere seconds. It works perfectly with Gutenberg and the most popular page builders such as Elementor, Div, Beaver Builder, Brizy, etc.

Neve has a minimalist web design and is a lightweight WordPress theme with WooCommerce integration. You can use it on personal portfolio sites, businesses and agencies, blogs, and e-commerce shops.

GeneratePress

Active Installations: 500,000+  | Last updated: March 22, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

GeneratePress Free WordPress Theme
GeneratePress Free WordPress Theme

GeneratePress is a lightweight and very customizable theme created by Tom. With this theme, you can easily customize your site’s header, colors, typography, etc. It has full compatibility with popular plugins and page builders. Moreover, this WordPress theme offers different features, including sidebar layouts, widget areas, microdata integration, various navigation locations, and navigation colors and presets. GeneratePress takes advantage of Gutenberg and gives control to the user in creating the content. And the 5-star rating is based on over 1350 reviews.

OnePress

Active Installations: 90,000+  | Last updated: January 30, 2023  | Rating: 4.5 stars

OnePress Free WordPress Themev
OnePress Free WordPress Theme

OnePress is a WordPress theme trusted by more than 90K active users. Created by FameThemes, this theme is compatible with the latest version of WooCommerce. It’s a one-page theme suited for agencies and small businesses, personal and company portfolios, blogs, etc.

Hestia

Active Installations: 100,000+  | Last updated: March 9, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

Hestia Free WordPress Theme
Hestia Free WordPress Theme

Hestia is the second WordPress theme on this list created by Themeisle, and it has more than 100K active installations. Its one-page multipurpose design is suitable for different projects, such as blogs, agencies, small businesses, e-commerce, magazines, and startups. This theme is compatible with WooCommerce and Elementor Page Builder and is responsive, SEO friendly, and Retina-ready! And its latest update was just a few days ago, which is excellent.

ColorMag

Active Installations: 80,000+  | Last updated: January 11, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

ColorMag Free WordPress Themev
ColorMag Free WordPress Theme

ColorMag WP theme has over 1400 5-star reviews and over 90K users. If your project has something with news, magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc., then this is the right theme for you! This theme creator is ThemeGrill, the same creator of the Zakra theme. ColorMag is fully integrated with Elementor Page Builder, which can ease your site’s customization. Plus, it has more than 15 ready-to-use starter sites.

Material Design by Google

Active Installations: 900+  | Last updated: December 12, 2022  | Rating: 3.5 stars

Material Design Free WordPress Theme
Material Design WordPress Theme

Material Design theme is an official material theme by Google. Since it was recently released, it has a small number of active installations. Even so, we think that Google did an amazing job. This theme takes full advantage of the block editor’s flexibility and the cleanness of the material design. It comes with an additional plugin, Material Design for WordPress, which gives you the ability to build customized material blocks into your post. You can check out the following video to grasp the full potential of this theme.

Sydney

Active Installations: 100,000+  | Last updated: June 6, 2023  | Rating: 5 stars

Sydney Free WordPress Theme
Sydney Free WordPress Theme

And last but not least is the Sydney theme created by aThemes. This powerful business WordPress theme is fully integrated with Elementor Page Builder. It’s a fully responsive and 100% translation-ready theme and has a live customizer where you can preview your changes live.

The Takeaway

There are over 60,000 WordPress plugins out there, and it’s normal if you’re tempted to use as many as possible. If you need help deciding which plugin to use, here is a list of must-have WordPress plugins to consider. But keep in mind you need to limit the number of plugins on your website. This is due to poor website performance and the risk of compromising your site’s security.

We’ve analyzed the themes above, and we didn’t detect any type of malware, so you can safely download any of them. But, if you’re worried about your site’s security, there are several ways to tell if your theme has malware, such as a white screen of death, popup ads & redirects, constant crashes, or malware warnings. 

Almost every theme can be used for any business. The main game changer is the content, i.e., your copy and images, and the website’s layout. So, if you’re looking for website design inspo, you can check our post with the best web design trends for 2022 that you must follow! Or alternatively, you can also check the best web design trends for 2021.

Paid or free, WordPress themes require fast and reliable web hosting. Therefore, you can choose our cheap, affordable, and fast WordPress hosting suitable for different projects.