7 Best WordPress Themes For Bloggers (Updated 2023)
Choosing the best WordPress theme for your blog isn’t as easy as it sounds.
To find the perfect option, you need to consider several factors, like features, performance, and pricing.
This post reviews the seven best WordPress themes with these things in mind.
Let’s get started.
Best WordPress Themes for Blogging
Best WordPress Themes for Bloggers
1. Kadence Theme
Allow me to start with the WordPress theme that I personally use.
Kadence WP is a comprehensive, versatile, and easy-to-use WordPress theme. It lets you construct a professional-looking website in no time — thanks to its site demos, Blocks Toolkit, and more.
I chose Kadence because it allows me to tweak and fine-tune my pages’ design within seconds. And, no matter how many customizations you implement, rest assured that your site will remain optimized for performance.
Kadence WP Features
- Kadence Blocks — First and foremost, Kadence Blocks is the secret sauce that makes Kadence WP a top-tier theme. It allows you to integrate animations, tabs, dynamic content, forms, and more without writing a single line of code.
- Minimal Starter Templates — Kadence WP’s library of minimal templates can provide you with the perfect blank canvas for all your creative ideas. There are templates for personal blogs, membership sites, eCommerce stores, business blogs, and eLearning sites.
- Compatible with popular page builders and tools — Kadence WP fully supports Elementor, Beaver Builder, WooCommerce, LifterLMS, and a bunch of other third-party apps. In short, it can help you create future-proof websites that will stay relevant and competitive for years.
- Site building tools baked in — Create the site you envision with the built-in header builder, footer builder, global typography settings, and custom layouts. You can also easily add buttons, social icons, sticky headers, and scroll to top buttons.
- Free version — Enjoy some of the best features that Kadence WP has to offer without paying a single cent. This will help you decide whether to go all-in on Kadence WP Pro.
Kadence WP Pricing
You can buy Kadence WP Pro for as little as $59 per year. If you want, you have the option to buy the lifetime bundle for a one-time payment of $599.
Why I recommend Kadence WP
Kadence WP works seamlessly with WordPress’s Gutenberg Editor.
Despite how easy it is to use, Kadence WP achieves high customizability and flexibility. That’s mostly thanks to Kadence Blocks, which is definitely a game-changer as far as DIY WordPress themes go.
In fact, you no longer need to invest in a separate page builder once you understand how Kadence WP works.
Overall, I highly recommend Kadence WP to new bloggers who don’t want to worry about site performance, appearance, and SEO.
Click here to explore the Kadence theme!
2. GeneratePress
To me, GeneratePress is the definition of a “lightweight WordPress theme.”
I also consider it to be one of the best eCommerce WordPress themes in the market. That’s mainly because of the user experience benefit of having a fast theme and the WooCommerce module.
All of GeneratePress’s site templates are built to be simple and minimalistic. As a result, they all work buttery smooth and deliver a great experience to users.
GeneratePress Features
- Performance-focused theme — GeneratePress is built for performance with security, stability, and SEO in mind. All these lead to a compelling and user-friendly experience, which will directly improve conversions on your website.
- Keep your WordPress ecosystem lean and clean — GeneratePress’s features are integrated as “modules,” which you can activate and deactivate individually. That will help you maintain a clean WordPress ecosystem, maximizing both speed and stability.
- Built-in section editor — You can modify the layout of your GeneratePress pages without the help of a third-party page builder. The less you rely on third-party plugins, the more streamlined and reliable your WordPress website can be.
- Free version — GeneratePress offers a free version with all the base features you need to launch a competitive website. This allows you to test the theme yourself while investing more in other essentials, like hosting and an SSL certificate.
There’s a lot more to love about GeneratePress. For its complete lineup of features, you can read my full review here.
GeneratePress Pricing
If you don’t want the free version, you can purchase GeneratePress for $49.95.
Why I recommend GeneratePress
GeneratePress not only provides top-notch performance to your users. The theme is also incredibly easy to work with.
You can easily modify your website’s typography, colors, layouts, and more. It also integrates well with page builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor.
Plus, it’s perfect for bloggers who want a solid foundation for their competitive web design ideas.
That’s all because of GeneratePress’s clean code, plugin compatibility, SEO-friendliness, and support for custom hooks.
Click here to explore the GeneratePress theme!
3. Astra
Astra is a popular WordPress theme that will help you create professional and vibrant websites fast.
For me, one of its main selling points is the massive library of pre-built website demos.
These website demos are designed to work seamlessly with Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and the Gutenberg editor.
While most of Astra’s website demos look slightly heavy on visuals, the theme runs on well-optimized code.
In plain English, that means your blog will still have extremely fast page loading speeds.
Astra Features
- Advanced website building features — With Astra, you don’t need a page builder to create sticky headers, advanced menus, custom sidebars, and more. These features are baked into the theme to kickstart your WordPress design and development efforts from day one.
- Pro layouts — Build your web pages exactly how you like them with layouts like padded, fluid, boxed, and full width. These layouts can emphasize the website elements you want your audience to see, be it your content, sidebar, or menus.
- Full control over color and typography — Astra allows you to change the colors of headers, content, footers, and sidebars without any help from a page builder. This can be done from the WordPress theme customizer — something even beginners should be familiar with.
- Pro WooCommerce features — Astra lets you build unique WooCommerce stores with sales bubbles, off-canvas sidebars, dropdown carts, infinite scrolling, and more. Smartly incorporating these features into your virtual storefront will definitely enhance your customers’ experience and increase sales.
Astra Pricing
Just like GeneratePress, Astra also has a free version that’s received well by the WordPress community.
For the premium version, the entry-level plan starts at $47 yearly or $249 for lifetime access.
Why I recommend Astra
Astra belongs to the upper echelon of WordPress themes when it comes to design features.
It allows you to build beautiful, professional-looking websites with minimum effort. That’s mostly thanks to its large collection of pre-built WordPress website demos.
I recommend Astra if you want to have an impressive WordPress website up and running fast.
Click here to explore the Astra theme!
4. OceanWP
I often compare OceanWP with Astra due to their similar feature sets.
OceanWP also offers a long list of website demos you can build your website with. One striking difference is that OceanWP’s templates lean more towards minimalism and flat design.
Of course, the difference between OceanWP and Astra is more than skin deep.
OceanWP may not have as many customization features as Astra. It is, however, hard-coded to deliver content to users in a quick, minimalistic, and mobile-friendly fashion.
OceanWP Features
- SEO-friendly — OceanWP, along with its site demos, are created with the best SEO practices in mind. This will help you reach higher search engine rankings and generate more organic traffic.
- Great page builder support — OceanWP works well with some of the best page builders available like Elementor, Thrive Architect, Visual Composer, and Beaver Builder. You can expect to work with these page builders without running into compatibility issues.
- Useful extensions — Make the most out of OceanWP with extensions for popup login windows, Instagram feeds, cookie policy popups, and more. These extensions can help you create a unique and engaging experience for your audience.
- Built-in eCommerce features — OceanWP goes well together with WooCommerce through features like “add to cart” buttons, product filters, and “quick view” windows. Again, these can help you create a unique experience that will help your audience make purchase decisions.
OceanWP Pricing
You can get OceanWP as an annual subscription service at $39 yearly or a $159 one-time purchase.
Why I recommend OceanWP
Whether or not you should go with OceanWP or Astra boils down to personal preferences.
Both offer an easy and convenient route to WordPress website development. It just so happens that OceanWP is substantially more affordable than Astra for new bloggers.
I, however, would personally go with Astra since it outperforms OceanWP in terms of speed right out of the box.
Click here to explore the OceanWP theme!
5. Schema
Schema by MyThemeShop is a WordPress theme designed to do one thing: help you rank well in search engines.
Of course, that means the theme is also built with quality code to ensure fast loading speeds.
Design-wise, however, let’s just say the theme will rely on your visual customizations to look top-notch.
Schema Features
- Extremely fast — Schema’s clean code and modest design features make it an excellent WordPress theme for those who value website performance. This will have a positive effect on your website’s rankings and user experience factor.
- Built-in ads manager — You won’t need a third-party ad management plugin for ad placements, which contributes to the theme’s small footprint. This is perfect for bloggers who want to monetize their WordPress website through ads.
- SEO features — True to its name, Schema supports a variety of SEO features like built-in reviews, rich snippets, and algorithm-friendly code. There will be no need to purchase and learn a premium SEO plugin.
- Miscellaneous features — Schema includes full support for Google Fonts, multiple languages, Elementor, and more. It also comes bundled with over 350 icons that help spice up your page content.
Schema Pricing
The full version of Schema is available through a MyThemeShop subscription or a one-time payment. It starts at $35 for one website or $99 if you prefer a MyThemeShop subscription.
Why I recommend Schema
Schema may not be the best-looking theme around. But for SEO-savvy bloggers, it’s the perfect blank canvas for creating high-ranking, profitable websites.
I recommend Schema for advanced bloggers who want to build from the ground up, especially for Elementor users.
The membership option also offers a ton of value through premium plugins. Some examples are Content Locker Pro, WP Review Pro, and WP Real Estate Pro.
Click here to explore the Schema theme!
6. Divi
Divi is a flexible WordPress theme and visual page builder rolled into one.
You don’t have to make a separate purchase for Elementor or any alternative.
By itself, Divi will allow you to create brilliant, fully customized websites without coding.
Divi will also help you save even more time with its huge library of pre-designed layouts.
They have something for everything, be it for fashion blogs, online stores, education websites, business websites, and so on.
Divi Features
- Built-in drag and drop builder — The Divi page builder enables non-developers to create a stunning website using a drag-and-drop interface. You don’t need to spend hours learning and tweaking code to get the results you want.
- Pre-built website elements — To reduce your plugin footprint, Divi comes with modules for elements like CTAs, sliders, forms, and testimonials. These website elements can be added to any page via the drag-and-drop builder.
- Deep customization — Divi is one of the few themes that give you total control over everything right out of the box. This lets you achieve the specific look you want for your website within minutes.
Divi Pricing
Divi can only be acquired through an Elegant Themes membership, which starts at $70 yearly.
Why I recommend Divi
Divi is perfect for those who prefer a more cohesive WordPress ecosystem.
It’s for bloggers who don’t want to spend extra on page builders, form builders, social sharing widgets, and other plugins.
On the flip side, Divi isn’t ideal if you’re already invested in a product like Elementor or Visual Composer.
Click here to explore the Divi theme!
7. Genesis Framework
Genesis Framework is more than just a WordPress theme.
It is an open-source package with tools that can help beginners and veterans build unique websites from scratch.
Just bear in mind that Genesis depends on your original vision as a web designer.
The theme lets you utilize premium Genesis child themes, which come with a Genesis Pro subscription.
Genesis Framework Features
- Build websites with reusable modules — Genesis Framework makes it easy to build a website from scratch using modules for featured posts, social icons, and more. These are like Divi extensions, which can be used without having to write code.
- Professionally-designed page templates — With Genesis Framework, you can quickly create essential web pages with templates like archives, single posts, and author pages. These templates will save you a ton of time and allow you to focus on creating blog content sooner.
- Different section layouts — Genesis Framework lets you create full width sections, galleries, quotes, and custom content boxes with just your mouse. Using the right section layouts will allow you to emphasize pieces of information on your web pages.
- Minimalistic design — The default Genesis Framework theme is as minimalistic as you can get while also being stylish and elegant. This results in a pleasant reading experience matched with fast loading speeds.
- Custom StudioPress plugins — StudioPress also offers free plugins exclusively for Genesis Framework users, like Genesis Blocks, Simple Hooks, Simple Share, and more. These are powerful plugins specifically designed to help you bring out the best in Genesis Framework.
Genesis Framework Pricing
Genesis Framework is an open-source software that can be used for free. You can also purchase Genesis Pro to access 9 professionally-built child themes and premium features.
Genesis Pro costs $360 yearly.
Why I recommend Genesis Framework
Before anything else, Genesis Framework isn’t made for beginners who have no desire to learn WordPress website development.
If you want to get Genesis Framework, you should be prepared to learn the ropes of web design.
That’s also the reason why I highly recommend Genesis Framework.
It’s not made to make WordPress development a walk in the park. Rather, it pushes you to explore WordPress on your own while providing the tools to create something truly amazing.
Alternatively, you can buy Genesis Framework as a bundle with a pre-designed child theme.
Click here to explore the Genesis Framework!
Conclusion
There you have it — the top seven WordPress themes in terms of features, performance, and cost-effectiveness.
My advice for you is to take your time and try the free versions, if any, of these themes yourself.
When you’re done, come back and let me know about your experience. You can also leave suggestions and questions in the comments section below.
Good luck!
You Might Also Like:
- 11 Best WordPress Themes that Work Great with Elementor
- Elementor Review: Design Your Blog using this Page Builder
- Best Blogging Resources – Books, Trainings, and Software.
Great themes, Ankit. I love the themes that you shared.
Hi!
WordPress is the perfect platform for building a Website it is better than html. All of the features that are required are readily available and there are many themes with the features already built in. In fact, the vast number of themes in it. It uses making all Website. I like to suggest a site with many absolutely new, free but premium quality WordPress theme, Find it @ KopaTheme .
Thanks, Vivek Sinha
Thanks for checking the themes Dike, glad you liked them 🙂
Hii, Ankit
your article is very nice. Thank you for sharing this with us. I totally agree with you that may be free themes may contain some malicious hacked code that will hack our all data like user names passwords and database of users and our blogs if we are a good blogger and know that our blogs will gonna hit than we should use premium themes it is safe and good looking also.
Hi Aditya,
Thanks for accepting my views on using the free WordPress themes and yes, they might not be coded well.
It is always better to use the paid resources to perform well in the blogosphere.
Thanks for getting the time to read my guest post, glad you liked it.
Hi!
Nice collection of Premium WordPress Themes for Bloggers.
Thanks to sharing this awesome list of themes with us.
Hi Imran,
Thanks much for checking the themes that I have listed in this post. Cheers, you liked them.
I’ve used Thrive Themes, MyThemeShop, and StudioPress. All of them are good, but Thrive Themes is the best. It has everything to create a beautiful and conversion optimized blog.
I’ve been using FocusBlog by Thrive Themes for few months. I am highly satisfied with its features. Thrive Themes is the best choice for bloggers and internet marketers.
However, Thanks Ankit for sharing this excellent list.
Hello Istiak Rayhan,
Great to know that you have been using several premium themes for your blog. Yes, I agree that the thrive themes are best. I’m familiar with its awesome features and planning to get it for my blog.
Thanks for looking at the best WordPress theme list, you are welcome.
Do you recommended Genesis? I have loved themes from MTS and Thrive themes though.
Hi Ronit,
Yes, I recommend Genesis themes as well. They have amazing features and well secured as well. I’m using it for my blog, it is pretty good. Thanks for coming by.
I am hosting my wordpress blog on bluehost. It is one of the recommended hosting provider by wordpress. However my website loads pretty slow. I am using basic theme and an seo plugin. Can you suggest me some tips to make my website load fast.
Thanks in Advance,
Rohit
hi Ankit,
I am using WordPress for my site, and I can certainly say there is no other tool that can beat wordpress in smooth managing a site. Their themes are also just great. The best part, there are many free themes available.
Hello Rockey,
Most of the bloggers prefer WordPress CMS as it has several user-friendly features.
I would recommend any of these best premium WordPress themes for bloggers that I have consolidated in this post to make a passive income from blogging.
Thanks for getting time to read my post. Keep visiting!
Hi!
Nice collection of Premium WordPress Themes for Bloggers.
Thanks to sharing this awesome list of themes with us.. you help me for my blog why not search to blog tital
Hi Ankit, all themes are great, which one you recommend? please advice
Hi A zee,
If you want lightning fast loading themes, prefer MyThemeShop themes.
To get more leads/sales, go with Thrive Themes
To Win reader’s heart and make them to come back for sure, purchase the paid themes from ThemeForest.
As a blogger I think it will be a better option to start from a free wordpress theme. We all know many of the bloggers dont want to invest money on the themes straight way. But yes if I have to choose one premium theme for my site I will definitely look at two things first 1 mobile responsive and 2 Theme loading speed.
Hi Sanjib,
If any one wants to make serious blogging and trying to meet the monetary benefits, then he/she should get the paid theme to please the search engines and the visitors as well.
It is worth investing money in getting premium WordPress themes as it is more likely to make huge profits later.
Yes of course! Mobile responsive and speed loading are not the optional factors for the blogging themes, bloggers should get a responsive premium themes that loads fast.
Hi Ankit,
Great post. I am personally using mythemeshop for my blog in the last two years. So far I am pleased with it. They provide good maintenance even for free themes. I am using premium one though and glad to make the decision.
I guess if we serious with blogging, premium theme are best choice.
Hi Nob,
Cheers with your kind appreciation! Thanks!
Yes, I totally agree with you that if anyone wants to blog for making income, then it is essential to get the paid blog template.
Great to know that you are using the premium theme for your blog.
Keep coming to leave your thoughts.
Hi Ankit,
You have done a great job. All the themes are awesome, in fact, I already purchased ThriveThemes, Spike, Schema, and some others listed above.
Thanks for sharing. Thumbs up 🙂
Hi Muhammad,
Great to know that you have already bought the thrive themes to rock in the blogosphere. Share its performance in search engines. Is it doing well?
I know about Schema, I’m using it for one of my blogs. It is a clean coding theme that would give a precise look to a blog.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Ankit ,
This is really a nice collection of premium themes. Premium themes are always best for any blog or website and the themes you mentioned are really awesome. Thank you for your time collecting and sharing the list of such an awesome list of themes.
Regards,
Vikash
Hi Vikas,
Glad you liked these premium WP templates. My pleasure to spend time in crafting the helpful piece of content for the avid bloggers and readers.
Most welcome, stay tuned.
Hi Ankit,
Your Website font styles are so good
Hi Ramyasri,
Thanks for your comment. Glad you liked the font style of my blog.
thanks for sharing . .
Thanks for coming by, most welcome Manthan 🙂
Really, all the themes are of best choice.
Is it a good idea to use a free theme?
Does a free theme harms in seo.
Hi Manoranjan,
Thanks for checking the themes. I would suggest you get the premium themes to perform better. I have given the valid reasons why should you opt the paid WordPress themes.
Free themes may not load fast and precisely coded. So, chances are there that the SEO of your blog would get affected. So, buy the premium template and stay professional in the eyes of your readers and search engines as well.
I think this site is using Focus Blog theme. 🙂
Great blog! And thank you for sharing the essential features of WordPress themes that bloggers should look while choosing it.
Thank you Shweta for reading the post, glad I could help you learn some essential stuff in picking the best theme for a blog. Keep coming!
Thank u so much ankit for this post i was very confused which theme to use now I know what to do.
Hi Sufyan,
Thanks for checking the best paid themes that I have listed here!
It’s worth trying those templates for your blog to perform well. Keep visiting!
Thank u so much ankit for this post i was very confused which theme to use now I know what to do..
Glad I could help in knowing and selecting the best paid WordPress blog theme, stay tuned!
Hey Ankit, You forgot to add Voice theme in this list 🙂 Voice is Awesome theme when it comes to creating a Blogging niche or Tech blog, it comes with lots of inbuilt Features !!! Check it out
Thank you so much, Muhammad for your motivating comment. It inspires me to write the helpful matters for my loyal readers.
Hey, it is really good that you bought the Thrivethemes and Schema from MyThemeShop.
I have schema theme, but i would like to go with Thrive themes to generate more leads.
Thanks again for coming by!
Hi Jaidayal,
I agree that the Voice theme has impressive features. I just wanna make a crisp list for the bloggers so that they could choose the better one without any hassle.
Anyway, thanks for adding value to my guest post, keep leaving your valuable thoughts here!
Thanks for sharing the valuable information here. So i think i got some useful information with this content. Thank you and please keep update like this informative details.
Awesome article. I am new in WordPress. I am using thrive theme. It is really good and helpful. But I think there are other better options in your article. I get confused what theme should I use? Thank you very much for your information.
Hi Ankit, it’s really a great post. I really liked the way you have mentioned some essential features to look for while purchasing a new theme. However, I would like to add that buyers should never go for newly launched theme. Website theme must have a good track record and it must be atleast 6 months old.
Extraordinary web journal! What’s more, thank you for sharing the key elements of WordPress subjects that bloggers ought to look while picking it.
Hello Ankit,
Great illustration, mate!
It will be great resources for selecting best ROI oriented blogging theme.
Beside, i do bit research each time while buying premium theme. I do research on :
1. Theme speed ( should be light theme)
2. Integrated premium plugins
3. Responsiveness
4. Customer support
5. License Type
Cheers
Ben
Nice collection.
A doubt I have is how to choose which theme to choose? Ex Themeforest or Genesis?
A price comparison would also be helpful.
I do not see anything in your post which subject you want, but I can advise you on a black Friday great shopify themes
Hello Mam,
I have just started a blog. I want a free clean and responsive theme . Can you please tell me which theme will be the best?
Ankit,
I have a doubt.
In terms of Thrive and Theme forest. Which one is best to adapt for a tech blog.?
Which perform fast loading. Thrive themes or theme forest themes?
Why Genesis themes are not supporting the best fonts like Muli, is there any other scripts or plugins to configure the best fonts as we require.
Can you provide me masterblogging.com blog theme?? I am ready to pay you..
Suraj, I am using GeneratePress theme. You can buy it here – https://ankit.at/gp 🙂
Amazing artical !! Great post! Thank You, for such useful information.
Hey Ankit,
Great Piece of Content. I just loved all the themes that you have explained. Can you please tell me which theme is your website using?
Hey Shawez, my site is running on GeneratePress theme.
Which theme this website is using can u tell please
Hey Vishal, currently I am using GeneratePress on this blog. 🙂
Thank you so much ankit for publishing such great content please keep up the good working. Really loved it .. 🙂
For sure, Sha. 🙂
Nice collection, really helpful. Thanks Ankit for sharing.
You’re welcome, Purvi.
Hi Ankit,
You are just amazing really. I’ve been struggling with hours of research and asking people of fiver and upworks and now its all laid out clearly by you. Thanks a lot.
Also two quick questions – if i want both blog and online course which is the ideal option. Divi has the right look/feel but am not sure about the speed – i checked in my research most themes like divi, astra etc were showing low score on pagespeed sites, but since am a beginner i don’t know. what will you suggest if ease of creating by yourself, speed, and online course is a factor.
Many thanks again, your approach & content quality is just next level.
Hi Harsh, all these themes are almost equally good for blogs. My top three favorites are GeneratePress, Kadence, and Astra. Talking about the course, I haven’t hosted my course on WordPress before. I personally prefer using an LMS like Teachable. You can explore LearnDash which would help you host your course on WordPress.