The 10 best free WordPress themes of 2025

# The 10 best free WordPress themes for your website Looking for a beautiful free WordPress theme for your website? You're in luck, because there are hundreds of excellent free themes available in the official WordPress repository. But which one should you choose? In this article, we'll show you the 10 best free WordPress themes you can install today. A good theme is the foundation of every successful WordPress website. It determines not only how your site looks, but also how fast it loads and how easily you can make customizations. The free themes we've selected all combine professional design with good performance and extensive customization options. ## What makes a good free WordPress theme? Before we dive into the list, here's what you need to know about free themes. A good free theme has these characteristics: - **Regular updates** - the theme should be actively maintained by developers - **Good reviews** - check the ratings in the WordPress repository - **Fast loading time** - a lightweight theme that doesn't slow down your site - **Responsive design** - works perfectly on desktop, tablet and mobile - **Page builder support** - works with popular page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder - **Documentation** - clear guide for installation and customization All themes in this list meet these criteria. They're used by thousands of websites and receive regular updates. ## Top 10 best free WordPress themes ### 1. Astra **Astra** is the most popular free WordPress theme with over 1 million active installations. It's extremely light (less than 50kb), loads blazingly fast and works perfectly with all major page builders. **Key features:** - Ultra lightweight for fast loading times - 100+ starter templates (free and premium) - Fully responsive and mobile optimized - WooCommerce ready for online stores - SEO-friendly with clean code - Works with Elementor, Beaver Builder, Gutenberg **Price:** Free (premium version from €47/year) **Ideal for:** Any type of website - from blog to webshop and portfolio **Speed:** 5/5 - one of the fastest themes available You can extend Astra with the premium version for extra modules like sticky header, advanced WooCommerce features and more premium templates. But the free version is already more than sufficient for most websites. ### 2. GeneratePress **GeneratePress** is known as the fastest WordPress theme and scores perfectly on Google PageSpeed Insights. It has a minimalist design that you can fully customize to your liking. **Key features:** - Extremely light (less than 30kb!) - Perfect PageSpeed scores - 13 widget areas for complete control - Built-in schema.org markup for SEO - Accessibility ready (WCAG 2.0 AA) - RTL language support **Price:** Free (premium version €59/year) **Ideal for:** Speed-focused websites, blogs, business sites **Speed:** 5/5 - it doesn't get faster than this The premium version adds modules for even more customization options, but the free version already gives you a solid foundation for a blazingly fast loading website. ### 3. OceanWP **OceanWP** is a versatile theme focused on webshops and business websites. It comes with various demos you can import with one click, ideal if you want to start quickly. **Key features:** - 200+ demo websites to import - Fully WooCommerce integrated - Mega menu support - Custom widgets for footer, sidebar - Sticky header and floating footer bar - Translation ready (WPML compatible) **Price:** Free (premium extensions available) **Ideal for:** WooCommerce webshops, business websites **Speed:** 4/5 - good, but slightly less light than Astra/GeneratePress OceanWP has free extensions you can install separately for extra functionality like popup login, portfolio, Instagram feed and more. Perfect for those who need specific features without going premium right away. ### 4. Kadence **Kadence** is a relatively new theme but has quickly gained popularity thanks to its powerful built-in customizer and starter templates. It's specially built for the Gutenberg editor. **Key features:** - Built-in header and footer builder - 20+ starter templates (free) - Optimized for Gutenberg blocks - Advanced typography options - WooCommerce shop builder - Performance focused **Price:** Free (premium extensions from €89/year) **Ideal for:** Content creators, bloggers, Gutenberg fans **Speed:** 5/5 - very fast and lightweight The free version of Kadence is already very complete with many features you'd only find in the premium version of other themes. The header builder alone is worth gold. ### 5. Neve **Neve** is made by the same developers as Otter Blocks and integrates perfectly with Gutenberg. The theme is AMP-ready and loads extremely fast. **Key features:** - AMP compatible for mobile speed - 100+ starter sites (free access) - Elementor, Beaver Builder, Gutenberg ready - Lightweight code (less than 50kb) - Custom layouts for posts and pages - Mobile-first responsive **Price:** Free (premium from €69/year) **Ideal for:** Content websites, blogs, affiliate sites **Speed:** 5/5 - AMP support ensures blazing fast mobile Neve is actively developed with new features and templates being added regularly. The free version also regularly gets new starter templates, which is rare for free themes. ### 6. Blocksy **Blocksy** is a modern theme fully built around Gutenberg blocks. It has an intuitive customizer and many customization options without going premium. **Key features:** - Header and footer builder (free!) - Cookie consent built-in - Dynamic breadcrumbs - Advanced typography controls - Lazy loading built-in - WooCommerce product quick view **Price:** Free (premium from €49/year) **Ideal for:** Modern websites, business sites, webshops **Speed:** 5/5 - optimized for performance Blocksy stands out because it offers many premium-like features for free, such as the header builder which you'd only find in the paid version of many themes. ### 7. Hello Elementor **Hello Elementor** is the official theme from Elementor and is specially made to use with the Elementor page builder. It's extremely minimalist with only essential code. **Key features:** - Ultra light (less than 20kb!) - Zero bloat, only basic functionality - Made for Elementor page builder - Very fast loading times - Clean code for SEO - Regular updates **Price:** Free **Ideal for:** Anyone using Elementor as page builder **Speed:** 5/5 - the lightest theme ever Note: this theme has no built-in customization options. You must use Elementor to build your site. But if you're using Elementor anyway, this is the perfect theme because it doesn't add unnecessary code. ### 8. Hestia **Hestia** is a modern one-page theme with Material Design styling. Perfect for startups and business websites that want a professional look without much customization. **Key features:** - Material Design interface - One-page or multi-page layout - WooCommerce compatible - Synchronization with Zerif Lite content - Elementor, Beaver Builder compatible - Translation and RTL ready **Price:** Free (premium from €69/year) **Ideal for:** Startups, business one-pagers, portfolios **Speed:** 4/5 - good, but slightly heavier due to Material Design Hestia has a very professional look out-of-the-box. With the free version you can already create a complete business website without having to customize much. ### 9. Zakra **Zakra** is a versatile multipurpose theme with more than 60 free demo sites. It combines flexibility with ease of use and works with all popular page builders. **Key features:** - 60+ free demo imports - Header builder with 10+ layouts - Primary color customization - 1000+ Google Fonts - Footer widget areas - WooCommerce optimized **Price:** Free (premium from €69/year) **Ideal for:** Any type of website, beginners who want to start quickly **Speed:** 4/5 - good, but not the fastest The 60+ free demos make Zakra ideal if you're looking for inspiration or want to quickly create a professional site without much custom design work. ### 10. Sydney **Sydney** is a powerful business theme focused on professional corporate websites. It has many built-in features you'd normally only find in premium themes. **Key features:** - Sticky navigation built-in - Full screen slider - Google Fonts integration (600+ fonts) - Parallax sections support - Custom header layouts - WooCommerce ready **Price:** Free (premium from €69/year) **Ideal for:** Business websites, corporate sites, agencies **Speed:** 3.5/5 - decent, but slightly heavier due to extra features Sydney is known for its professional appearance and is a good choice if you're building a corporate website for a company or organization. ## Comparison table free WordPress themes | Theme | Speed | WooCommerce | Page builder | Demos | Best for | |-------|-------|-------------|--------------|-------|----------| | Astra | 5/5 | Yes | All | 100+ | Everything | | GeneratePress | 5/5 | Yes | All | 0 | Speed | | OceanWP | 4/5 | Yes | All | 200+ | Webshops | | Kadence | 5/5 | Yes | Gutenberg | 20+ | Content | | Neve | 5/5 | Yes | All | 100+ | Blogs | | Blocksy | 5/5 | Yes | Gutenberg | 50+ | Modern | | Hello Elementor | 5/5 | Yes | Elementor | 0 | Elementor | | Hestia | 4/5 | Yes | All | 5 | Business | | Zakra | 4/5 | Yes | All | 60+ | Beginners | | Sydney | 3.5/5 | Yes | All | 0 | Corporate | ## How to install a free WordPress theme? Installing a free WordPress theme is simple: 1. **Log in to WordPress** - go to your WordPress admin (example.com/wp-admin) 2. **Go to Appearance > Themes** in the left menu 3. **Click "Add New"** 4. **Search for the theme** - type the name (e.g., "Astra") in the search bar 5. **Click "Install"** and then "Activate" 6. **Done!** - your theme is now active After installation you can go to **Appearance > Customize** to configure your theme. Many themes have extensive options here for colors, fonts, layouts and more. ### Import demo content (optional) Many themes like Astra, OceanWP and Neve offer free starter templates. You can import these to start quickly: 1. Install the theme 2. Install recommended plugins (usually a Starter Templates plugin) 3. Go to **Appearance > Starter Templates** 4. Choose a demo you like 5. Click "Import" - done! Note: demo import overwrites your current content. So only do this on a new website or make a backup first. ## Tips for configuring your free theme ### 1. Choose a clear navigation structure Before you start customizing, think carefully about your menu structure. Keep it simple with a maximum of 5-7 main menu items. More than that becomes cluttered, especially on mobile. ### 2. Optimize your fonts Too many different fonts slow down your website. Choose a maximum of 2 fonts: one for headings and one for body text. Google Fonts are free and look professional. Popular combinations: - Montserrat (headings) + Open Sans (body) - Raleway (headings) + Lato (body) - Poppins (headings) + Roboto (body) ### 3. Use consistent colors Choose a primary color for buttons, links and highlights. This is usually your brand color. Optionally add a secondary color for accents. Tools like [Coolors.co](https://coolors.co) help you create a beautiful color palette. ### 4. Install only necessary plugins Free themes sometimes lack certain functionality. Only install plugins you really need. Too many plugins slow down your site. Basic plugins almost everyone needs: - Yoast SEO or Rank Math for search engine optimization - WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache for caching - Wordfence for security - Elementor or Beaver Builder as page builder (optional) Read more about [making WordPress faster](/en/wordpress-sneller-maken) for optimization tips. ### 5. Test your site on mobile More than 60% of your visitors come from mobile. So always test your site on your smartphone. Check if: - Text is large enough to read - Buttons are easy to tap - Images display properly - Menus work well on small screens All themes in this list are responsive, but some demos work better on mobile than others. ### 6. Create a child theme (for advanced customizations) If you plan to modify CSS or PHP code, create a child theme. This way your customizations remain after theme updates. Most themes have instructions for creating a child theme in their documentation. ## Frequently asked questions about free WordPress themes **Are free WordPress themes safe?** Yes, if you install them from the official WordPress.org repository. All themes there are reviewed for security and code quality. Never download free themes from dubious websites - these can contain malware. All themes in this list are safe and regularly checked. **Can I switch to a premium theme later?** Absolutely! You can always switch to another theme, free or premium. Your content (pages, posts, images) remains. Only your design and layout settings disappear. That's why it's smart to try a free theme first before investing in premium. Some free themes like Astra also have a premium upgrade option. **What's the difference between free and premium WordPress themes?** Premium themes usually offer more: - More extensive customization options - More demo templates - Priority support from developers - Extra modules and features - No branding or credits in the footer But most free themes in this list are so good that premium isn't necessarily needed. Especially not for beginners. You can always upgrade later if you need specific features. Just getting started with WordPress? Read our complete guide on [creating a WordPress website](/en/wordpress-website-maken) for step-by-step instructions.