• Skip to main content

Nancy Fields Graphic Design

Personalized profitable websites for coaches and authors

  • Website
    • Authors
      • Authors Website Templates
  • About
  • Before & After
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Website Profitability QUIZ

Which Free WordPress Theme Is Right For You?

September 15, 2014 by Nancy Fields Leave a Comment

When I switched from building sites in Dreamweaver to customizing websites in WordPress, my coach advised purchasing the Genesis Framework and choosing a StudioPress theme. She wanted me to “get-out-there in a big way” ASAP.

It was great advice for me, but what if you’re either not ready or able to invest in a premium WordPress theme and framework? What if you want to try WordPress before making a commitment to a premium theme?

You can!

Choose a Free WordPress Theme That’s Right for You!

To follow the steps outlined below, you’ll need to have a domain name, a hosting contract and WordPress.org installed.

1. From your WordPress dashboard click on Appearance and click Themes

2. Click Add New

WordPress Dashboard Themes Menu

 

3. Select Feature Filter

WordPress Dashboard Add Themes Feature Filter

 

4. There are thousands of free themes to choose from. Feature Filter will help you narrow things down quickly.

Decide what you want your site to look like and choose from the follow categories: (1) Colors (2) Layout (3) Features [specific WordPress features] (4) Header styles (5) Support (6) Subject

After selecting your categories click Apply Filters to see all the themes available from your search

 

WordPress Dashboard Add Themes menu

5. Here’s what my search (shown above) revealed. I like the color orange, so want to see if the Orangy theme might be a good fit.

WordPress Dashboard Add Themes window

 

6. I clicked Orangy which brought up the Details and Preview prompt you see here:

WordPress dashboard Add Themes menu

 

7. Clicking on Preview brought up more information on the theme, but the information I’m most interested in is (1) how many times it’s been downloaded (2) when it was last updated and (3) if there are any support threads. To get this information…

WordPress Theme Preview Orangy

 

8. …I went to WordPress.org entered “orangy” in the search field, and clicked Search Themes

WordPress.org Themes Directory

 

9. I clicked on the Orangy link

Search for 'Orangy' WordPress.org Theme Directory

 

10. On the right hand side under Parent Theme I can see that Orangy was last updated 2103-01-01, as was downloaded 4,110 times. Not bad, but it hasn’t been updated in over a year, and WordPress just had a major update.

Next, I’ll see if there are any support threads, which will indicate if people have had any problems, and if their questions are being answered:

wordpress.org/themes/orangy

11. I’m not happy that the support information is only available by logging into my WordPress account because my login information is not readily available… but I do find my info and log in.

 

log in to WordPress.org Theme Forums Orangy Theme

12. Logging into brought up a support thread for me to fill in. I was hoping to find other threads to follow. At this point I’d rather find a theme that’s been updated recently and whose support thread is easily accessible.

WordPress.org Theme Forums Orangy Theme

 

13. Back to square one to find a new free theme.

It’s a process. If you have the time, and the patience, you’ll find some treasures and a free theme that’s just right for you!

Many thanks to the Women’s Coding Collective for their tips on how to find a great free theme.

Filed Under: business, WordPress

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIN

Copyright © 2023 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in
This site is not a part of the Meta website or Meta Platforms, Inc. Additionally, This site is not endorsed by Meta in any way. Meta is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.