If you want your blog to stand out and you want to provide an excellent user experience, you need a quality theme. While there are thousands of WordPress themes out there, some of them are better for specific types of websites. Here, we’ll take a look at the top WordPress themes for bloggers.
Best WordPress Themes for Bloggers
Here is a look at our favorite WordPress themes for blogs and content-heavy websites. We’ve limited the list to only our top 10 in order to showcase the themes that are our highest-recommendations.
1. Extra
Extra, from Elegant Themes, is our favorite WordPress theme for bloggers and magazine-style websites. It earns the top spot in our list because:
- It’s very well designed out of the box
- It offers outstanding flexibility in terms of design and layout
- It provides plenty of options for custom control over your category pages.
Regardless of whether you publish multiple posts per day or just the occasional post, Extra is an excellent choice. You have plenty of control over the homepage to create custom layouts that showcase recent or featured posts from specific categories. You can also assign a specific accent color for each category. These features are perfect for blogs that publish a lot of content. You can also create custom blog post layouts for any post.
But if you publish a lower volume of content, you can easily create a more traditional blog layout with a list of recent posts or a masonry-style layout. You can also use the Divi Builder, which is a drag-and-drop page builder that is built-in to the theme, to create custom layouts for your homepage or any other page of your site.
Extra also includes a full theme builder that gives you even further control over the design and layout. With the theme builder, you can design or customize the header, footer, and other elements of the site aside from the main content area of the page or post.
If you publish reviews on your blog, you’ll love the built-in features that Extra provides for displaying your ratings and reviews in captivating ways. You can also allow visitors to rate your posts if you’d like. This functionality is optional, but if it’s turned on there will be a star rating displayed for each of your posts.
In order to get access to Extra, you’ll need an Elegant Themes membership. The membership provides access to all of the themes and plugins available from Elegant Themes (2 themes and 3 plugins). However, the pricing is comparable to what you would pay for a single theme somewhere else.
You can get a yearly membership for $89 per year or a lifetime membership for a one-time payment of just $249. A membership to Elegant Themes is one of the best values you’ll find in the WordPress community. The standard license allows you to use the themes and plugins on an unlimited number of websites, including client sites.
Use our link to get a 20% discount and grab an even better deal at Elegant Themes.
Why We Love Extra:
- Beautiful design for content-heavy websites.
- Excellent options for customizing your homepage and category pages.
- The Divi Builder gives you full control over your page and post layouts without coding.
- Amazing value, including lifetime license option.
- Use on an unlimited number of websites.
Preview Extra Get Hosting
2. Divi
Like Extra, Divi is also created by Elegant Themes. Extra was created specifically for blogs and content-heavy websites while Divi is more of an all-purpose WordPress theme. However, Divi can also be used to create a beautiful blog.
Divi comes with more than 800 pre-design templates and more than 100 full-site design packs. Each design pack includes templates for multiple different pages on the site and most of them include a blog template. This means that Divi gives you access to a huge collection of blog designs that you can choose from.
You can use the pre-designed templates as a starting point, or create your own unique design from scratch using the drag-and-drop Divi Builder. The included theme builder allows you to create your own custom header and footer designs as well. If you want creative freedom to design a custom blog without the need to code, Divi is a great choice.
The pricing and licensing options are the same with Divi as they are with Extra. You’ll need an Elegant Themes membership that will cost $89 per year or $249 for a lifetime license.
Use our link to get a 20% discount and grab an even better deal at Elegant Themes.
Why We Love Divi:
- Huge collection of pre-made designs to choose from.
- Unlimited creative freedom thanks to the Divi Builder and theme builder.
- Amazing value, including lifetime license option.
- Use on an unlimited number of websites.
Preview Divi Get Hosting
3. Thrive Theme Builder
If you want the freedom and flexibility to create your own blog design and layout, the Thrive Theme Builder is an excellent choice. Like the Divi Theme Builder that is available with both Divi and Extra, Thrive Theme Builder makes it possible to control all aspects of your site and create a responsive design without the need to code.
In the past, Thrive Themes offered a number of different WordPress themes you could choose from. Today, they’ve dropped all of their other themes in order to focus on making Thrive Theme Builder as awesome as possible. This means that you’ll see continued improvement and development going forward.
Thrive Theme Builder comes with Shapeshift, which is a starter template that you can use for your blog or as a starting point that you’ll customize. Or, you can use the theme builder to start completely from scratch. Shapeshift is great if you want to save some time, but one of the ways that Thrive Themes stands out is by giving you full creative freedom over your blog, so starting from scratch is an appealing option too.
In order to get access to Thrive Theme Builder, you’ll need a membership to Thrive Suite. This gives you access to all of the plugins created by Thrive Themes in addition to the theme builder. You’ll love the plugins from Thrive Themes, including Thrive Leads, Thrive Architect, Thrive Quiz Builder, and several others.
The cost of a Thrive Suite subscription is $19 per month when paid annually or $30 per month when paid quarterly. While the cost is higher than what you’ll pay for the other themes on this list, the plugins that are included in the package make it a solid value.
Why We Love Thrive Theme Builder:
- Unlimited freedom to create your own design and layout without the need to code.
- Comes with Shapeshift, which can be used as a starting point to speed up your design.
- Thrive Suite membership also includes access to an impressive lineup of plugins.
Preview Thrive Theme Builder Get Hosting
4. Avada
Avada is one of the best-selling WordPress themes on the market and an excellent theme for blogs. It’s popular for corporate websites and ecommerce websites as well as blogs. It comes with 80 pre-built websites that you can choose from, which gives you a ton of options for a single theme.
You can also use the Avada Builder to create your own custom layouts and designs without the need to code. Avada even allows you to create your own header and footer designs, as well as custom layouts for search results, portfolio pages, and more.
Overall, Avada is a very flexible theme that gives you plenty of design and layout options, just like the other themes we’ve mentioned so far.
The price of Avada is $60, which includes 6 months of support and updates, or $78 to get a full year of support and updates.
Why We Love Avada:
- Large collection of well-designed templates to use as your starting point.
- Create your own custom layouts and designs with the Avada Builder.
- The theme can be purchased individually, without the need for a membership.
Preview Avada Get Hosting
5. Kadence
Kadence is a rare theme. For starters, a free version of the theme is available as well as the Pro version. There are several other themes that offer a free version as well as a paid version, but Kadence stands out because the free version is probably the best free WordPress theme available.
Most other themes that offer a free version leave so much out of the free version that there’s really not much you can do with it. However, the free version of Kadence is packed with useful features and you may not even need to upgrade to the paid version.
Even with the free theme, you can choose one of the starter templates and set up your website/blog almost instantly. You’ll also have some control over the design and layout of the site through the theme customizer and also through the free version of the Kadence Blocks plugin, which uses the Gutenberg editor as a page builder.
While the free version of Kadence isn’t going to compare to the flexibility and control you get with Extra, Divi, Thrive Theme Builder, or Avada, it’s extremely impressive for a free theme. If you decide to upgrade to the Pro version, you’ll get even more control with additional elements that can be used as the building blocks for your site.
Kadence does not have it’s own page builder, unlike some other themes, but it does extend the functionality of the Gutenberg editor to give you much greater control over your pages and posts. You can also choose to use a separate page builder like Elementor.
If you choose to upgrade to the premium version, the cost is $69 per year or $269 for a lifetime license. Either license allows you to use the theme on an unlimited number of websites.
Why We Love Kadence:
- A free version of the theme is available, and it’s surprisingly good.
- Makes use of the Gutenberg editor to creating your own layouts.
- Lots of options are also available through the theme customizer.
- Licensing allows you to use the theme on unlimited websites.
- The lifetime license presents an excellent value.
Preview Kadence Get Hosting
6. Authority Pro
Authority Pro from StudioPress is an ideal theme for blogging if you’re monetizing your blog through a course or a digital product. It includes a homepage template with a call to action and optin form that will help you to grow your email list.
The homepage design is also great for promoting your products or lead magnets to get plenty of exposure.
Authority Pro is an apt name for this theme since it is perfect for the blogger who wants to grow authority and develop a strong reputation within their niche.
The design and layout customization options that you’ll have with Authority Pro can’t match what you’d get with Extra, Thrive Theme Builder, and some of the others, but it’s a well-designed and conversion-focused theme.
The theme can be purchased for $129.95, which includes the Genesis theme framework (Authority Pro is a child theme of Genesis).
What We Love About Authority Pro:
- Conversion is the focus of this theme, so it’s perfect for growing an email list or promoting your own digital products.
- The theme is well designed and coded.
Preview Authority Pro Get Hosting
7. Astra
Like Kadence, Astra is a popular WordPress theme that offers a free version as well as a Pro version. However, the free version is much more limited than the free version of Kadence. Most of the features and functionality of Astra require you to purchase the Pro version.
Astra stands out because it is lightweight and loads quickly. That may not seem as sexy as some of the other features, but it’s a big deal.
Although it doesn’t give you quite the unlimited design freedom that you’d get with some of the themes at the top of our list, Astra still gives you a lot of different layout options, including header and footer options. It also comes with pre-built starter templates that allow you to get your blog or website up and running in no time.
The Astra Pro license pricing starts at $47 per year or $247 for a lifetime license. However, there are some additional features like more starter templates and a few plugins that would require you to purchase a higher-priced plan.
What We Love About Astra:
- It’s well-coded, lightweight, and loads quickly.
- Nice selection of starter templates if you purchase the Pro theme
Preview Astra Get Hosting
8. Soledad
Soledad is one of the most popular premium WordPress themes for blogs and content-focused websites. This is a feature-rich theme that offers no shortage of options.
With Soledad, you’ll have a huge collection of demos with responsive design that can be imported to your site with just a single click. Many of the layouts are ideal for magazine-style sites that publish a high volume of content, but there are also plenty of options that are suitable for solo bloggers.
You’ll be able to use the theme customizer to control most details of the design, and you can also use the WP Bakery page builder plugin to create your own custom layouts. You’ll also get some additional plugins from PenciDesign, the theme’s creator.
You can purchase Soledad for $59, which includes 6 months of support, or p[ay $76.63 to get a full year of support.
What We Love About Soledad:
- Outstanding collection of pre-designed demos to choose from.
- Excellent options for magazine sites as well as single bloggers.
- Provides extensive options through the theme customizer.
Preview Soledad Get Hosting
9. Bimber
Bimber is somewhat of a unique theme because it’s designed with viral sites in mind (think BuzzFeed). It comes with 20 different demos that allow you to choose the layout and style that works best for your site. The selection of designs is not quite as extensive as some of the other themes on this list, but it’s still a great collection that provides plenty of choices. You can also use the Elementor plugin to customize the layout and design.
While it may not be the most likely choice for personal blogs, Bimber is an easy choice for blogs that publish a high volume of viral content. The theme loads quickly and provides some nice infinite scrolling options that either aren’t offered or aren’t done very well by many other themes.
Bimber is available for $59, which comes with 6 months of support. For $76.63, you can upgrade to 12 months of support.
What We Love About Bimber:
- 20 pre-designed templates that are ideal for viral sites.
- It loads quickly to provide an improved user experience.
Preview Bimber Get Hosting
10. CheerUp
CheerUp comes with 14 different pre-designed blog layouts, and options that allow for more than 1,000 unique variations. Unlike some of the multipurpose themes, all of the demos for CheerUp have been designed with blogs in mind.
The selection isn’t quite as large as what you’ll get with some of the other themes, but all of the 14 pre-designed templates are beautiful. A few of them have more of a feminine style and might be great for fashion blogs, recipe blogs, lifestyle blogs, and other topics that tend to appeal to a mostly female audience.
You can also mix and match the header styles with the different templates to get a design that you love. The theme is also designer to work nicely with the WP Bakery page builder plugin.
CheerUp is available for $59, which includes 6 months of support. Or you can pay $76.63 to get a full year of support.
What We Love About Cheer Up:
- The pre-designed demos and header styles make it easy to create a beautiful blog.
- The layouts were designed specifically for blogs.
- Many of the designs use a nice feminine style, which is perfect for certain blogs.
Preview CheerUp Get Hosting
How to Choose the Right Theme for Your Blog
Now that we’ve showcased our 10 favorite WordPress themes for blogs, here are some tips that can help you to choose the one that’s right for you.
How Much Design Control Do You Want?
All of the themes on this list give you some level of control over the design and layout of your blog, but some themes give you far more control than others. It’s important to know if you want to have fine control over the details or if you don’t need that level of control.
If you want maximum control and design flexibility, our top recommendations are:
Many of the other themes give you excellent control over the design and layout as well, but we feel that these three provide the ultimate in terms of design freedom.
Which Features and Functions Matter the Most to You?
All of these themes offer a wide selection of features, and many of the features are available with all or most of the themes. However, it’s important to think about the specific features that you want and make sure that they’re included in any theme that you purchase.
One of the reasons why we love the Extra theme and have it ranked as out #1 option for bloggers is because it offers some unique features that are quite powerful:
- The category builder allows you to create unique page templates for any category.
- The review functionality is perfect for any blog that publishes reviews.
Which Theme’s Design Style Matches Your Brand Image?
Most of these themes offer a huge selection of designs that cover several different types or styles of design. However, some of them are a little more specialized. For example, Bimber is great for viral sites that want to have a look inspired by BuzzFeed and some of the other big viral sites. CheerUp offers designs that have more of a feminine design style.
Be sure to browse through the pre-designed templates or demos that are available from any theme you’re considering and make sure that there are some options to match the brand image of your site.
How Many Blogs or Websites Do You Have?
If you have multiple websites or blogs, it’s great to get a theme like Extra, Divi, or Kadence that can be used on an unlimited number of websites. You’ll be able to save loads of money and you’ll become very familiar with the theme and how it works if you’re using it on several different blogs.
