I have listed only those WordPress theme companies which are very popular and constantly updated. You can choose any theme from the following theme clubs.
Additionally, many of them also offer child themes to help you give your website a custom design.
Before we proceed with our list of the best WordPress themes, here are a few things you should know:
There are many themes you can get for free online, and they will be labeled as “ Free WordPress Premium Themes ”.
It’s hard to get a premium theme with so many qualities for free. Sure, you can get a premium “similar” theme for free that’s of inferior quality, but why sacrifice the quality of your blog and theme?
Before you buy any theme, I recommend you look for some basic features such as:
- SEO optimized theme.
- Built-in design options.
- Built-in setup options.
- Easy import/export settings option.
- Easily customizable.
- Advertising management.
- HTML5
- Responsive Themes
- WordPress compatibility
- support
- Theme Price
This is what we expect every time and almost all major theme clubs offer such option built-in or their support forums are filled with such WordPress theme tweaking tips and tutorials.
Disclaimer : This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase a tool through one of these links, SML will earn a small commission ☕️, but at no extra cost to you.
List of top WordPress themes based on performance:
Best Premium WordPress Themes:
I will start the list with the theme clubs that I have used and look at their support and most importantly the theme itself regarding design, speed and usability.
1. Astra Theme
Astra theme is built by the team behind many popular plugins and this is perhaps the fastest WordPress theme out there.
This theme has been around for many years and the free version has over 600,000 downloads and over 3100 5-star ratings. The Astra theme is ideal for individual bloggers or agencies. It is compatible with all popular WordPress page builder plugins and is very lightweight (less than 50Kb)
The theme is reasonably priced, you can purchase Astra pro for just $59. If you are a WordPress agency, you can purchase the mini agency package for $169.
The Agency plan is perfect for companies that offer WordPress services because it comes bundled with plugins like Convert Pro, Schema Pro, and many other benefits.
2. Newspaper theme
When it comes to WordPress magazine themes, one name stands out – Newspaper. This multipurpose theme is perfect for news websites.
With over 93,000 copies sold on ThemeForest , Newspaper is one of the most popular WordPress magazine themes of all time.
Main features of Newspaper theme:
- Optimized performance – In my own performance testing, the full demo site loaded in about 2.2 seconds.
- 90+ Importable Demo Sites - Choose to import demo content or just demo theme settings.
- Visual, Drag-and-Drop Design – Customize the demo site template and build your own design for the front-end using the bundled tagDiv Composer page builder.
- 1,000+ Importable Section Templates - Choose from over 1,000 post and page templates to import into the tagDiv editor.
- Header/Footer Generator – Design your own custom header or footer.
- Mobile-friendly – You get responsive design, Google AMP support, and a bundled (optional) mobile theme plugin.
- Integrations – Newspaper integrates with WooCommerce, Instagram, bbPress, BuddyPress, and more.
- Built-in Banner Ad Placements – Easily insert AdSense or other banner ads on your site . You can also include your own ad placements using tagDiv Composer.
Read the Newspaper Theme Review to learn all about this popular theme.
3. Genesis Theme
I really like the Genesis theme because it offers all the latest features that you can expect in a premium WordPress theme. Also, it works great with the popular SEO plugin “Yoast SEO” .
What I like most about Genesis is that no coding knowledge is required to use this theme.
All you need to do is get the Genesis theme framework, choose the skin you want to use, and then simply configure your new theme.
It sounds simple, your blog will have a stylish theme. Recently, the popular WordPress hosting: WPEngine acquired StudioPress themes, and now this theme is under active development.
This adds more reasons for everyone to use the Genesis theme. Genesis is the base theme I use on ShoutMeLoud with a custom skin.
If you’re looking for a single recommendation, I recommend browsing Genesis’ themes and choosing one that suits your taste.
4. Elegant Themes’ Divi
If you are planning to set up multiple blogs with different designs at an affordable price, Elegant Theme Club should be your choice. They are one of the cheapest premium WordPress theme companies offering 87 unique premium WordPress theme designs at a price of $89 per year . Elegant Themes provides access to all premium WP themes at a price of $89.
It’s like a one-time investment and you can use different themes on your WP website. Apart from the existing themes, you will also get free access to all new and updated themes.
5. ThriveThemes
ThriveThemes is set to make a big splash in 2025 with its suite of excellent WordPress themes and page builder plugins. Personally, I’m a huge fan of their Voice WordPress theme, which is a great choice for anyone looking to start a personal branding blog.
Thrive Theme is created for speed and conversion. No need to mention its SEO capabilities as all the club themes I have listed on this page are SEO friendly. With Thrive Themes, you can reduce the usage of plugins as all themes have built-in features like related posts and social sharing buttons.
Overall, ThriveThemes is an ideal choice from a feature and price perspective.
6. Theme Forest
If you are looking for a completely unique and up-to-date WordPress theme, I recommend you try ThemeForest. Unlike other theme clubs, ThemeForest is where freelancers and WordPress designers sell their themes using the Themeforest marketplace .
They have their own set of quality guidelines and all the themes on ThemeForest are unique and up to date. If you are shopping for design themes, you should check out our ThemeForest themes.
Well, the list of such WordPress Premium Themes websites is endless and I will keep updating this list adding any useful new Premium Themes Club or Marketplace.
All of the above websites offer attractive and high-quality themes for your self-hosted WordPress blog.
Please share with us, from which website did you purchase the WordPress theme for your website or blog?
Here are some handpicked guides for you to read:
- How to upload and install a WordPress theme
- How Much Does It Cost to Start a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog?
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