There is a lot to do when starting a blog, especially if it is your very first time setting up a website. You will have to learn about; SEO strategies, how to monetize your blog, social media marketing… and SO much more!
One of the very first things you need to do when starting a blog is deciding upon how you want it to look. The overall design of a website is incredibly important, so it is vital you spend some time finding the right WordPress theme for you.
Normally I would recommend you go for a premium WordPress theme as that can instantly make your website appear more professional.
The theme I use here at Blogging Tips 101 is an exclusive theme as a partner of the learn how to blog program, but Learn How to Blog does offer other alternative premium themes as part of their program and website set up.
That said, not everyone who is just starting out wants to pay for a WordPress theme when they are just learning the ropes, or even join a program.
Free WordPress themes may be a little more restrictive than premium WordPress themes, however, there are still some fantastic ones out there that you can use. This is why I decided to put together a list of some of the best free WordPress themes that you can use for starting a blog.
1. Twenty Fourteen
This year’s default theme that comes with WordPress when you install it is a pretty good theme to start with. A great-looking, modern magazine layout allows you to display all of your content in a grid or slider on your homepage. There are 3 distinct widget areas that you can make use of and, most importantly, the theme is responsive, meaning it will work seamlessly across all mobile, tablet, and desktop devices.
2. Padhang
If you are looking for a great-looking, minimalist WordPress theme that puts emphasis on your written content, then the Padhang theme is for you!
Here, you can add a large background image of your choosing, add a custom logo, change your menus, add widgets under your content, and much more. Again, this theme is responsive, so you don’t need to worry about it not working on your mobile or tablet devices.
3. Editor
The Editor theme presents your content beautifully and allows easy navigation by using a fixed sidebar menu. Though it doesn’t say so on the wordpress.org theme page, this theme is responsive and can be viewed much clearer on their official site here.
4. Hueman
This magazine-styled WordPress theme can present your content in a visually striking way. Loosely based on the Mashable website design, more emphasis is put on presently your content in an interesting way.
Fully responsive, you can customize just about any aspect of the theme really easily and it will work across all devices. Add a featured slider or featured categories to your front page, display integrated share counts from social media, add unlimited widget areas to your sidebars, and much more.
This theme could easily be a premium theme, so make the most of it whilst you can.
5. Decode
This minimal-looking theme is primarily designed for mobile use, though it is fully responsive across all devices. Putting emphasis on the content, this theme strips back a lot of unnecessary distractions and allows users to just focus on reading what you have written.
There is a sidebar menu that can be accessed by pressing on the menu icon, allowing you to add widgets and links to all your important pages. This can also be set to always appear on larger screens for people to access easily. You can fully customize the theme colors and it comes with a whole set of custom social icons that you can choose between.
6. Hemingway
This clean, uncluttered WordPress theme allows a great deal of flexibility in how you can use it. A great choice for a blog, it helps to display your content in the best way possible.
A fully responsive theme that can basically be used straight away once activated. Big bold images, sharp text, beautiful colors, the Hemingway theme looks great as it is. Still, you can edit the header image to your choosing, change the theme colors, edit the post format, and much more.
Overall a great WordPress theme to get you started and one that you can edit and customise as your site develops.
7. Esquire
Another great-looking, simplistic, uncluttered WordPress theme that puts emphasis on your website content. Here, this theme has a fixed sidebar, allowing people to easily navigate around your site via your most important links.
This theme would be great for a personal blog or community blog as it is really easy to manage. Do note though that it doesn’t seem to be responsive.
8. Blogly
This colorful, stylish, fully responsive WordPress theme can give your website a unique look. You can fully customize the colors that you use, you can upload your own logo, and fully edit the background image to your liking.
9. Bueno
This free WordPress theme by WooThemes is a great choice for bloggers. Big and bold lettering helps to instantly grab people’s attention when they land on your site. The theme allows you easily customize it and also comes with integrated banner ad management and Bueno-specific custom widgets for you to use.
10. Writr
Here is another colorful, visually striking WordPress theme for you to use. This is the perfect theme if you want you and your writing to stand out.
A colorful, fully customizable sidebar is the focal point of the website, allowing your visitors to easily navigate around your blog. You have the option of using the default turquoise color, or you can pick blue, green, purple, grey or red.
Your turn:
Do you use any of these free WordPress themes?
Which theme do you use for your blog?
We want to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.