The 20 most popular WordPress themes
In recent days we have made a huge research and analyzed 100.000 WordPress sites that were created in the beginning of June 2018, so they are roughly 3 months old.
We wanted to see which WordPress themes are the most popular among new sites. Here are the exciting results.
In 15.234 cases we could not determine the exact theme. The other 84.766 sites share 17.029 different WordPress themes (or sub-themes / custom themes) which is kind of an unbelievable diversity.
We have found 11.065 different themes (like “terminus” or “zyra”) that were only used once out of these 100.000 cases. These numbers are quite insane.
But let’s see the most popular ones and the number of times they were used out of 100.000.
The 20 most popular WordPress themes among new sites
1. TwentySeventeen – used by 3995 sites
I think it’s no surprise that twentyseventeen came out on the top of this list. This theme is the default theme for WordPress, every time you start a new site it’s preinstalled with twentyseventeen. I believe it’s a great theme to start with, if you have no idea about WordPress, you can learn it quickly by using this basic theme.
2. Divi – used by 3526 sites
It’s a commercial theme and site builder solution. I’m a bit surprised by its second place (considering the price), but probably it’s primarily used by people who know exactly what they are doing and not by those who are new to online existence and just registered their very first site trying to find out how WordPress works.
It’s a complete and professional all-in-one site builder solution with good looking templates and everything bundled. If you have the money but don’t have time to make a site by hunting for the right themes and plugins, just pick Divi.
3. OceanWP – used by 1914 sites
It’s a free theme that is getting widely popular these days. According to their homepage they just passed 700.000 downloads, so it’s no surprise this theme got so high on this list.
4. Avada – used by 1482 sites
According to their website it’s the number 1 best selling theme in 5 years. It may be true, in our research Divi came out on top, but we have only analyzed 100.000 sites, and also we wanted to research new sites, not just sites in general.
5. BeTheme – used by 1154 sites
Another theme for hard cash. It’s said to come with 370+ prebuilt websites. I have not used it personally, but it sound like you just have to pick one and install a full solution. If you are not very experienced in website building and also not really interested in gaining the knowledge, this solution may come handy.
6. Enfold – used by 912 sites
The flagship WordPress theme of Kriesi. It’s optimized for speed and user friendliness, another popular commercial theme.
7. TwentySixteen – used by 875 sites
The previous WordPress official theme, still holding up on 7th place.
8. Newspaper – used by 849 sites
As its name suggests, this theme is ideal if you want to create an online newspaper. It has all the bells and whistles, but at the same time it also costs money and you may want to check out ColorMag which is a great free alternative.
9. Astra – used by 844 sites
A stylish and highly customizable theme that was optimized for performance. It has been installed over 100.000 times and though it’s also a commercial theme it’s the first commercial one on this list which also has a free version that you can download and try before purchasing.
10. Sydney – used by 722 sites
A highly customizable theme optimized for small businesses. It also has a demo version that you can download and use before going Pro.
11. Flatsome – used by 717 sites
It’s advertised as the #1 best selling WooCommerce and Business theme. If you want to install a highly customizable WP theme for WooCommerce, it seems that Flatsome is the most popular solution.
12. Storefront – used by 676 sites
Storefront is the official WordPress theme for WooCommerce and just came in 12th right under Flatsome. It’s free and has over 2.5 million downloads. If you plan to open a small webshop with no additional costs then it may be the best solution for you.
13. Bridge – used by 607 sites
Flagship theme of QODE it’s a multi-purpose commercial theme with a lot of pre-built examples.
14. ColorMag – used by 552 sites
Here it comes on the 14th place, one of my personal favourite themes. I have used it several times and still using it on some of my sites. It’s a great little theme that can be used free of charge (though it also has a pro version) and is very suitable for any kind of online magazine or blog you may want to launch.
15. Hestia – used by 480 sites
Hestia is a well-known theme by ThemeIsle. You can buy it, but there is a free version which you can download and use.
16. GeneratePress – used bye 471 sites
A lightweight theme downloaded over 1.5 million times. It’s free but also has a premium version.
17. TwentyFifteen – used by 469 sites
Still on the radar, WordPress’ official theme from 2015.
18. Salient – used by 453 sites
A multi-purpose commercial theme by ThemeNectar.
19. The7 – used by 447 sites
It’s advertised as the most customizable WordPress theme on the market. It has pre-build websites and countless ways of customizing them.
20. X – used by 374 sites
Actually on the 20th place BeaverBuilder came out, but I’m sure we will get to them on the Plugins page, because it’s rather a site builder plugin that can live with other themes.
So we brought forward the mysterious X theme. The dawn of a new era as advertised? Well, we will see…
So which WordPress theme should you use?
As you see, even the “most popular” TwentySeventeen theme is only used by 3,9% of new websites while the 20th on our list is used by 0,374% only! There are about 80 themes that came up above 1% and about 1.000 themes that are used by more than 10 new websites.
So there is a huge variety of themes and it’s practically impossible to try them all.
On our top 20 list there are themes which are completely free, themes that can only be used after purchasing them and a couple of ones which are commercial themes, but have a free version and can be upgraded to pro later.
If you are new to this world and have just started your online career then I would say pick a free one until you get familiar with the WordPress concept and plugins in general.
If you already have some experience or lack the time to experiment, thenpick and purchase a professional solution.
As you see, some themes are more suitable for specific purposes, you should also decide whether you just want to have a cool blog, an eCommerce site or an online magazine and pick your theme accordingly.
If you want to get some inspirations, you can browse our random picks and see which one you like.
After each pick we have included the WordPress theme used (if this information was available), so you might just randomly bump into the theme of your dreams!
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What theme do you use? Recommend us and your fellow readers a secret gem!
4 COMMENTS
Some them is realy good. I can parsonali use and see . Thnks for share this post with us.
Awesome themes collection thanks alot
Hmm good information for, about the WordPress themes Populars and usage, I never seen this type unic information article on the any blogs sir.. Superb keepitop good work..
I’m still learning from you, but I’m trying to achieve my goals. I absolutely liked reading all that is written on your blog.Keep the information coming. I enjoyed it!