If you are just starting and launching a business, having a website to represent that business and build a brand image is a no-brainer. However, what if you don’t have the money to get a fancy website developed? Well, that’s where WordPress comes in. WordPress is used by 45.8% of all websites on the internet and is a CMS (content management system). One of the many advantages of using WordPress is the numerous free themes that are available; these themes include pre-built functional templates that you can customize for your own. In this article, I have handpicked my top 10 best free WordPress themes for business use.
Astra
The team behind Astra is trusted by over 4,218,679 websites and the theme is currently installed on over 1 million websites. It’s arguably the most popular and well-known free WordPress theme, especially when you look at the reviews with a 5-star rating out of 5000+ reviews!
Astra has a huge selection of free templates, or ‘Starter Templates’, available to download. These are broken down into different categories including business, e-commerce, blogging, creative, and more. So you can find a design tailored to your business needs.
The best part is, that you don’t need code if you are ok with using page builders and the theme layouts they have built. Astra does support popular page builders such as Elementor and Divi. However, with some customization options, you will need to upgrade to the paid plan. As with many of the free template options, Astra has a ‘Pro’ option which offers a ton more features than the free version.
Finally, in terms of performance, Astra prides itself on being built for speed and fully optimized for performance. It claims to use only 50kb of resources and can load in less than 0.5 seconds.
Key Points
- Fast loading times (under 0.5 seconds)
- No code required
- 100s of starter templates for all different business use cases
- Paid option available
- Easy to set up and build
Spacious
Spacious is one of the best free WordPress themes for business and also one of the best-selling themes for Themegrill. It powers 70,000+ websites, with 40,000+ active installations, and a 5/5 rating based on 791 reviews. It’s one of the lesser-known themes on the list, but it’s still a top choice of mine and I have used it for 2 or 3 client websites in the past.
While there are only a handful of free theme templates to choose from, the options that are there are you will need. The options all center around ‘business’ with templates for consultancies, e-commerce, agencies, and even food service. One thing I like about these templates and the theme is their modern and sleek design.
Spacious has many features included in the free version, these include a one-click demo import, customization with no code required, and also page builder integration with many of the big names including Elementor. There are several other integrations and powerful features, however, they are part of the ‘Pro’ option, which does offer a ton more features if you feel like upgrading.
ThemeGrill states that performance is priority number 1 when it comes to its themes. With Spacious it claims the loading speed is under 1 second, it’s search engine optimized, and also optimized for speed.
Key Points
- Fast loading speeds (under 1 second)
- 5/5 ratings
- Compatible with major page builders
- Starter templates available to import with one-click
- Customization available for the templates
OceanWP
OceanWP is a popular choice when it comes to free WordPress themes. Currently, the theme has over 700,000+ active installations with a 5/5 star rating from over 5400+ reviews. The theme also comes with free extensions to customize your site and improve user experience.
I will say, there aren’t that many free demo templates to choose from and OceanWP doesn’t exactly shout about the ‘free’ options. You have to visit the ‘All Template Demos‘ page (if looking at their website) and scroll to the bottom until you see the ‘Pro’ tag disappear. That being said, the available templates are modern, fast, and powerful – with options for e-commerce, agencies, fashion, and even a coffee shop.
Not only does OceanWP come with free extensions like Custom Sidebar, Sliders, and Product Sharing, but it also has various widgets for email subscription and WooCommerce integration. Also, the theme is compatible with top page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, Visual Composer, Divi, and SiteOrigin.
There is a pro option available for OceanWP which comes with a huge selection of templates, extensions, and integrations – just in case you want to upgrade at any point. I think theme performance is good, not as good as Astra, however, there are many more elements and features in these demo templates.
Key Points
- Free extensions to customize your site
- Drag and drop builder to customize layouts
- 5/5 ratings on WordPress.org
- Compatible with major page builders
- Easy to use and set up
Kadence
Kadence happens to be one of my favorite free WordPress themes for business, one that I use on one of my own websites. It has over 300,000+ active downloads with a 5/5 star rating from over 190 reviews. One of the unique features that make Kadence stand out is the integrated AI generation, which allows for content generation within the live editor of the theme template (yes it has a free version).
When it comes to the template option, Kadance has a great selection to choose from. There are free theme templates for events, travel, business, e-commerce, subscription sites, and many more. My top feature is the templates for local businesses, such as roofing, dentistry, plumbing, and gardening – something that can help those entering the startup phase save a little cash.
In addition to the AI generation integration, Kadence has many features including a drag & drop builder, live editor, design editor, and custom layouts. There’s also a priority on performance, according to Kadence: with no heavy code javascript files, 100% speed grade, and component stylesheets.
There is a pro option that is available if you see the need to upgrade at any point. However, I will say that the Kadence free WordPress theme is sufficient for businesses starting out!
Key Points
- AI integration for the template editor
- Drag & drop builder
- High performance
- Many templates to choose from
- 5/5 star rating
GeneratePress
GeneratePress is a more commonly known free WordPress theme with over 600,000+ active installations. The theme has a 5/5 star rating from over 1300 reviews on WordPress.org. The free version of the theme focuses on ‘speed, usability, and accessibility.’
There are many free templates available under the GeneratePress Site Library, these feature options for real estate businesses, e-commerce, local services, portfolio, sites, and many more. Compared to some of the free themes on this list, I think there is a diverse selection of templates here and you will definitely find something for your business.
GeneratePress claims to be the fastest WordPress theme with 100% page speed scores and high performance. The theme also comes with a free plugin that supports block-based page building, allowing you to customize pages without the need for code. Upon using GeneratePress, the simple design of the sites does make it easy to use and customize, while keeping performance levels high.
I am a fan of the templates they have available; there are many options that appeal to different businesses and the templates themselves are very well designed with a moden-minimalism feel to them.
Key Points
- Block-based page builder
- One of the ‘fastest WordPress themes’
- Many different templates to choose from
- 5/5 ratings
- Pro option available to upgrade
Storefront
Storefront is a little different from the themes on this list, it is a single template theme that is designed for e-commerce, by WooCommerce. The theme has over 100,000 active installations and a 4.5/5 star rating on WordPress.org – it has 1,000 installs and a 4.1-star rating on WooCommerce directly.
As this theme is built and maintained by WooCommerce itself, you know you will have good support and fixes to any issues that present. Especially when it comes to plugin conflicts that often arise with e-commerce stores. That leads to the next reason as to why this theme made the list: WooCommerce integration.
WooCommerce is an all-one solution for e-commerce stores operating through WordPress, so this theme is an excellent choice for those starting out in e-commerce but don’t have the budget for a paid site.
The theme provides a responsive design and limited customization options, however, if you want to start selling products without investing money into a fully-developed e-commerce site, this is the perfect option.
Envo Storefront
Envo Storefront is similar to the last theme I covered, however, this is run and managed by EnvoThemes. The theme itself is not as popular with only 4,000+ active installations from WordPress.org and a 4/5 star rating, however, that doesn’t mean it’s not a great free theme option for business use.
EnvoThemes does have a variety of other free themes available, however, I decided to single this one out as I have used it before and like the features for new e-commerce stores. It is specifically designed for WooCommerce use, has a one-click demo import option, and is built for use with popular page builders.
The theme claims to be SEO & ultra-modern responsive, has translation options for the site, a responsive design, and plenty of documentation to support new users. There is also a ‘Pro’ version available with extra features – if you want to upgrade. Of course, there are other free themes available if this one doesn’t meet your needs.
Key Points
- WooCommerce integration
- Good documentation for support
- Translation features
- Responsive design
- SEO optimized
Zakra
Zakra is a popular choice for free WordPress themes and has a great selection for business use. The theme currently has 50,000+ active installations and a 5/5 star rating from over 500 reviews on WordPress.org. The theme offers reliable support services, regular updates, and extensive customization, and it’s fast & secure.
The theme has roughly 100 different template options, being a mixture of free and pro, but the free options are great for new business use cases. There are templates for e-commerce stores, local services, agencies, and many more. Additionally, all templates are compatible with Gutenberg, BlockArt Blocks, Elementor, and Brizy.
The theme is also compatible with major plugins such as WooCommerce, Yoast SEO, WP Rocket, Jetpack, and many more. Another unique feature with this theme, is you have the option to pay the developers to customize the theme for you. Although this can add to your expenses, it’s a great way to add some personal touches to the final design.
Not that I think you will need it, but there is a ‘Premium’ version available with more access to templates and extra features.
Key Points
- Fast and responsive
- Multiple free templates to choose from
- Compatible with major plugins and page builders
- 5/5 star rating
- Customization options
Phlox
Although it’s quite far down on the list, Phlox is one of my favorite free WordPress themes, mainly because of the sleek designs of its templates. The theme has 50,000+ active installations with a 5/5 star rating based on 730+ reviews on WordPress.org. It was also nominated for the Best WordPress Theme of the Year!
There is a huge selection of demo templates to choose from with all different use cases, including e-commerce, agencies, portfolios, and local services. My top choice is the ‘Digital Shop‘ template, featured in the image above, due to its clean, modern, and responsive style.
Installation of the theme and templates is an easy process with a one-click demo import and you get access to a visual page builder where you can make changes and see them instantly – no coding skills needed. It also has a variety of features for Elementor that allow you to build and customize even further.
Finally, the theme is responsive and built for mobile-first, has compatibility with WooCommerce, high-performance scores, translated languages, and a range of other features.
Key Points
- Huge selection of free templates
- Visual page builder
- Nominated for design awards
- Translation support
- Compatibility with builders and plugins
- One-click demo import
Hestia
Finally, there’s Hestia. This theme is very light in features compared to the others on the list – hence why this section is a little different.
Hestia is a great starter theme with very basic features available for free. The theme has over 100,000+ active installations with an overall 5/5 star rating on WordPress.org. The theme is very limited but for the features it does offer, it does them right.
Hestia mainly focuses on its ‘Pro’ offering, which has templates and features. Whereas, the free theme version is a one-template option with a customization option in the editor. This includes things like sidebar positioning, page layout, typography, and colors for example.
I would recommend this theme more for content than functionality – for example, if you need a portfolio site for your business.
