Best Free WordPress Business Themes
WordPress is no doubt one of the most popular CMS (if not the most popular) in the world today. It is said that one-fifth of websites is now powered by WordPress. Although it is more difficult to determine how many of these WordPress sites are businesses, we can nevertheless safely say that a growing number of businesses are using WordPress generated websites.
Because of this, the demand for business themes has increased too.
What Is A Business Theme?
A WordPress business theme is not very much different from other WordPress themes. However, there are a few things that businesses look for when searching for a theme.
If you are looking for a business theme, here are some features that you may want to pay more attention to:
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Professional design
You want to attract your customers and also to let your visitors olr potential customers know what you are selling. A professional looking design is able to impress more!
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Customization
Businesses have certain areas that need to be customized e.g. the ability to choose colors that match their brand’s colors. Therefore, do check the theme’s customization features.
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Responsive
This allow your customers to view your site using various devices including smartphone and tablets.
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User-friendly
You are running a business and thus, should spend more time managing it than tinkering with the website’s theme. Therefore, ensure that the theme can be customized without needing you to learn how to code.
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eCommerce plugin
You may want to transform your site into an eCommerce site. In this case, you will need an eCommerce plugin e.g. WooCommerce.
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Support
Depending on where you get your theme from, some come with continuous updates and technical support.
So, how much does a WordPress business theme normally costs?
Well, it ranges though you should be prepared to fork out at least $30 for a good business theme. Some theme designers allow you to join them as a member with which you will be able to save a lot of money on the long run. Elegant Themes, for example, charges its you $69 a year for membership, and in return you get unlimited downloads of all their themes. They currently have 30 WordPress business themes, in addition to WordPress themes in other categories.
What About Free Business Themes?
Sometimes, businesses may find themselves not wanting to spend so much money on a WordPress theme. Perhaps they were not sure whether the themes were suitable. You definitely won’t want to buy a $40 theme only to discover that it was not what you wanted. Or maybe these businesses have budget constraints. New startups usually have a tight budget. This is where free WordPress business themes come into the picture.
The good news is that you can find lots of free WordPress business themes on the Internet. They can be easily downloaded and customized. The bad news is that many of them are poorly designed or coded and as a result, may affect your website negatively. Some of them may even contain malicious codes! So do be careful. Having said that, there are also many beautiful business themes that are not only full of features but are also free!
Free WordPress Business Themes
Here is a list of recommendable free WordPress business themes.
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Medicine
Medicine is a responsive WordPress business theme with lots of features packed into it. You get custom menu, page templates, custom logo, WooCommerce, SEO Optimization, threaded comments and so on.
This theme was originally created by Lizard Themes and is the lite version of the premium Medicine theme. It comes with most of what the premium version has except for a few features like Google maps, YouTube integration and support. But it is a good platform for users to try it out and if you like it, you can opt to buy the premium version for $29.95.
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Restaurante
If you own a restaurant, then Restaurante by Ketchup Themes is your answer for a free WordPress business theme. It is simple yet beautifully designed and has quite a number of features. You get to customize the header and the background of your website easily. Your customers can view your site from any devices since it’s a responsive theme.
However, if you would like more features like full slider or even upload an online ordering option, then you will need to upgrade to the premium version. Though it is free, the designer does offer support (albeit limited) for those who are using the free version.
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I-Transform
I-Transform is a flexible multipurpose theme. It is based on WordPress’ popular Twenty Thirteen and the developers had generously offered additional features like a featured post section, 5 color schemes, multiple blog layouts and so forth.
It has a professional feel to it and needs little modification. But if you do want to modify it, this theme’s control panel is very user-friendly and the theme can be easily customized to suit your requirements. The other thing I like about it is the animated slider which is kind of cool!
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Vantage
Designed by SiteOrigin, this revolutionary freemium theme has quite a lot of features considering it is a free theme. One feature that I especially like is the MetaSlider, one of the more popular WordPress slideshow plugin.
If you are thinking about starting your own online store, then Vantage is a great option. Not only is it fully responsive and retina ready, it also supports the highly popular WooCommerce plugin which will greatly help you kick-start your online business.If you are thinking of doing detailed customization, then you may want to consider upgrading to the premium version. This upgrade comes with layered slides.
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Bearded
If you are into creative arts, then this theme is the one that you will love. Bearded is a responsive CSS3 and HTML5 blogging, eCommerce and portfolio theme. Yes, if you want to turn your site into an online store, you can certainly do so using the WooCommerce plugin.
This theme has an innovative homepage which may take you a little longer to get it working if you are a new user. But it is all worth it. It also supports the Custom Content Portfolio management plugin, which is normally used by creative people like designers and photographers to showcase their work.
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Multipurpose
As the name suggest, this theme is so flexible that you can use it for many different types of websites and not just for businesses. The homepage is simple and neat and is for those who want a clean-looking website.
The Multipurpose theme is responsive and is highly customizable. You have a choice to modify the theme using the many theme options. If you prefer, you can even create your own homepage using their drag and drop layout builder! Color schemes are virtually unlimited and can be easily changed.
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Nictitate
Nictitate is a clean and beautifully designed theme that is responsive too. Its layout manager has loads of options for each and every page that you can easily customize the way each page looks. This way, you can make each page unique!
The creator allows you to access the designer’s support forum at http://kopatheme.com/forum, which is great since not many free themes provide any form of support. The only difference between this lite version and the premium version is that it does not support Google web fonts, provides only the blue color, do not support eCommerce plugin and does not come with the Revolution slider.
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Invert Lite
“Clean, attractive and powerful” is how I would describe Invert Lite. Customization options are very user-friendly and allow you to take control over how you wish your site to look. You get SketchBoard Framework, unlimited color skins, multi levels navigation among others. With this theme, you can easily set up your website in a matter of minutes.
The premium version costs $49 and comes with more features which include the Revolution Slider and the Flex Slider as well as a host of other neat things for you to find out!
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Intuition
Intuition is a responsive multipurpose theme that is specially designed to display your works or contents. The animated slider on the homepage makes a great way to highlight your featured products or services. It also comes with multiple page templates so you have more options and layouts to choose from.
Furthermore, this theme is able to integrate easily with most popular e-commerce plugins e.g. WooCommerce, so setting up an online store to sell your works is no problem at all.
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Chooko Lite
Chooko Lite is a powerful and feature rich responsive theme that is designed to fit various purposes. You may even take an instant liking to it if you are in the fashion, beauty and cooking oriented businesses.
You will be able to reach a larger audience with their cross browser support. Other features include having sticky post, unlimited slideshows, unlimited backgrounds, lifetime free updates and many others. Check out their website to learn more about this great theme!
Free WordPress business themes is a cost effective option for small businesses who are just getting started or for those who are on a limited budget. There are many free WordPress themes in the business category, but not all of them are as good as they look. Some may be so outdated that they do not work on the latest version of WordPress anymore. Others may be so poorly coded that they make your website load slowly, which in turn will frustrate your customers! Therefore, you need to exercise caution if you are thinking to use a free theme which is not listed above.