The Best WordPress Blog Themes Right Now
In the relatively short space of time I’ve been running my self hosted WordPress website, I’ve changed my theme at least five times. Finding well-designed and responsive WordPress blog themes that are the right fit for your site can be a challenge! Plus, you don’t want to use the same popular theme that everybody else is using, which has happened to me more than once. So, I’ve compiled a list of the best blog themes designed for the self hosted WordPress website around right now. So, you don’t have to settle for a lacklustre theme for your self hosted blog ever again.
The Issue by Fuel Themes
Kicking off the list with my currently installed WordPress theme, The Issue is my favourite theme I’ve purchased so far. Marketed as a versatile magazine WordPress theme, the overall design aims to be less amateur and head towards proper online publication. To be frank, I sometimes find the emphasis on feminine blogger themes a little stale and uninspired, so it’s great to find and install themes with a more dynamic aesthetic, especially when your audience isn’t always predominantly female.
The Issue has now claimed the top spot as the best-selling and best-rated Magazine WordPress Theme on ThemeForest. Despite this, I’ve only come across a couple of other bloggers using the theme, and their self hosted blogs look wildly different from one another. There are an extensive nineteen demos to choose from, each with a unique design and user experience. Whether you run a fashion blog or a tech website, the demos are versatile enough to suit all niches.
Unlike my past theme purchases, you need to build the website yourself with The Issue. At first, I thought this sounded horribly daunting, but it turned out to be a pretty simple task involving selecting and dragging elements to create your homepage. When you buy the theme, you’ll also need to install the WPBakery Page Builder plugin, which you use to complete the job. Of course, the beauty of crafting your website is that you can achieve the look you’ve always wanted, and it is exclusively your design.
Buy The Issue at Theme Forest
Kadence Child Themes by Restored 316
The Kadence child themes are a relatively new offering from the ever-reliable Restored 316 store. Just like The Issue, when you buy one of these WordPress blog themes, you are purchasing a framework and blocks that will allow you the freedom of using a page builder without any of the stress or fuss of coding. You need to install the framework, plugin, and child theme, and you’re good to go. Do you want to change your website pages’ fonts, colours, or entire layout? No problem. Themes for the average blogger have come a long way, meaning that it’s easier than ever before to create a genuinely bespoke self hosted WordPress website.
The Kadence themes won’t slow down your site speed, as they are lightweight and don’t pack in unnecessary files that take an age to load fully. I frequently see creators raving about these themes in blogger groups and achieving lightning-fast Page Speed Insights scores.
Buy a Kadence theme at https://shop.restored316designs.com/kadence-child-themes/
17th Avenue Designs
17th Avenue Designs is home to beautifully crafted WordPress self hosted blog themes that prioritise simple functionality and clean design. Unlike The Issue and Kadence themes, each theme runs on the Genesis Framework and comes ready built, so it’s a smart choice if you’re new to blogging and WordPress. All you need to do is follow the step-by-step installation instructions. If you get stuck and need some help, reach out via the contact form and get immediate assistance. Another plus point is that theme support is available on a lifetime basis, which can be a rarity in this space.
For a long while, I used the Harper theme for my self hosted WordPress website. A bold, modern and flexible theme, it was a joy to use, with several different layout options to choose from, and easy to make your own with 17th Avenue’s signature Theme Customiser. If I had to say, my only slight gripe with the theme was that I would have liked the option to make the blog post images smaller. Are you concerned that this may be an issue for you? I recommend opting for the sophisticated Vivienne theme instead.
Buy one of 17th Avenue WordPress blog themes at https://17thavenuedesigns.com/
Pix and Hue
Pix and Hue have been offering above the cut self hosted WordPress website themes for many years and keep on stepping up the game. Built using the Elementor Page Builder plugin, you can choose from either Free or Pro themes. The Pro themes come with over 15 landing pages, and all themes support Elementor Global Colors so that you can change the colour scheme of your entire site with a single button click.
Outsource installation services are available, but plenty of support is on hand to personally get your theme up and running quickly without too many stresses and hiccups along the way. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the business owner, Louise, will go above and beyond to help you with the installation process. I recommend checking out the bold and characterful Kingsley Pro theme for cohesive branding that converts.
Buy a Pix and Hue theme at https://www.pixandhue.com/themes/
Hearten Made
Hearten Made has crafted a range of dynamic and playful themes for the self-hosted WordPress website to help your blog stand out from the virtual crowd. All Hearten Made Kadence child themes utilise the WordPress Blocks or Gutenberg to build and create your pages. Theme installation support is available, although the setup tutorials, customising tips, and troubleshooting guides should have you covered. You can easily pop over a support ticket if you get frustrated or stuck.
My favourite of the themes has to be Dainty, with its distinctive ten handmade graphic elements. Despite the name, Dainty is heavy on the visuals and quirky in nature. All themes are ideal for showcasing your work with style and confidence, which every WordPress blogger needs in these increasingly competitive and hard-up times.
Buy one of Hearten Made’s WordPress blog themes at https://www.heartenmade.com/product-category/wordpress-themes/
If you liked reading about the best WordPress blog themes for a self hosted WordPress website that you’ll love, also check out How to Write a Blog Post Fast: 5 Tips.
I love checking out new themes. 17th Avenue Designs has some beautiful ones. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading! I love 17th Avenue Designs — I may go back to one of their themes one day.
I currently use a theme from 17th Avenue Designs and I love it! I haven’t heard of the other sites so I’ll have to check out their themes.
Thanks for reading, Karalee! 17th Avenue Designs themes are absolutely beautiful, and so flawless to use. Glad that you love yours. I always get itchy feet when it comes to WordPress themes.
17th Avenue is the current theme on our blog and we absolutely adore it! it’s so easy to set up and versatile in the settings, we just fell madly in love with it. But, in case one day we do end up wanting to change, I will bookmark this post just in case 🙂
Thank you for reading, Simona! 17th Avenue Designs themes are a joy to use, and packed full of style and character. I’m so indecisive with themes, so always changing things up 🙂
I am considering changing my current theme and all of those look tempting! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for commenting, Paulina! These themes are genuinely all great. Hope you end up with a theme you love x
Lovely post and you’ve helped me discover lots of themes I’ve never come across before. Off to check them out in more detail.
Thanks for reading and commenting! I’m rather picky with themes, but can genuinely say that all on this list are brilliant for blogging.
I love the look of the 17th Avenue themes, they’re so pretty and feminine!
Thanks for reading! The 17th Avenue themes are stunning. You really can’t go wrong.
I really want to change the theme on my blog but I never know which one to pick or how hard it will be to make the changes. This post has inspired me to add it to my to do list for June and finally find a theme I actually love. Thank you
Thanks for commenting! I used to find changing my theme so daunting. All of these themes have brilliant support, so no worries there. Hope you manage to sort it, and end up with a theme you love.
Oh such a great list! We have recently changed to a theme from 17th AVenue and honestly deciding was so hard, so many great ones!
Thanks, Cristina! I feel like theme developers are stepping up the game more and more — which is great news for us. I am so, so indecisive too.
I actually changed my theme for the first time yesterday in order to make more customisation. Sadly I haven’t got the technical knowledge to move to self hosted but the Meraki free theme on WordPress seems pretty good to me so far. It’s really quite basic in appearance but got to work with behind the scenes.
Just checked out your blog, and what a great free theme! Really clean looking. To be honest, we all start off believing that we’ll never be able to do such and such, but somehow muddle through. If you do decide to go self hosted, strongly recommend Lyrical Host — trust me when I say they will do everything for you.
These are some great blog themes. I ended up replacing a theme I brought with one from Etsy and I love it. I am still working on a redesign but loving it so far. Thank you for sharing these theme ideas.
Lauren x
Silly system had sent this to spam! First thing I noticed was your new theme — it’s a beauty. I’ve never thought of shopping on Etsy for WP themes before, but it makes perfect sense xx
Updating my blog theme is one my favourite things to do to help me get motivated and inspired to blog again or if I want to do a rebrand. I love Hearten Made’s themes and it’s what I’m using now ☺️
I love a design rebrand too! Ohh wow, I only recently came across their themes but instantly fell in love.
17th Avenue makes some lovely designs, yes, but I just love that you share a curation of several sites I have never heard of. I have thought about trying out a new blog theme, so I cannot wait to browse through your recommendations.
Thanks so much for reading, Jaya! We are truly spoilt for choice with themes nowadays.