3 Free Starter WordPress Themes for New Bloggers

After you’ve successfully installed WordPress, it’s time to give your blog a theme. 

A WordPress theme controls the way your site appears on the public web. There is always a default theme installed on your website, but it’s generally pretty basic. 

You can add a new theme by going to Appearance > Themes in your WordPress backend control panel. 

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of free WordPress themes you can use, but most of them are ugly and don’t have a lot of features. There are also many paid WordPress themes but most of them are not necessary for new bloggers, unless you are ready to pay for a custom look on your blog. 

Don’t worry, you can definitely create a profitable blog using a free WordPress theme. In fact, I’m going to share three of the best free WordPress themes for new bloggers. Each of them has pros and cons, and I’ll let you decide which one is best for your blog!

Ocean

OceanWP is the first great starter theme I recommend for beginners. It’s an amazing and powerful WordPress theme that is free for all. 

OceanWP has the ability to display WordPress posts in a grid, a mega menu capability, and “related posts” suggestions at the bottom of each post built-in. Each of these things isn’t always easy to find in one free theme!

Although it’s a great free WordPress themes for new bloggers, I think it could be overwhelming in terms of options for newbies, just because there is so much to customize.

GeneratePress

GeneratePress is a very popular free WordPress theme known for its simplicity and speed. The speed of your website is one of Google’s ranking factors, but it’s not the most important. GeneratePress offers a fast-loading theme great for beginners. I often come across very profitable websites still using the GeneratePress theme during my keyword research! 

GeneratePress does not offer many of the fun features you may be looking for like related posts, sharing buttons, and newsletter forms, but you can add in these features using plug-ins as you need them! 

I think this theme is best for someone who wants to put their writing first and foremost. It would work well on a finance blog, for example. 

Blocksy

I finally came across a free WordPress theme I love, and I’m actually using it right now on this site! Blocksy is an amazing free theme that offers a ton of great features. It has a modern design, integrated related posts, a subscription form and built-in sharing buttons. Previously I was installing each of these add-ons manually so I was really happy to come across this theme which has them by default. The only thing it doesn’t have on the free version is a “mega-menu” dropdown.

All of these themes would be a great choice for a starter theme for your first blog! I hope you found this list of the best free WordPress themes for new bloggers helpful.

Next, read about the best WordPress grid themes.