A common misconception is that cheap WordPress themes are of the lowest quality. Although this can be true, you can find an incredible number of free or cheap themes that provide premium features, all without the high price tag. For example, you generally have to pay around $50 to $100 for what would be considered a premium theme. There’s nothing wrong with this price point, especially when you get a high-powered theme built on a framework like Genesis.
However, a $30 or $40 theme could still provide the tools, support and cleanliness you would need for a blog, eCommerce shop or business presence, even if you plan on having lots of traffic. Overall, it’s wise to not rule out cheaper themes when completing your search. After all, most smaller businesses and startups can use that saved cash to spend on other areas like branding, marketing, additional web design, or product development.
What to Look For With Cheap WordPress Themes
Since this is a rather vague category of themes, it’s not exactly easy to hammer down the core features to look for. However, we can say that all of the cheaper WordPress themes should still have responsiveness, SEO optimization, a clean interface, localization and quality browser support. You’ll also want to ensure that the developers didn’t cut any corners with the coding. Otherwise you’ll find that some plugins conflict and the site slows down after awhile.
Who Should Be Considering a Cheap Theme?
Bloggers are the main group of people that come to mind here. Why is that? Because more affordable themes still give you the blogging functionality you need, and they are generally cleaner designs. However, eCommerce shop owners have some options to look at below as well. Overall, I would recommend these themes to people who want to save a little bit of money getting started. You can always change your theme if you feel you’ve grown out of one of these.
The Highest Quality Cheap Themes on The Market:
Eshop
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As our first suggestion, we have a solid choice for those interested in selling products online. The Eshop theme is compatible with WooCommerce, and it offers a clean and minimalist interface. Keep in mind that this is a Genesis child theme, so you will have to buy Genesis separately. However, the theme has all the basics, such as powerful coding, localization, and responsiveness. SEO optimization comes along with the theme as well.
The theme provides a slider with overlaying text and buttons, and the shopping cart is constantly shown in the header. Your contact information can go at the top of the page, and the several shortcodes are there for building buttons, testimonials, client lists, and more. A few page templates improve the way you design things like blog posts and archival pages, while the full portfolio comes in handy when trying to generate a gallery with images.
Brixton
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The Brixton WordPress theme goes for $39, and it offers a modern blog solution for just about any industry. The theme is completely responsive for mobile devices, and you get an unlimited number of color variations for branding. The Google Web Fonts are nice for typography, while the super fast loading pages help out with SEO. You can also choose between full width and boxed versions, depending on what you would like your final product to look like.
The Instagram feed is a nice module that you generally wouldn’t get for so cheap, and the post templates include support for videos, galleries, audio, and quotes. Feel free to use your own custom logo and favicon, and utilize the CSS3 features and animations if you have more experience working with code. The main reason we like the Brixton theme is because of its clean and crisp design, but the premium features are nice too.
SimpleShift
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You only have to pay $39 to get your hands on the SimpleShift theme, and it has a flexible interface with multipurpose design elements. You’ll find that the support from ThemeShift is some of the best out there, and the responsive design snaps right into place when on mobile devices. The WooCommerce support comes in handy if you’re planning on selling digital or physical items, while the unlimited colors are perfect for matching up with your logo.
SEO optimization is included with your purchase, and the parallax effects are sure to grab attention when people land on your site. Quite a few custom widgets are provided as well, allowing for areas to feature your services, products or even testimonials. Your latest blog posts show up beautifully on the homepage, and there’s a dedicated section for talking about your employees and sharing pictures of them as well.
Electra
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The Electra WordPress theme comes from the folks at TeslaThemes, and it serves as a multipurpose solution. The $48 theme provides a responsive design, and the Slider Revolution plugin comes along with it. It runs off the Tesla Framework, which supports a filterable portfolio with beautiful thumbnail images. You gain access to a theme with cross-browser functionality, translations and SEO, all there for making your site more effective.
The built-in shortcodes are extremely useful if you’re trying to make areas on your page to feature testimonials, recent works, tabs, or services. The custom posts allow you to add predefined elements to your layout. For example, you receive options for galleries, services, testimonials, and more. The contact and subscription forms combine well with the Google Maps, while the social media support provides beautiful sharing buttons.
One Page
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The One Page WordPress theme has a nice combination of features, and it all comes in at $59. This is one of the more expensive themes on the list, but you get a little extra. For example, the drag and drop homepage is excellent for configuring what the one page layout is going to look like. In addition, the AJAX loading improves your site speed and makes the interface much nicer for users. Also, you have the ability to disable or enable any section on the theme.
The portfolio post type is a solid bonus, while the unique blog layouts are sure to create some variety throughout the site. SEO is all set once you buy the theme, and the more advanced users can adjust CSS and HTML. The One Page theme has unlimited colors and the clean code makes for fast load times. A counter and Twitter feed provide useful options, and the pricing table can be used by many types of companies. Along with a testimonials and clients section, the One Page theme offers quite a bit for the price.
Brooklyn
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We like the Brooklyn theme for several different types of businesses, since it has a multipurpose configuration for only $49. The theme is ready in one click, and you get over 20 demos for things like weddings, barber shops, and restaurants. The powerful admin panel allows for simple portfolio management, and the unique pricing table management section is great for anything from restaurants to design agencies.
Full translation for your site is readily available, and the Slider Revolution plugin is packaged into the theme, saving you around $57. You also get the Visual Composer plugin for a sleek drag and drop interface. It’s hard to say what you may end up using this theme for, but to narrow it down for you, here are some of the demo categories: corporate, creative, entertainment, non-profit, retail, technology, and wedding. Nice!
Zen
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The Zen WordPress theme delivers a simple and minimalist layout that we like for blogs and portfolios. The theme starts at $49, and it comes with the FlexSlider plugin for a nice presentation of images on the homepage. Around 10 color schemes are also provided, making for an easier branding experience. The theme has a mobile interface for smaller devices, and it has localization, browser support, and SEO optimization.
As with many of the ZigZagPress themes, you will have to buy the Genesis Framework for this one to work properly. That said, some of the page templates are rather powerful. For example, you get a complete landing page for showing off individual products. Social media buttons are included with the purchase, and you gain access to a full portfolio section. Along with interesting page layouts and templates, the Zen theme is ideal for blogging.
FashionBlog
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Try out the FashionBlog theme if you’re thinking about making a fun blog with some more feminine elements. The design is clean, and you receive unlimited color schemes. The options panel provides unlimited background patterns, and the responsive nature of the theme is ideal for smaller devices. Some of your related posts show up underneath your blog posts, and your site runs fast with the help of CSS3 and HTML5 technology.
Premium support is guaranteed through MyThemeShop, and the shortcodes are there for adding different functions without any hassles. What’s cool is that the theme is ready to be monetized with AdSense, too. Additional features include Google Fonts, social media integration with networks like Facebook and Twitter, and translation-readiness.
Boombox
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Origin
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axa
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Vignette
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Novo
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Immunity
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Woodie
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Saturation
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Hemlock
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Mag XP
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Onepage
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Harmony by Elegant Themes
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yopta
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Repose
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Drone
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Molly
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Coastline
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Brutal
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Single
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Style
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Vogue
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Bijou
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Neo
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prestige
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mindfulness
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SixtyOne
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Entrepreneurship
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Business from MyThemeShop
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AppTheme
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