Are you trying to get your business up and running? Are you finding that you don’t have that much money to spend, but you don’t want to skimp on quality? As with every part of a business, customers can usually tell if you haven’t put in the time, effort of money. Whether it’s your marketing, website, product or service. If we were writing this article a few decades ago, you would find it incredibly expensive to build your own business website. In fact, you’d have to call up a web developer to make it from scratch. That’s not the case anymore, since you have a wide variety of business WordPress themes to choose from. Even though many of them aren’t all that pricey, it’s nice when you stumble upon a premium WordPress theme that you don’t have to pay for at all.
When we say “premium WordPress theme,” we mean one that has the features of a theme that you would generally have to pay for. As an example, many premium WordPress themes have drag and drop editors on the backend, which is great to have, but it comes at a price. However, some free themes give you this without asking for money. The same goes for parallax effects. You may assume that this is a premium feature, but quite a few free themes offer this. Since so many free WordPress themes are available on the market, we did the work for you to locate the ideal ones for up and coming businesses. So, keep reading to learn about the themes that could launch your company into a more profitable world.
Simpleshift
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The Simpleshift theme is a one page solution, and it also has a paid version if you’d like to upgrade for more features. We really like setups like this since you can try a theme out for free. If the solution has all the features you need, just stick with the free option. If not, pay the $30 or $40 to receive all the functionality it provides. Anyway, what does the Simpleshift theme have to offer that we would consider as premium settings and tools? To start, the parallax effects help with boosting the creativity on your site, while also grabbing attention from people who just land on the homepage. As stated in the introduction, a parallax background is generally only found in a premium theme, so this is quite the bonus you receive. In addition, the responsive design is ideal for giving people an opportunity to view your content on smaller devices, while the one page layout keeps all of your content on a single page to minimize the amount of clicking your users have to go through.
Although some of the features aren’t provided through the free version, we’re going to go over the whole set of features so you know what’s possible when the theme is at full optimization. The header supports beautiful, high resolution images, and it has a spot for buttons and overlaying text, both of which work well for call to actions. Social media buttons work well for boosting your follower counts, and the included icons have the power to put more visuals on the columns that talk about your services. Place testimonials on some of the rows of your homepage, and share information about your team members. The team member module provides pictures of the people who work for you, along with job titles and links to their own personal social media accounts. The latest articles widget brings up the latest blog posts you’ve published on your blog, and the contact form can be placed at the bottom of your site for keeping in touch with your customers. Overall, the Simpleshift WordPress theme is one of our favorites because of the various premium tools.
Cirrus
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Consider the Cirrus theme if you’re looking for a playful free solution. The softer user experience has icons and designs that are meant to show the lighter side of business. Once again, a paid version is also available, but quite a few premium features are packed into the free version. For example, you gain access to some cool social media icons. We enjoy these icons because they fit with the branding of the theme, and they are great for pushing people to places like Facebook and Twitter. The design customization is all done from the backend, so you can change around colors, fonts and various other elements that make your branding work well. Full typography customization is offered in the free version, which is rare for free themes. However, you can find a font that makes you look more professional or fun. The responsiveness of the Cirrus theme helps with people viewing on mobile devices, while the photo friendly layout is great for companies that need to upload lots of images.
Change around your logo from the WordPress dashboard, and place it to the left of the header. The header also includes a large banner image, which comes in handy for showing people what it is your company does. Your blog has the power to boost your search engine rankings, while the most recent posts come up on your homepage for people to stick around on your website for a longer period of time. This is a highly widgetized theme, meaning that you can create modules in the sidebar for things like recent comments and posts. Some of the features that you’ll receive upon upgrading include the shortcodes and custom CSS. This CSS is completely responsive, which we like for those who have more advanced development skills. What’s cool about this theme is that the true premium version isn’t all that expensive, so if you enjoy the free option, consider paying a little extra to gain so much more.
Juniper
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The Juniper theme has a one page design, which is ideal for keeping people on a single page and consolidating your information to one area. This comes into play for the mobile era, considering users are not always that willing to jump around from page to page when searching for details about your company. The responsive design helps people out who want to check out some of your content on mobile devices, while the parallax backgrounds are typically reserved for premium themes. As with most one page layouts, you get access to different rows that can be organized to your desire. The header image is large, almost taking up the entire screen. This is where you’ll find one of the many parallax backgrounds. On top of this background sits a few buttons and text modules that you can play around with. For example, if you’d like to send people to a product page, simply insert a button with a call to action.
Show off your features or services with buttons and thumbnail images, and use the social media buttons to build your followings on places like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. The social media buttons are used as widgets, so placing them in the header, footer, or one of the content rows shouldn’t be any problem. A “Meet the Team” row is also fun for your company, since the people who work for you get the credit they deserve. It also showcases to your customers that you have people working behind the scenes, giving you a more personalized touch. This row provides images of your team members, and it features names, job titles and social media links. Another module provides support for testimonials, which come into play when trying to convince potential clients to go with your company. Along with a latest articles widget and a contact form, the Juniper WordPress theme has so many premium features you receive for the low price of zero.
Soliloquy
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The Soliloquy WordPress theme has a paid version too, but the free option is pretty darn powerful. Along with a responsive layout, you gain access to basic social media icons, which can be placed in any widgetized areas. These buttons are great for linking to LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest, and they combine well with the branding of your site. Design customization is easy on the backend, and the typography settings work wonders for those who would like to change around the font styles. Depending on whether or not you go with the paid version, you can get features for shortcodes and frontpage templates. The logo sits towards the middle of the header, and a tool on the WordPress dashboard lets you upload a new one. A blog is included with the Soliloquy theme, meaning that people who follow your site can see free content you decide to make. In addition, the search engines are going to take notice if your content is any good.
The slider area has support for high resolution photos, and you can upload several images that move around like a presentation. Some companies even like to post buttons on the sliders, considering this is the first spot that people are going to see. Play around with several icons to improve the visual nature of your site, and use the widgetized areas to implement spots for calendars, search bars and recent post lists. In terms of the overall design, the Soliloquy WordPress theme has a more playful look and feel, but it can work well for companies that are trying to be more professional. Simply change around the colors and fonts, and you’ll be well on your way to displaying a beautiful design without having to pay a dime.
Ember
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The look of a premium WordPress theme is usually modern, stylish and filled with flat elements. You’ll also notice more digital-focused items like one page layouts and responsiveness. Well, there’s no reason to pay for these features, considering the Ember WordPress theme has them all packaged into one awesome solution. Starting out, the Ember theme is great for companies that are looking to save money and get their website off the ground fast. it offers responsive items that snap into place when someone views them on mobile devices. It also has some cool icons that come along for pairing up with your service listings. The “Meet the Team” row is certainly a bonus, since it helps out with sharing information about your workers, while also putting more personality into your website. We enjoy the testimonials module for giving your business more credibility, while the recent posts widget keeps people around on your site for a longer period of time.
Heck, you could even turn the blog into somewhat of a portfolio, since all you would have to do is make every blog post a portfolio item. Each of these would show up in a grid-based format on the homepage, looking just like a portfolio for users to click through and read more. A few social media icons are provided for you to boost your follower counts, and the contact form is easy to manipulate, giving you and your customers the opportunity to chat with each other on a regular basis. Simply connect the form with your email address for the messages to end up in your inbox. One of the standout features is located towards the top of the one page layout. It’s considered a parallax header, since the image moves around a little bit, and you receive a button and overlaying text to explain what your company does, and to guide users to other areas of your website. Along with a powerful one page navigational menu, fast loading and the fact that the theme is completely free, Ember stands strong compared to many premium solutions.
Venture Theme
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The Venture WordPress theme is completely free, but it comes with the option to upgrade for more features. We’ve always liked this setup since you have a chance to try out the free theme and then pay for it if you’re excited about it. This is a one page theme with some parallax effects and a solid header photo. You receive multiple social media buttons for keeping in touch with your customers on Facebook and Twitter. Not to mention, the responsive design is sure to help out those customers who are prone to looking at your blog on mobile devices. As we stated, the Venture WordPress theme includes parallax effects. This is one of the more lightweight animations you can have on a site, so it’s highly recommended if you’re trying to be creative.
The free version of the theme provides several rows for you to customize. You can’t move them around in the free version, but you gain access to rows for talking about your features, team members and testimonials. Several icons are there to liven up the outlook of your site, while the recent blog posts are presented in a professional manner. Overall, we like the Venture WordPress theme because it looks like a premium theme. You don’t have to pay a dime until you’d like to upgrade to get more features.
WP Simple
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The WP Simple WordPress theme has an appropriate name, since it’s a clean yet versatile take on the free solution. Overall, this is a quality theme with lots of potential. You don’t have to be in a certain industry to implement this one as your website. The banners standout for making announcements and conducting promotions throughout the year. The tons of frontpage layouts are sure to help out with your advertisements and the number of events you plan on holding or attending. The theme has a fully loaded options panel, and it all starts with the help of shortcodes. These little gems keep developers out of the source code, and they assist with making items like buttons and columns.
Simple looks great on mobile devices, and the rows on this homepage are useful for representing your company in a reasonable manner. One of the rows towards the top is complemented with a parallax effect and overlaying text. The header includes a great spot for sharing buttons and call to action text. The social media buttons are there for building your online presence, while the Meet the Team module works wonders for when you’d like to give credit to the people who work behind the scenes. Not to mention, this is a nice way to add some personality to your business.
Multi
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The free Multi WordPress theme has a nice design that’s built on the Cherry Framework. This means that you have more customization options, and the Cherry child themes are pretty much interchangeable when you’d like to scale up. The theme is pretty easy to manage, since it’s a one page layout with some beautiful rows for you to customize. For example, one of the rows can be dedicated just to social media buttons. Or you could place those same buttons in the footer module.
Talk about your teammates with imagery and social media links, and use the various icons to explain what it is your company does. We particularly enjoy the fact that so many portfolio elements are packaged into the theme. For example, you can show off your most recent work with thumbnail images and links. After that they have a spot for displaying the other companies you work with. Placing these logos on the homepage is only going to take you a quick second, so you might as well take advantage of it.
Opulus
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Opulus is a highly-versatile theme suitable for a variety of business niches. The theme includes several homepage layouts which allow you to present your business to the world in style, no matter how big your company is. Choose between a static image or a slider header to display a brief description of your company and you can even include a call-to-action button that sends people straight to your sales page. Showcase all your services with the help of three feature boxes and use the portfolio page template to show your past work. The theme also includes a blog page which is perfect for attracting visitors to your website and sharing quality content with your readers.
The theme is built on top of the Nimbus framework which has all the tools needed to customize your website. Change the colors, customize your fonts, and more. Several shortcodes help you add buttons, lists, drop caps, columns, and more, all without touching a single line of code. Along with that, you can include your contact information at the top so potential clients have an easy way of getting in touch with you and you can also add a Google Map in the contact section to provide directions to your physical location. The theme is also fully responsive and best of all, it’s free so check it out today.
Sparkling
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Sparkling is a beautiful theme with a flat design and a featured slider that’s sure to capture the attention of your visitors. It’s the perfect spot for promoting your latest articles. This is a great theme for bloggers since the rest of the homepage features your blog feed with bold featured images and a brief excerpt of the post that encourages readers to read the full article. You can include a welcome message or a call to action to send visitors to your sales page and you can even integrate a shop if you have products to sell.
Use the custom social media icons to grow your followers and feature a list of your recent posts, a search bar, and more. An author box is also provided which is great for blogs with multiple authors and you can even expect more page views because each individual post allows readers to scroll to the next or the previous post. The theme puts main focus on your content which pairs well with the responsive nature of the theme and the SEO optimization will help your overall SEO strategy. Use FontAwesome icons to highlight your content and take advantage of the theme options panel to customize the colors, fonts, and more. Finally, you can translate your entire website to reach an international audience.
Simple Business
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Simple Business is a sleek and feature-rich theme that would suit any business to get their site of the ground without breaking the bank. The theme has a one-page layout which allows you to condense all the information onto a single page. This also works well with responsive design. The theme includes a stunning slider with overlaying text and buttons to send people straight to other areas of the page. You can also include a brief description of your business and list all your services with icons to draw attention.
Show your visitors members of your team along with their short bio, images, and social media links and use several calls to action to encourage people to hire you. Share valuable content via blog or use it to feature your recent work, considering every blog post comes with a large featured image. Easy to use customizer makes customizing this theme a breeze. Keep in mind that even though this is a free theme, you can upgrade to the premium version to gain access to extra features like parallax backgrounds, so give it a try today and consider the premium version once your business takes off.
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