There is no shortage of WordPress themes that cover every niche imaginable. While it can be argued that you can use almost any theme for your writer’s website, there are some themes out there that are better suited for anyone who wants to showcase their writing skills.
Whether you’re a writer trying to break out into the world of freelancing, an established author looking to create a platform to promote and sell your ebooks, or a pro blogger ready to take your website to the next level and grow your audience; your website should have a professional design with features focused on highlighting the written word.
What to Look For in Writing Themes?
When you set out to find the best theme for your online writing platform consider the following features:
Clean and Optimized Typography - A theme with strong features on typography will ensure your content is always legible no matter which device your visitors are using.
Responsive and Minimal Design - Consider foregoing flashy design elements in favor of a minimalistic design to allow your content to shine.
Portfolio/Gallery Support - If you’re looking to attract new clients, a portfolio or gallery support is a must to present your content in a visually appealing way.
WooCommerce Support - WooCommerce will allow you to create a beautiful shop where you can sell your ebooks. If that is one of your goals, make sure your chosen theme includes support for WooCommerce.
In today’s post, we’re bringing you a curated selection of the best WordPress writer themes for authors, journalists, and pro bloggers, which are available on ThemeForest:
With a great WP writer theme you can make your online presence stand out, so your home base online is easy to find, navigate, and promote your writing. It can help you land more gigs if you're a blogger, showcase your best writing as a journalist, or sell your books and promote your profile as an author.
Best WordPress Themes for Writers, Authors, and Bloggers
Here are over fifteen WordPress themes, designed especially for promoting your professional writing:
1. WordPress for Writers - Author Theme
WordPress for Writers may look simple on the outside, but the theme is packed with all the necessary features to make your content stand out.
The theme is fully responsive and has a clean, minimal design with elegant typography. It includes advanced layout options, stunning featured images, citation support, article series, and author images.
Your visitors can easily browse your content with the previous and next buttons below each post and they can just as easily share your content with a simple tweet. On top of that, the theme includes shortcodes and can be customized to fit your brand with the Live Customizer.
2. WP Blog for Writers and Journalists - With Bookstore
This author WordPress theme has a modern and functional design and it includes demo data which can easily be installed with one click to cut down on setup time. You can choose between three different homepage layouts which can also be edited with the help of Visual Composer.
The best part about the theme is the integration with WooCommerce which makes this theme a great choice for anyone who wants to sell their ebooks through their website. On top of that, Revolution Slider allows you to create beautiful slideshows to highlight your most popular articles.
3. The Writer - WordPress Author Blog Theme
If you want to stand out from the competition, look no further than The Writer theme. The theme features images for articles resembling book covers, which is a surefire way to get the attention of your visitors.
Another interesting feature is the support for long-form articles which are presented in a visually clean format—with all the distractions removed so your visitors can focus on your content.
Additional features include support for Google+ Authorship, social profiles, and SEO optimized code. It also has a powerful theme options panel along with Visual Composer which allow you to customize the theme to best match your brand.
4. The Novelist - Unique WordPress Writer's Theme
Another theme on the list with a creative design is The Novelist. This WordPress theme for authors includes a full-width background image which can be set to a different image for each of your pages. The design resembles an open book and it even includes thumbnail images which can be added through the built-in WordPress system.
The theme is responsive and includes AJAX pagination so your pages load almost instantly. The theme includes unlimited link color options and you can easily upload your logo through the backend.
5. Forte - Stylish WordPress Theme for Writers
Forte is a modern and beautiful theme featuring bold imagery that’s sure to bring attention to your articles. You can even create a membership site and offer some of your content as a part of paid membership with this WP theme.
The theme is responsive and includes a beautiful hero area, as well as support for video backgrounds. On top of that, Forte supports various post formats which allow you to include video posts, your podcasts, quotes, and more.
6. Typist - WordPress Theme for Serious Writers
Typist is a simple and minimal writer theme, perfect for those who want to setup their website as quickly as possible to get their content out. The theme includes minimal styling and customization options, just the right amount to incorporate your author brand without losing hours of your time. You can easily add a featured image to each article and incorporate videos or audio posts.
7. Foret - Creative WP Theme for Writers, Artists and Bloggers
Foret is a beautiful and stylish theme that’s geared for creatives, writers, and authors included. The theme has plenty of customization options that allow you to create a truly unique online author presence.
You can also change every aspect of your website’s layout thanks to the advanced layout creator and a powerful theme options panel that lets you style your colors, fonts, backgrounds, and much more.
The theme also has a beautiful portfolio template and support for WooCommerce so you can easily sell your ebooks and showcase your professional writing clips.
8. Writer - Professional WordPress Blog Theme
Writer is a responsive theme that features a bold and modern design with support for slideshows for each individual post. The accent colors can easily be customized on the backend.
This author WordPress theme has a strong focus on typography to ensure your content attracts the attention it deserves. It is fully responsive and retina-ready, includes FontAwesome support and localization files, which allow you to easily translate your website.
9. Movement - Personal Blog WordPress Theme
If you fancy a grid-based layout, look no further than the Movement theme. It’s a great way to present your clips in an organized fashion along with the ability to highlight certain posts to make them stand out.
This WordPress theme for authors is built on top of the Redux Framework that has plenty of design options and you can further customize the theme thanks to the inclusion of Visual Composer plugin.
On top of that, the theme has a responsive design, translation-ready files, and Slider Revolution to create stunning slideshows of your best content. You can make your writing stand out and look beautiful online!
10. Penoolis - Responsive Personal Blog Writer Theme
Penoolis is a great minimal WordPress theme that puts the main focus on your content. It’s a great choice for anyone looking to showcase their writing in a simple and straightforward fashion. The theme is fully responsive and includes a theme options panel, which allows you to customize the colors, fonts, and more.
A portfolio page is included so you can show examples of your writing on other websites or you can use it to promote your ebooks and books. Other features include post formats, Google Analytics integration, social media sharing, and more.
11. Titan - Elegant WordPress Blog Theme for Writers
Titan is an elegant theme with gorgeous typography and beautiful featured images which allow you to grab the attention of your visitors and pull them in to read your content. The theme is perfect for showcasing long form stories and has support for different multiple layouts.
Several custom widgets are included, such as an Instagram widget and a MailChimp subscribe widget, which you can use to grow your social media presence and your email list. The theme also includes various shortcodes to add accordions, content boxes, tabs, progress bars, and more.
12. Nord - Minimal WP Blog Theme With Great Readability
Consider the Nord theme if you’re on the lookout for a simple WordPress theme with a high focus on readability. The minimal design allows you to present your writing in the best possible way, along with bold featured images and a clean layout.
It has several page templates as well as support for various post formats. You can easily customize the fonts, colors, backgrounds, and more. Nord is fully responsive and cross-browser compatible. The clean design allows your writing to stand out on its own merit—distraction free.
13. The Thinker - Simple Blogging WordPress Writer Theme
The Thinker is another elegant author WordPress theme with just enough features to create a powerful writer website without making your audience feel overwhelmed. This theme also supports WooCommerce which is perfect if you want to sell your authored work directly from your website.
Page templates such as Projects and Showcase allow you to easily feature articles published on other websites, to highlight your best writing or freelance work. The Thinker includes support for the Jetpack plugin which allows you to add sharing options to your website to promote your content far and wide.
14. SmartBlog - Clean WordPress Theme for Blog Writers
Consider the SmartBlog theme if you want a variety of homepage layouts and plenty of customization options. The theme also includes various page templates, post galleries to feature your work, advanced typography controls, and several archive layouts to easily organize your content. Sharing counters are also included which encourage your visitors to share your content on social media networks.
15. ArtMag - Simple WordPress Blog Writer Magazine Theme
ArtMag includes five different pre-built page layouts and six different content blocks, which when paired with Visual Composer, give you complete control over your website’s layout and allow you to present your content in a unique and elegant way.
This WordPress theme for writers and bloggers also includes mega-menu to include as much content as possible into your menus without overwhelming your users. The theme is also responsive and retina-ready. Use it to make a remarkable website that features your blog writing beautifully!
16. Semantic - Responsive WordPress Blog Theme for Writers
Semantic is a clean and responsive theme with several different homepage layouts and beautiful galleries to showcase your writing.
You can also use various shortcodes to add buttons, sliders, testimonials, and more. On top of that, the theme is fully responsive and includes a powerful theme options panel which allows you to easily modify colors, fonts, backgrounds and customize other aspects of your website.
The most notable feature is the post-emphasis which allows you to feature some of your best content directly on the homepage. This is a great WordPress theme for writers and serious content creators.
How to Promote Your Writer’s Website
Setting up your website with a gorgeous theme is only the beginning. If you want your work to get noticed, you’ll have to put in some work to grow your blog and promote your work. Here are four tips to get you started in the right direction.
1. Build Up Your Social Media Profiles
Increase the visibility of your brand by creating social media profiles and make sure to fill them out completely as well as provide a link back to your website. Share your content regularly but also share content that is related to your niche that your audience will find valuable.
For best results, take advantage of a theme such as SmartBlog to include social sharing buttons and social media icons on your website. Notice the persistent social media buttons showcased in the theme's menu (shown highlighted below):
2. Join Industry Related Facebook, LinkedIn Groups, and Writing Communities
Participate in industry related groups and take advantage of LinkedIn’s publishing platform to drive traffic to your website. The same applies to Facebook groups where you can offer valuable advice, share opinions, and position yourself as an expert.
Offline writing communities are also another place to build connections and cross-promote your work and website with others. They give you access to new audiences and help grow traffic to your site.
3. Use the Power of Guest Posting
Guest posting is one of the best ways to increase your visibility and draw new audiences to your website. In most cases, you will get a chance to include your author bio which should link to your website where interested readers can check out more of your work. You can link to your portfolio page such as that included in The Thinker or the Penoolis themes.
4. Use Calls to Action
Use a theme such as Semantic or Titan to include calls to action throughout your website to drive traffic to other pages on your site, such as your online store or your portfolio. Learn more about creating effective calls to action in this quick Tuts+ course.
5. Collaborate With Others
Instead of seeing other writers as your competition, consider teaming up with them and creating a joint webinar or a workshop to share valuable knowledge and increase your audience as well as your website traffic.
Create Your Writing Website
Creating a website to promote your writing is necessary if you want to land new clients or increase the sales of your books and ebooks alike. With a carefully selected WordPress theme and a little bit of clever promotion, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful writing career.