Design meets functionality: Top 10 WordPress themes 2023

WordPress, by far the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, allows millions of people to create and manage their own websites. A crucial factor for the success of a WordPress website is the design, which is created by so-called themes.

Themes serve as a basic framework and give the website its appearance, functionality and user experience. However, with a seemingly endless selection of WordPress themes, the decision can be overwhelming.

Choosing the right WordPress theme can have a significant impact on the success of your website. A good theme should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but it should also offer great usability and optimal performance.

Moreover, it should meet the requirements of your website, whether you want to create a business website, a blog, an online store or a portfolio site.

Budget-friendly or premium quality? Here's what you should know:

There are free and paid WordPress themes, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Free themes often provide a solid foundation for basic websites. However, they can sometimes have limited customization options and features.

On the other hand, paid themes usually offer a wider variety of designs and advanced features that can take your website to the next level.

However, with paid themes, you should make sure that you choose a trustworthy theme from a reputable provider to minimize potential security risks.

Multi-purpose themes are very popular. They bring countless functions and design variants for comparatively little money. The disadvantage: The code is bloated and the website becomes slow as a result.

Regardless of whether you prefer a free or paid theme, you should always make sure that the theme receives regular updates and is supported by a reliable developer. Here, it is recommended to go for established theme developers and providers.

Another important aspect when choosing a WordPress theme is the reviews and feedback from other users.

By considering the experiences of other users, you can gain valuable insight into a theme's performance and reliability.

The 10 most popular themes at a glance

From powerful drag-and-drop builders to flexible customization options, these themes offer everything you need to make your online presence shine.

Whether you're a business, a blogger, or an e-commerce company, there's a theme to suit your needs.

We've selected the ten most popular WordPress themes based on their popularity, functionality, code quality, and security standards.

Since for most websites, more than 60% of users access websites via mobile devices, it is important to check the responsiveness of the themes in advance.

A responsive theme automatically adapts to different screen sizes for optimal viewing on mobile devices, tablets and desktops.

1. Divi

Divi is a flexible and powerful theme from Elegant Themes. It offers a drag-and-drop builder feature that lets you customize your website easily. Divi also includes many pre-built layouts and modules to create stunning designs.

Price: From 82€ per year (includes access to all Elegant Themes products).

2. Avada

Avada is an extremely versatile theme with a huge selection of demo layouts and features. It features an intuitive drag-and-drop page builder, an unlimited number of design options and an extensive collection of design elements.

Price: 63€ (One-time payment)

3. Astra

Astra is a lightweight and fast theme that is well suited for blogs. It offers numerous pre-built themes and is fully customizable. Astra is also known for its SEO-friendliness and seamless integration with page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder.

Price: Free version available, Pro version from 43€ per year.

4. OceanWP

OceanWP is a flexible and responsive theme suitable for both simple blogs and complex websites. It offers a wide range of demos and allows extensive customization. OceanWP is also well suited for e-commerce websites.

Price: Free version available, Core Extensions Bundle from 25€ per year.

5. Total 

Total is a powerful and versatile WordPress theme with an extensive collection of features. Total offers an intuitive drag-and-drop page builder functionality that lets you customize your website with ease.

Total includes a wide range of pre-built demos and layouts for different industries and purposes. It is compatible with WooCommerce to seamlessly integrate your online store.

The theme also offers advanced customization options to make the look and functionality of your website exactly as you want it.

Price: From 54€ per year

6. X von Themeco

X is a versatile and powerful theme with several pre-made designs and layouts.

It features the Cornerstone page builder and offers easy website customization. X supports WooCommerce for building e-commerce websites.

Price: From 72€ (One time payment)

7. The7 von Dream-Theme 

The7 is a versatile theme with a wide range of design options. It offers over 40 pre-built website demos and is compatible with Visual Composer page builder.

The7 supports WooCommerce and offers extensive customization options.

Price: From 35€ (One-time payment)

8. Be 

Betheme is a versatile theme with more than 600 pre-built website demos and layouts. It features Muffin Builder, which allows you to customize your website easily and quickly.

Betheme supports WooCommerce and offers numerous customization options for your online business.

Price: 55€ (One-time payment)

9. Neve von Themeisle 

Neve is a sleek and fast theme with a user-friendly customization interface.

It is compatible with popular page builders and offers seamless integration with WooCommerce. Neve is SEO optimized and offers a wide range of design options.

Price: Free base theme available, advanced features from 54€ per year.

10. Enfold

Enfold is a flexible and user-friendly theme with a wide range of design options.

It offers pre-built demos and Avia Layout Builder. Enfold supports WooCommerce and allows you to easily customize and manage your website.

Price: 54€ (One-time payment)

So how do you choose the best theme for you?

All themes in this top 10 list have one thing in common: they have achieved high popularity in recent years and thus built a strong user base. Good ratings included.

This is a solid starting point and makes it very likely that these themes will continue to be professionally developed in the future. This ensures that your theme will still work and be compatible with most plugins years from now.

Other factors for choosing the perfect theme:

• Design
• Functions
• Loading times
• Customizability
• Cost

You can consider and evaluate your individual requirements and preferences based on these factors. This will help you choose the perfect WordPress theme.

Keep in mind that theme prices and features can change, so it is advisable to visit the official theme provider websites.

Before buying a theme, we recommend that you always check how up-to-date the latest version is, read reviews carefully and evaluate features and customization options carefully.

Many themes offer additional demo pages and even money-back guarantees of 30 days, for example. This gives you the opportunity to put your desired theme through its paces before you buy it.

With this, it will definitely work out with your new WordPress website. If you still need help for the first steps with WordPress, then you can find here a compact WordPress tutorial for beginners.