Stunning WordPress Themes That Won’t Break the Bank
Pretty affordable WordPress themes are very easy to find these days. Whether you are running a local community blog or small website (or add-on blog to your independent shop or non-profit), there is no longer the need to spend a fortune on custom-made websites (which can cost thousands of pounds).
Nor have to pay other people to amend pages, if information changes.
Why choose a good ready-made theme?
A good theme on self-hosted WordPress will set you back anything from £10 (for a basic theme) to around £200 (our theme runs costs this much, but it’s full of bells and whistles, and highly customised without having to pay anyone extra, as Kadence is so flexible if you have a few basic design skills.
You can tweak any of the following themes (changing fonts and colours). But do be aware that the reason the themes look good is because they were designed by professionals. Often people with ‘no eye’ end up customising too much, and the themes get ruined. Just stick to the theme itself, if you’re not artistic!
If you’re new to buying a ready-made theme on WordPress, know that they are various parent themes. These form a framework (all free to download), then you just buy a child theme to add on the design element.In summary:
- Kadence is the new star-of-the-show. It’s SEO-friendly, very fast and easy to customise. We’ve noticed it even ‘corrects broken links’ automatically (say you change a post, it recognises and correctly guesses the new URL – how knows how, but it does!) So this is ideal for text-heavy or large sites, where links may change frequently.
- Genesis is still good for SEO and offers clean code. Some people are moving over to Kadence as it’s less ‘bulky’ to use, but there’s nothing wrong with it, though not so many child themes are offered these days.
- Elementor is great for design (you’ll find some of the most beautiful child themes). But it’s not so easy to use and customise, and some people say it’s a bit bulky and slow to load. Use this for smaller sites, where you are not too worried about constant add-ons or design changes.
Restored 316 (high-end Kadence themes)
Restored 316 (named after a verse from the Bible) offers beautiful themes on Kadence. They are more expensive than the norm, but that’s because they have all kinds of add-ons if you’re ambitious with your site. There are also a few more affordable starter themes, if you prefer to keep things simple.
17th Avenue Designs (affordable starter Kadence themes)
17th Avenue offers premium themes too, but also has recently upgraded its affordble starter themes over to Kadence, so you get all of the benefits without the higher price tag.
Hello You Designs (pretty Kadence themes)
Hello You Designs offers nice Kadence themes, the most recent themes (Aster and Meadow) are super-pretty with floral callout block boxes.
Design Pixie (pretty affordable Kadence themes)
The Design Pixie offers affordable Kadence themes, three are pretty and minimalist, and one (a bit more expensive) is fun and colourful. Even the premium versions are affordable (under £100).
The basic themes (below) are around £25, and even include the designer amending the header text to match your own wording. Just click ‘WordPress themes’ in the left-hand menu to find them!
Studio Mommy also offers very affordable Kadence themes (the basic ones are only around £10).
Code + Coconut (pretty Genesis themes)
Code + Coconut themes (also on Etsy) are easy to use and customise, without extra code or bulky features. Most let you add an online shop, using a free plugin. If you wish to make the default underline thicker, use this code in your CSS box (change number to match colour hex code):
- .entry-content a, .entry-summary a, .nav-links a {
border-bottom: 3px solid #f6cdb6;}
Sky and Stars (themes for lifestyle bloggers)
Sky and Stars also offers affordable Genesis (and Kadence) themes. These are super-affordable, and keep things simple, while still producing beautiful lifestyle feminine websites.
The Little Theme Shop (colourful themes)
The Little Theme Shop offers options if you prefer a pop of colour! These fun themes have lots of features, but are easy to use.
Bluchic (feminine Elementor Themes)
Bluchic themes are used by tens of thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide. Super-easy to use in muted to colourful designs.
Pix & Hue extra-pretty Elementor Themes
Pix & Hue also offers stunning Elementor WordPress themes. These are a bit more expensive (around £100) so ideal for photography blogs.
