Fortunately, there are many free portfolio WordPress themes available that offer customizable templates, elegant typography, and beautiful galleries, all designed to showcase your work in the best possible light. These themes also offer features like mobile responsiveness and search engine optimization, ensuring your website looks great and is easy to find on any device.

In this roundup, we’ve compiled the best free portfolio WordPress themes for creatives. Whether you’re looking for a minimalistic design or a bold and colorful aesthetic, there’s a theme out there that can suit your needs. These themes are perfect for showcasing your unique style and vision. Check out our selection and start building your professional portfolio website today!

You might also like our collections of personal portfolio PSD templates, or these personal portfolio HTML templates.

Hitchcock Portfolio Theme for Creatives

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Hitchcock theme has a unique design with a full-screen featured image. The theme is fully responsive and retina-ready and includes infinite scroll as well as support for the new post editor, Gutenberg.

FolioPress Minimal Multi-Purpose Portfolio Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

FolioPress is a minimal and flexible portfolio theme that displays your creative work in a grid layout on the homepage. You will also find plenty of customization options, custom social profiles, and it is fully responsive.

Remake Minimalist Portfolio WordPress Theme

Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Remake theme is suitable for both personal and agency portfolios, and it has multiple layout options and a filterable portfolio. On top of that, it comes with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop page builder.

Miyazaki Stylish Theme for Portfolios

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Consider the Miyazaki theme if you’re looking for an elegant and stylish portfolio theme. It uses contrast-heavy design, bold typography, and masonry layout to ensure your creative works draws the attention they deserve.

Optics Clean WordPress Portfolio Theme

Free to Download | WordPress Hosting

The Optics is a clean theme suitable for anyone looking for a minimal portfolio. The theme is easy to customize and is also translation and accessibility-ready. A standout feature is the integration with WooCommerce, so you can quickly sell your work.

Portfolio Web Multipurpose Portfolio Biography Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Portfolio Web is a simple, modern, and responsive WordPress theme built with designers and creatives in mind. It comes with a built-in Live customizer and a huge range of widgets that make this theme easy to use.

Perfect Portfolio Clean & Elegant Portfolio

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Perfect Portfolio theme focuses on typography paired with stunning featured images. The theme has a wide range of customizable features, including sections on the front page, cross-browser compatibility, mobile-friendly design, and responsive features.

StanleyWP Bootstrap Portfolio WordPress Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

StanleyWP is based on the Bootstrap framework, which means it’s responsive out of the box. It’s also minimal and easy to customize and features several different page templates that will make it easy to get your site up and running as fast as possible.

Sketch Responsive Portfolio Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Sketch is a responsive portfolio theme, perfect for showcasing your creative talent. The theme features a clean, lightweight design that puts focus on your projects. It’s also easy to customize and supports a custom social links menu.

Illustratr Minimalist Portfolio Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Illustratr theme features elegant typography and displays your creative works in an elegant grid fashion. It makes use of the WordPress portfolio feature, and it also includes support for a custom social links menu.

Birru Simple Portfolio WordPress Theme

Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Birru theme is fully responsive and has a modern and highly customizable design. You will also find a powerful theme options panel and comes with over fifteen ready-to-use pages and templates.

MalcomY Freelance Designer Personal Portfolio

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The MalcolmY theme is easy to customize because it uses a drag-and-drop page builder and has an extensive theme options panel, so you can make this theme your own without any coding knowledge. The theme has multiple portfolio layout possibilities and is fully responsive.

Espied Portfolio Theme for Creatives

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Espied theme has a minimal design which puts your creative projects in the spotlight. With support for Gutenberg and classic layout, custom social links menu, and a responsive design, this theme is easy to use and makes it easy to share your creativity with the world.

Gridby Parallax Grid WordPress Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Try the Gridby theme if you love parallax design. In addition to beautiful parallax animation, this theme uses a grid layout and is easy to customize thanks to the extensive theme options panel.

Pure Minimalist WordPress Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Pure theme has a dedicated portfolio option and a well-designed blog section so you can easily share plenty of details about your creative process. The theme is easy to customize with a drag-and-drop page builder.

Krea WordPress Portfolio Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Krea theme uses bold typography paired with a well-organized grid layout to make your creative works stand out. It comes with detailed documentation and is translation-ready.

Hamilton Clean Portfolio Theme for Creatives

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

The Hamilton theme is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a simple and clean theme. It has a built-in dark and light mode, infinite scroll, and Gutenberg and classic editor support.

Conclusion

Getting your portfolio site up and running is not difficult when you have tools like WordPress at your disposal. However, you will still need a portfolio theme, so use our roundup as a starting point to find the best WordPress theme for your site.

The post 15+ Best Free Personal Portfolio WordPress Themes for Creatives in 2025 appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But before we get too far into the weeds, it’s worth noting that block themes are fundamentally different than the classic WordPress themes you’re used to. They’re specifically built to work with FSE and the Gutenberg block editor. Think of them as an entirely separate category of theme.

Now that we have those details out of the way, it’s time to start looking at themes! Block themes are a growing segment, and therefore, it will take time for their numbers to approach the massive quantity of classic themes on the market.

Still, there are plenty of compelling options. And the fact that these themes are fairly simple to customize means that you have a lot of flexibility. If a particular design element doesn’t fit your needs, you can always start from scratch.

To help get you started on your journey, here are ten free WordPress block themes that are worthy of your consideration.

Tove Multi-Purpose Block Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Among the earliest block themes on the market, Tove provides plenty of design possibilities. Take advantage of multiple header and footer layouts, or create your own. 40+ block patterns cater to restaurants and cafés but can be repurposed for other business types. Built for speed, the theme weighs in at just a shade over 200 KB in size.

Skatepark Modern Event Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

If bright colors are your thing, Skatepark could be the right block theme for you. The theme sports minimal aesthetic, bold fonts, and utilizes the duotone image effects found in the block editor. It’s a good fit for small brochure-style sites or one-page virtual event flyers.

Stewart Minimal Blogging Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Stewart will help to bring your blog into the FSE era. It shifts the focus towards content, with the site’s navigation stored within a left sidebar. Photography has room to shine with this no-frills layout.

Twenty Twenty-Two

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

If you’re looking to experiment with a block theme, Twenty Twenty-Two offers a great starting point. The 2022 default theme was released alongside WordPress 5.9 and takes full advantage of FSE. It also includes dozens of unique block patterns to make quick work of custom layouts.

Frost Minimal Multi-Purpose Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Frost has quickly become one of the more complete block theme packages available. With dozens of included block patterns, it can power virtually any type of website. Simple and clean, the theme is practically begging for your personal touch.

X3P0 – Reflections Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Not every website needs to be complicated. When all you’re looking for is a one-page profile, X3P0 – Reflections makes it a breeze. Enter your information, customize the look, and be on your way. Sometimes simple is better!

Bricksy Modern Block-Based Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Want to build a highly-detailed visual experience? Bricksy includes those little touches that can make all the difference in your designs. WooCommerce support means that you can add some elegance to your shop as well.

Blockbase Simple Block Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Automattic’s Blockbase is a universal theme, which means it can work with both FSE and the legacy Customizer. Either way, it’s an intentionally barebones entry. The theme provides the basic foundation for your site without any opinionated design. This allows for a smoother customization experience.

Alara Vintage Block Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Alara utilizes strong typography and a vintage color scheme. You’ll also find a wide variety of block patterns, including headers, calls to action, cover images, and even full-page layouts. What’s more, several free child themes are available in the WordPress theme directory.

Elyn Clean & Modern Block Theme

Free to Download | Demo | WordPress Hosting

Get your project off to a clean start with Elyn. This free WordPress block theme makes great use of photography, along with big, beautiful type. There’s overall professionalism here that could serve a variety of small-to-medium sized organizations on a budget quite well.

A New Way to Build Custom WordPress Websites

Customizing a WordPress theme has traditionally been a mixed bag. Themes could be tweaked via code, a bespoke settings panel, or the official Customizer. Because of the multitude of options, it was hard to know how to access various elements. It tended to change from theme to theme.

Love it or not, block themes and Full Site Editing bring a universal interface to the process. In theory, this should make customizing your site’s colors, header, or blog post layout a more straightforward experience. The result is that themes have a better shot at reaching their potential as multipurpose tools.

The examples above offer a promising start. Whether you’re looking to build from the ground up or improve an established look, there is a block theme to match.

The post 10 Free WordPress Block Themes That Utilize Full Site Editing appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But with that flexibility also is the reality that it’s easy to do things the “wrong” way. Now, in this case, “wrong” means that something is either inefficient or a bit of a pain to maintain down the road. While it may work in the sense of being functional, there are usually better ways to get things done.

Let’s have a look at five of the more common mistakes found in theme development, along with alternatives that will save you future headaches.

1. Using Absolute URLs in Templates

If you’ve ever looked at the HTML code a WordPress page or post produces, you’ll notice that both images and internal links use absolute (full) URLs. But this isn’t the best way to get things done when adding code to your theme templates.

As an example, let’s say you are developing a website that is using a temporary URL. A hardcoded absolute URL in a template means that you’ll have to manually make code changes when you are ready to launch the site on its permanent domain. While this can be done, it’s too easy to forget all of the spots where this type of code could be lurking.

WordPress has built-in ways to determine the correct URL – pulled right from the Settings > General area of the Dashboard.

For a link, echoing esc_url( home_url() ) will provide a full path to the home page. So, instead of explicitly placing the URL in your code, you could add a simple link back to your home page like so:

<a href="<?php echo esc_url( home_url() ); ?>" />Home</a>

What’s more, you can also use this to point to secondary pages. For example, if we wanted to link to our site’s About Us page, we could use the following code:

<a href="<?php echo esc_url( home_url() ); ?>/about-us/" />About Us</a>

A similar snippet also works for images. This example pulls an image from our active theme’s /images/ subfolder:

<img src="<?php echo esc_url( get_stylesheet_directory_uri() ) ; ?>/images/hello.png" />

2. Adding Scripts and Styles Directly to a Template

Using third-party scripts and styles with WordPress is a world of its own. When you first start out in building themes, you may be tempted to simply place <script> or <style> tags, or even a Google Font embed code directly into your theme’s header. This is generally how things are done with static HTML sites, so it makes sense to do the same here.

But, like just about everything else in WordPress, there is a better way to go about it. Instead, take advantage of wp_enqueue_script() and wp_enqueue_style() – which add scripts and stylesheets to the correct spots for you. It also makes managing assets that much easier, as everything is called from your theme’s functions.php file.

Rather than reinvent the wheel here, the WordPress Theme Handbook has a fantastic guide on how properly add scripts and styles to your theme.

3. Calling Outside Instances of jQuery

In a related note, one of the hidden secrets of WordPress is that it already includes a copy of jQuery, along with several popular UI features. So, you don’t need to install jQuery or call it remotely. This makes it easy to take advantage of the popular JavaScript library and implement elements such as tabs, datepickers, dialogs and a whole lot more.

The only catch is that you have to specifically enable the items you want to use through your theme’s functions.php file. While that creates a bit of a learning curve, it also cuts down on bloat.

And, truth be told, it’s not overly difficult to implement a desired jQuery UI element. For example, to enable the use of jQuery UI Tabs, just add the following snippet to your functions.php:

function my_jquery_elements() {
   wp_enqueue_script( 'jquery-ui-tabs', array('jquery'));
add_action( 'template_redirect', my_jquery_elements ', 10 );

This tells WordPress to load in the element from its already-existing library. From there, design your tabs and define them as specified in the jQuery UI documentation.

4. Taking Customization Too Far

The ability to add custom fields and custom post types can make life for both developers and site content editors much easier. They offer convenience, better content organization and a more intuitive UX. But sometimes we take it too far.

I’m a huge fan of custom fields, for example. But even I admit that there have been times when I’ve customized a theme to the point of inflexibility. Fields are great for setups where we know exactly what content will need to be input – like the fields of a staff member profile.

However, it can get messy when there are inconsistencies in the types of content someone wants to add. Clients are notorious for having “minor” exceptions in content that can make using customizations more difficult. Conditional logic can account for some of this, but you can only take it so far before the UI gets out of hand.

There are no hard and fast rules for this type of customization. The only thing we can really do is use our best judgment about what should be customized and what can be better left to either the WordPress content editor or even a niche plugin. When we do add fields or post types, just know that things could change down the road and try to build with that in mind.

5. Failing to Comment Code

I’m going to make another admission here: Commenting code is not one of my strong points. It’s not that I don’t use comments at all, but it’s more that they aren’t very articulate. Usually, I’ll point out the start and end of particular items with not a ton of insight in-between. Should I be doing more? Probably so.

Commenting is important because it at least provides some reference points within the code. When digging through PHP or JS files that contain more than one thing, you’ll want to know where to find a particular item.

Even if you’re the only one who will ever edit that code, comments are highly recommended. If, for instance, you need to change something six months from now, it’s unlikely that you’re going to remember the exact spot you placed a snippet of code.

So, I’m not going to be a huge hypocrite and implore you to comment everything with great depth. But I will say that even a minimal effort here makes future maintenance easier for you or another developer that has to comb through your work.

Better Techniques Over Time

Building your own WordPress theme can be a great experience. But it does take a good bit of practice to pick up on the finer details of creating a well-coded theme and easy to maintain. The more experience you gain, the more your techniques will evolve.

I can honestly say that the first few themes I put together were nowhere near as efficient as they are now. And I’m also certain that they still might not be up-to-snuff when viewed by a truly expert developer. In that sense, our evolution is a constant one.

Finally, I’d like to note that I have personally made every one of the mistakes mentioned above. It’s only through trial and error, along with several visits to the Codex, that I found out how to start doing things the “WordPress Way.”

The lesson is that we’re all going to make mistakes. But each one provides us with a chance to learn and improve.

The post How to Avoid Common WordPress Theme Development Mistakes appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

The tool has empowered content creators and designers. You no longer need additional plugins to build a functional page layout. WordPress core includes just about all the basics. Need something more? There are plenty of ways to extend the editor, too.

None of this makes the Block Editor foolproof, however. It’s still easy to paint yourself into a virtual corner. A simple mistake can mean more difficult maintenance – particularly when clients are involved.

I’ve built quite a few sites with blocks. And not every decision was a good one. Yes, I’ve created a few messes. Cleaning them up can be time-consuming.

Today, I’m going to share a few things I’ve learned. May these lessons help you avoid a similar fate!

Do: Think about Future Maintenance Needs

Page layouts don’t last forever. They must adjust as our content needs evolve. The Block Editor can act as a trap in these situations.

Consider a company’s staff listing, for example. Let’s say our client wants to display each person’s name, title, and photo.

It sounds simple. We can use the Columns block to create a beautiful and responsive layout. The page looks perfect. But what happens when we need to make changes?

Staff members come and go. Yes, we could replace the departed staffers with the new ones. Then again, our client wants them to display in alphabetical order. The required changes don’t follow suit. What do we do now?

The options are less than ideal. We could edit the block’s code to rearrange each column. Or we could reconstruct the layout from scratch. Both possibilities are rife with peril. OK, perhaps I’m being a bit dramatic. But it’s not fun.

A custom block may be a better solution. Using Advanced Custom Fields PRO, you could create an interface that allows for easier maintenance. Adding, deleting, and rearranging the list would be built into the block. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when making changes.

The lesson is to think about the future maintenance needs of your layout. Then, implement a strategy that will allow for changes. You’ll be glad when the time comes.

Don’t: Allow Users to Switch between the Block and Classic Editors

The WordPress Classic Editor is still alive and well. Millions of websites are using it. That’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with using a tool you’re comfortable with.

However, mixing the Block and Classic editors can be messy. The Classic Editor plugin has a setting that allows users to switch between editors. You might want to leave this feature turned off.

Let’s say you’ve built a complex layout using the Block Editor. But your client doesn’t like blocks. Or they aren’t familiar with them. They decided to edit this page using the Classic Editor. Hilarity (or tragedy) ensues.

Then, you edit the page and switch back to the Block Editor. You see numerous errors stating that blocks contain invalid content. The “Attempt Block Recovery” feature doesn’t work. It looks like you have a mess on your hands.

Too much can go wrong in this scenario. Thus, don’t allow users to switch between editors. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

Do: Choose Third-Party Block Plugins Carefully

There are a multitude of plugins for extending the Block Editor. Many of them offer a suite of custom blocks.

That’s a good thing. The core blocks included with WordPress aren’t always flexible. Thus, installing a custom block may be of help. But it’s worth scrutinizing them first.

Custom blocks are plugins, after all. They can vary in terms of features and quality. The same rules apply when choosing the right one.

Only install what you need. Study each plugin’s reviews and changelog. And remove any block plugins you aren’t using.

What’s the danger? The wrong plugin could cause bugs or performance issues. Plus, security is always a concern.

Third-party blocks require a commitment. Be sure that you’re ready to take that step.

Don’t: Edit Blocks as HTML

The Classic Editor made it easy to switch between visual and code editing. You might use this feature to add HTML or a CSS class. There were some hiccups, but it worked well enough.

The Block Editor has a similar feature. Blocks have an “Edit as HTML” interface. You can access it via each block’s options menu.

I never understood the purpose of this feature. That’s likely because I always end up breaking something. Adding a CSS class, for instance, triggers an error when switching to the Visual editor.

A "This block contains unexpected or invalid content" error is displayed. From there, I have to go back in and remove the class. The same issue happens when adding other types of content as well.

Therefore, it may be wise to consider editing block HTML as off-limits. There’s more risk than reward.

Plus, you can use the Custom HTML block for similar tasks. Add HTML, CSS, or even JavaScript into the field. You won’t break it!

By the way, you can add CSS classes to blocks via the Advanced tab in the settings panel.

Do: Use the Block Editor’s List View Feature

WordPress allows us to nest blocks inside each other. And blocks are portable. You can drag them anywhere on the screen. That can result in some undesired effects.

For instance, moving blocks to a new spot can be difficult. It’s easy to make a mistake. The wrong move could undo a lot of hard work.

The List View feature can save you a lot of headaches. It provides a visual outline of each block on your page. It even works with nested blocks.

Even better, you can easily reposition blocks directly within List View. Click on a block and drag it to the desired position. Need to move multiple blocks? That’s also possible.

The user experience is infinitely better than wrestling with the editor. You’ll have a better sense of where you are on the page. And it will likely make for easier edits.

Do: Keep Experimenting with the Block Editor

The Block Editor isn’t perfect. Like all editors, it has some quirks and annoyances. But it’s still worth testing the limits.

That’s often the best way to learn. So, create a local website and experiment. See what works and what doesn’t. But don’t limit yourself to a single test.

The user experience is evolving. Thus, a technique that didn’t work last time may now be possible. You might even install the Gutenberg plugin to get a taste of what’s coming in future releases.

Doing so will serve you well. You’ll be able to build layouts that stand the test of time. And you might be surprised at what you can accomplish using blocks.

The post A Guide to Effective Use of the WordPress Block Editor appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Like many other specialty tools, the LMS was at one time standalone, clunky and expensive. However, there have been several options released in recent years that fit all manner of needs and budgets. One of the brightest and busiest areas of LMS development have come in the form of WordPress plugins.

Today, we’ll introduce you to various plugins that will take your standard WordPress install and transform it into an educational powerhouse. They offer features such as course building, eCommerce, and testing – along with a number of other helpful tools. Some are free, some are commercial, but all can bring online learning to your website.

LearnDash LMS WordPress Plugin

One of the best-known LMS plugins, LearnDash, offers a high level of control over just about every aspect of your online courses. It includes a course builder that lets you easily create hierarchical lessons (each with its own set of topics) as well as flexible online testing. There’s also some eCommerce functionality built-in, although the plugin is additionally compatible with WooCommerce. In addition, this commercial plugin offers a number of integrations with plugins ranging from membership (Paid Memberships Pro, MemberPress) to bbPress forums.

LearnPress WordPress Plugin

LearnPress is a free plugin (with multiple Pro upgrade options) that can be used to build and sell online courses. Out of the box, it works with WooCommerce and BuddyPress to help you sell online and communicate with students. There are also several free add-ons that offer functions such as prerequisites, offline payments, and import/export. Pro add-ons enable assignments, the awarding of certificates, and support for many additional payment gateways.

LifterLMS for WordPress

A free option with a number of commercially-available add-ons, LifterLMS offers the ability to build multimedia-rich courses. Courses can be single or multi-instructor, have prerequisites and quizzes. Students get their own dashboard to track progress and access account information. They can also be awarded badges based on their achievements. Site owners, meanwhile, have the option to sell courses or make them available for free.

Edwiser Bridge WordPress Moodle LMS Integration

First thing’s first, Moodle is a free, open-source LMS platform. While it features its own set of powerful plugins, there may be times when you want to integrate your courses into WordPress as well. That’s where Edwiser Bridge – WordPress Moodle LMS Integration comes in. The free plugin adds the ability to sell your Moodle courses via PayPal (WooCommerce support is available through one of a number of commercial add-ons). Other features include syncing between WordPress and Moodle, cross-site registration, plus lots of hooks and filters for custom development.

MasterStudy LMS for WordPress

MasterStudy LMS is a free plugin that lets you build and sell flexible online courses. For instance, your courses can contain a wealth of multimedia, including images, videos, graphs, and slides. Sell online through PayPal or Stripe and build community with the included messaging system. Students can earn certificates for completing a course and even rate courses they’ve taken. The plugin works with any theme, but use it with the commercially-available MasterStudy theme and get even more custom functionality.

Namaste! LMS WordPress Plugin

A free WordPress plugin with a Pro option, Namaste! LMS offers a solid variety of features. Create various rules for your courses, assign user roles to students and use the included grading system to track student progress. Students can also earn course certificates. Note that the plugin itself doesn’t offer testing or eCommerce functionality, but is compatible with Watu for testing and WooCommerce for sales. Pro features include limiting course access, award badges, and lots of extra usability tweaks.

WP Courseware Plugin

WP Courseware offers a full suite of functionality in a commercial plugin. Build courses with a drag-and-drop UI, restrict access, drip content and manage your students. Flexible quiz and instructor management systems are also built right in. There’s also integration with a number of membership and eCommerce plugins, along with support for recurring subscriptions.

WPLMS for WordPress

WPLMS is a bit unique among this group as it is part of a commercial theme (the functionality is not available on its own). That said, it may be a great choice for those looking for an all-in-one solution. Features include a front-end course builder, user activity recording, a notification system, quizzes and even a mobile app. It also integrates with WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and popular membership plugins.

Share Knowledge with LMS Ease

While all of the plugins above have their own unique qualities, they all share a common thread: The ability to quickly and easily create an online learning environment. So, no matter where your area of expertise lies, you will be able to share it with the world without a huge investment in development time or even budget.

The post 8 Best LMS Plugins for WordPress appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

WordPress is our choice for blogging. It’s a widely-used platform with a large and supportive community, making it easy to find resources and assistance. It’s also highly customizable, with a vast library of plugins and themes freely available.

When it comes to WordPress blogging themes, there are certain things you should be looking for. They should be responsive, customizable, and have features designed specifically for blogging, such as post organization and author information. It should also have widget areas, a commenting system, be compatible with popular plugins, and fast loading for user experience and search engine rankings.

Ultimately, the specific theme features needed will depend on the blogger’s goals and needs for their website. The free themes we have for you below should help narrow your search for a WordPress blogging theme. Happy blogging!

Nuria Responsive Blogging Theme

Free to Download

Nuria is suitable for a variety of personal blogs. It features a minimal design paired with gorgeous typography. It’s easy to customize and comes with built-in SEO optimization, loads fast, and has several widget areas.

Bootstrap Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Bootstrap Blog theme is a lightweight, minimal, and free WordPress theme. You will find plenty of customization options, and several layout options, which include a slider layout as well as a standard blog layout, WooCommerce integration, and more.

Norge Responsive Blog WordPress Theme

Norge combines minimalist design with clean typography, which makes for an enjoyable reading experience on all devices. The theme has a sidebar and full-width layouts, numerous widgets, shortcodes, and support for different post types.

Boxstyle Personal Blog Theme

Free to Download

If you’re looking for a personal blog theme with a unique design, consider Boxstyle. It features a unique boxed layout with social media icons in a colorful sidebar, so it’s sure to make your blog stand out.

Ezy Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Ezy blog theme is compatible with Elementor and Gutenberg, which means you will have no problems creating a unique layout for your pages. On top of that, the theme includes features such as a modern and creative design, SEO optimization, a slider section, featured post columns, and plenty of customization options.

Lightly Responsive WordPress Theme

Free to Download

The Lightly theme is a perfect choice if you want your blog to look like an online magazine. It has a grid-based layout and bold typography that makes your content pop. The theme is also fully responsive and easy to customize.

Lovecraft Two-Column WordPress Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Lovecraft theme comes with a stunning header image which allows you to easily give your readers an immediate glimpse into your personality. The theme has a standard two-column layout and allows you to customize the colors, upload your own logo, and more.

Good Responsive Blog Magazine Theme

Free to Download

The Good theme has an interesting grid-based layout on the homepage. It allows you to upload your own logo and set your own brand colors. The theme is SEO-friendly and fast loading.

Olsen Light Blogging Theme for WordPress

Free to Download

Try the Olsen Light theme if you’re planning on launching a fashion or beauty blog. With an elegant and feminine design, paired with custom widgets, customization options, and SEO-friendly code, the Olsen theme has everything you need to create a captivating blog.

Versaille Personal Blog WordPress Theme

This theme has a unique curvy design on the homepage and includes an additional page layout for your portfolio. You can customize the theme using the built-in Live Customizer.

Eighties Theme One-Column WordPress Theme

Free to Download

Eighties is a bold, one-column theme that’s perfect for personal blogs. The theme supports various post formats, and you will also find large featured images that make it easy to share your stories visually.

Stylizer Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Stylizer theme is perfect for anyone looking for a unique design. The theme is responsive, so it will look great on all devices, and it also comes with features such as related posts and post navigation, dark and light color switches, and more.

Hoffman Minimal WordPress Theme for Bloggers

Free to Download

The Hoffman theme is a beautiful minimal WordPress theme that’s best suited for personal bloggers or authors. The theme puts a strong focus on great typography and offers a responsive design and beautiful galleries.

Curver Personal Blog Theme

Free to Download

As the name suggests, Curver is a personal blog theme with a uniquely colorful and curved look. The theme includes a featured post slider, a standard or list blog layout, and a unique author header profile.

Arba WordPress Blog Theme

Free to Download

Arba is a free WordPress theme for personal blogs. It has a minimal design and a simple layout. The theme is also fully responsive and uses gorgeous typography for a better user experience across all devices.

Risa Personal Responsive Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Risa theme features a clean and classy look, offers a number of different customization options, and is SEO-friendly and translation-ready. On top of that, the theme includes support for various post formats: Standard, Aside, Image, Link, Gallery, and more.

Signy A Personal Blog WordPress Theme

Try the Signy theme if you’re a freelancer or creative professional that wants the ability to showcase your past projects on top of a blog. The theme comes with four different homepage layouts and six unique portfolio layouts.

Invenio Tumblog-Style WordPress Theme

Free to Download

The Invenio theme mimics the look of Tumblr blogs, so it’s a great choice if you’re going for a more unique design. Invenio is also responsive and has support for multiple post formats.

Upright Responsive Blog Magazine Theme

Free to Download

The Upright free theme is a grid-like theme with a strong focus on bold imagery., It supports a variety of content. You can create galleries and showcase past projects, and allow your visitors to enjoy your content on all devices thanks to the responsive design.

Hemingway Two-Column Theme for Bloggers

Free to Download

The Hemingway theme features beautiful typography and a standard two-column layout. The theme is fully responsive and has a minimal and clean design. You can easily customize the colors and fonts.

Editor Theme Personal Blogging Theme

Free to Download

The Editor theme is geared toward personal bloggers and photobloggers. It includes big typography and images, plus a tab-based sidebar with a social links menu, featured posts, and a site logo.

Popster Blogging Theme for Writers & Authors

Free to Download

The Popster theme has an elegant layout and design that’s focused on beautiful typography. The theme is SEO-friendly and optimized to load fast, and it’s also responsive and translation-ready.

Vito Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Vito theme is sure to grab the attention of your readers, thanks to stunning animations and a minimal design that lets your posts stand out. The theme has a standard, two-column layout.

Justread Minimal WordPress Blog Theme

Free to Download

The Justread theme focuses on improved reading experience across all devices and fast loading times. It features an elegant blog layout and sticky sharing buttons so your readers can easily share your content.

Perfect Starting Point for Your Personal Blog

The right personal blog theme will make it easy for your visitors to enjoy your content on any device. With features such as improved typography, responsive design, and stunning featured images, the themes in this collection are a perfect starting point for your personal blog design.

The post 20+ Best Free WordPress Personal Blog Themes in 2025 appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

It doesn’t always work that way out of the box, though. We are becoming more dependent on site-building tools. As such, we rely on them to do things the right way.

These tools aim to simplify the design and build processes. Some do it very well. But there’s a side effect: They take control of the output. And there’s no guarantee that they’ll employ best practices.

It’s an issue as old as the WYSIWYG editor. The difference is that it’s harder to override any problematic code.

There are some less-than-great tools on the market. Site builders that are outdated or deeply flawed. But even a great tool can get in the way. None of them are perfect.

Let’s look at a few scenarios when a tool hinders your ability to follow best practices. In addition, we’ll show you some ways to get around these issues.

How Site Builder Tools Can Impact Accessibility

It’s never a good idea to assume your website is accessible. Doing so is a risk. You might have created a poor user experience. At worst, the site may not be compliant with the law.

Site builder tools can make accessibility issues less obvious. For example, they may not warn you if you choose an inaccessible color scheme. Subtle color differences could make a big difference.

They might also produce code that isn’t semantic. That makes it harder for screen readers to interpret your content.

There’s also the implementation of special effects. You might add intense animations that are harmful to some users. The tool won’t always tell you the potential consequences. Thus, it’s up to you to use it responsibly.

Accessibility testing is the only way to know – regardless of how you built the site.

Included Features Aren’t Always the Best Option

Site builders often include advanced features. Elements like sliders, modal windows, and media players come to mind. These items are essential for some projects.

Their inclusion doesn’t speak to quality, though. The tool may produce inefficient or buggy code. The result is poor performance.

There’s also a chance of a conflict with other software like themes or plugins. And there’s no guarantee of browser compatibility.

There’s a high level of convenience with these features. You don’t have to search for a plugin that does x, y, and z – it’s already there. However, they’re not always the best fit for the job.

WordPress page builder plugins are an example. The one you use may come with a forms module. Awesome! But does it do everything you need? Are the forms accessible?

It’s worth doing an honest assessment of these items. Look at what they do. Run performance benchmarks. Monitor your browser console for errors. That will help you determine if it’s worth using.

If not, there are plenty of other options. You don’t always have to settle. And moving to a different solution could offer better results.

The Potential for Becoming Locked In

Sure, a site builder may claim to offer everything under the sun. But will it grow along with your needs? How portable is your site’s content?

You’ll want to know the answers sooner rather than later. Otherwise, you might be stuck with a tool that can’t keep up with you. And moving on can be a tedious process.

That happens with WordPress. A page builder plugin may no longer meet your needs. Or you might want to switch to the native Block Editor.

Making a change is possible. But it’s not always easy. Page builders often have different ways of outputting code. Thus, you might be left to reformat content piece by piece. The WordPress Data Liberation project aims to help with this.

The challenge is a bit different with proprietary systems. Not all of them offer third-party plugins. And some make it hard to move your site to a new provider.

Either way, it isn’t easy to rid yourself of monolithic tools. A modular approach is more efficient. It’s easier to swap elements or add new ones.

Site Builders Are Great – Just Be Realistic

There’s so much to consider when building a website. That’s why site builders are popular. They aim to provide an all-in-one experience. And there’s a lot to like about them.

But there are also some drawbacks. It doesn’t mean you should avoid them altogether, though. Consider the pros and cons before committing.

Look for reputable tools that have a history of stability. Review their features and determine how they fit into your project. Ideally, you’ll find one that will serve you well into the future.

It’s also a good idea to set realistic expectations. A site builder can’t possibly cover every use case. There are times when you’ll need to go outside the box.

With WordPress, that means finding a separate plugin to perform the function you want. On other systems, you may need to write custom code.

The goal should be a website that looks and functions how you want. It should also be flexible enough to accommodate growth. Tools play a significant role.

Keep that in mind throughout the process. It may save you a headache or two along the way.

The post When Website Builder Tools Get in the Way of Best Practices appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

For example, multisite is often used by larger organizations like universities, governments, and retail franchises. There’s a level of flexibility and convenience that makes it easy to spin up new sites and perform maintenance tasks. Plus, it’s possible to have a completely different group of users on each site.

Be that as it may, WordPress multisite also adds a layer of complexity. That’s especially so when launching a redesign. The larger and more varied the network, the more difficult the process becomes.

Putting it all together requires attention to detail – and there are a lot of little details to consider. Here are some tips for making sure your WordPress multisite redesign goes as smoothly as possible.

Determine What Will Be Changed

On some levels, redesigning a multisite network isn’t all that different from a single WordPress site. Some of the same potential pitfalls apply.

It’s just that they’re now multiplied across several websites. And there are a few ripple effects that are unique to this environment.

One of the first steps is to determine exactly what will change. This will help you develop a plan for approaching the project.

When it comes to themes, they are activated on a site-by-site basis. Therefore, any required tasks that come with implementing a new one may have to be repeated several times. Theme options panels and WordPress Customizer settings are two common examples.

But what about changes to content? For older sites, you might be converting pages and posts to use the Block Editor. This will allow you to restructure content layouts, but can also add some extra steps to the launch prep process.

Page builder plugins can further complicate matters – particularly if custom styles have been added. If there is no centralized stylesheet shared by all sites, they may need to be changed individually.

And what if only some of your network sites are being redesigned? Be sure to consider how this may impact any content or functionality that will be shared across the network.

Establish a Place to Work

Choosing a place to work on your multisite’s redesign is an important decision. That’s because it can have a major impact on how you launch the refreshed network of sites.

Perhaps the easiest path is to duplicate your multisite to another spot on your server. Even better if your web host provides a staging environment. The entire process may be automated.

From there, you can work on it in the background. This helps to avoid inconveniencing users on your production sites.

The other advantage of using a duplicate network is that, when ready, you can repoint your domain(s) to the new install. This minimizes downtime while ensuring that the design and content are perfect.

However, that’s not always feasible. If your network is content-heavy and constantly updated, keeping two WordPress installations synced can be a chore.

In that case, it may be worthwhile to create duplicate sites on your existing network. From there, it’s possible to use a plugin like Broadcast to share content across the old and new versions of each site. Content will stay current, even while you work on that sparkling new look.

Look at the WordPress Install’s Database

Here’s where things start to get tricky. Depending on how you plan to launch the redesign, you may need to make changes to the install’s database.

Pushing your WordPress multisite network from staging to production may do all the heavy lifting. Some hosts will automatically search and replace URLs for you. But other methods aren’t so simple.

For example, if you’re switching your network’s main site to a different location on the network, that means remapping your domain name. You’ll also have to edit your installation’s wp-config.php file. There are several database tables that you might need to access, including:

• wp_blogs
• wp_options
• wp_site

In addition, there could be site-specific tables where URLs will need to be swapped out. You’ll need to know the site’s ID to do this correctly, as tables include it in their name. Each site’s ID can be found by hovering over its domain listing on My Sites > Network Admin > Sites.

The ID will be shown at the end of the URL: https://www.domain.com/wp-admin/network/site-info.php?id=1

When possible, a search-and-replace tool like the one included with WP-CLI or a separate plugin is recommended. That’s much easier than making changes manually via a database tool such as phpMyAdmin or MySQL Workbench.

But be careful! Even a simple mistake – a misspelling, for instance – could cause some serious problems. Make sure to create a backup of your database before attempting any changes.

Test All the Things (Again and Again)

The impacts of a redesign can reach across your multisite network – even to sites that aren’t part of the project. Therefore, testing is key to catching issues before launch.

To start, click through each site in the network. Verify that each page is displaying as expected. Ensure that any custom functionality is in working order.

It can also be helpful to mimic your typical workflow. Carry out tasks such as adding new posts, editing existing content, and uploading media files. In short: try to replicate everything you typically do across several sites.

Plus, there’s always a possibility that any new themes or plugins can conflict with existing software. Make sure that plugin settings screens are accessible and allow you to make changes. Open your browser’s developer tools and watch for any console errors.

Be as thorough as possible to try and avoid any unwelcome surprises at launch.

Redesigns Are Complex, but Planning Helps

The very idea of redesigning a WordPress multisite network can be intimidating. Indeed, no one could blame a web designer for getting a bit nervous. After all, there are a lot of details on which to fixate.

Thankfully, planning provides a dual purpose. First, it helps us determine the best way to proceed. Second, the knowledge we gain from the experience can help to steady those nerves.

That’s not to say that you won’t find a few bugs after launch. Quite honestly, it’s part of the job. As such, you may be better off expecting some little issues to pop up. But thorough testing can eliminate the most impactful problems.

Even better is that it’s a learning opportunity. Once you’ve successfully launched a network redesign, subsequent projects will become easier.

We hope this guide will help you streamline the process and reach your project goals!

The post How to Plan a Redesign of a WordPress Multisite Network appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But, if your client is responsible for managing content themselves, those pixels may no longer be so perfect after a while. You may find that your carefully crafted layouts and typography have been rendered a mess by a well-meaning user. Color contrasts designed for maximum accessibility become illegible.

For so long, this has been accepted as the natural order of things. We design pretty and functional things; clients make them slightly less pretty and functional.

It doesn’t have to be this way! With a little creative thinking, technical knowledge, and education, we can build WordPress websites that can withstand a bit more punishment – and even avoid such situations in the first place.

Assign the Right User Roles

One of the best ways to prevent a client from accidentally changing a key setting is to take away their means to do so. That’s what WordPress user roles and capabilities are for.

It’s fairly common to see clients provided with administrator-level accounts for their websites. But this enables them to do everything. They can activate themes, remove or install plugins and make any number of other changes. A curious user could do some real damage.

However, it’s usually not necessary for them to have this type of access for everyday tasks. For most content management duties, an Editor account provides enough access and keeps users away from anything dangerous.

For Editors, theme and plugin management are off the table. This can eliminate some of those potential issues. Going to even lower account levels limits users even further by cutting out content they didn’t create. That could, for example, save a home page from an unintended consequence.

If someone needs a bit more specialized capabilities, a custom user role can be created to accommodate them.

That said, a client should ideally have an administrator account on hand – just in case. But a lower-level account should be used for day-to-day site management.

Make Design Decisions for Content Managers

One common mistake in the design and development process is creating elements that rely too much on good faith. They are destined to cause problems down the road.

For instance, consider a card UI layout that displays the latest blog posts. There are a number of ways to build this type of feature.

We could configure things so that our clients need to write a post description through a custom field. That’s great, but what if they enter too much text? We could risk breaking or severely throwing-off the layout.

Sure, you can explain that the post description field should contain no more than x amount of characters. But that still leaves the possibility of something going wrong. And, even if one person heeds your advice, that doesn’t mean the next person will do the same. It’s just not sustainable.

The better solution is to build in safeguards – or, better yet, automatically generate that post description via a template.

A safeguard could include setting a character limit on the post description field. This allows a client to write their own copy while preventing too much text. Automatically generating an excerpt, however, will take the decision out of a user’s hands.

Either way, it’s important to consider what might go wrong when designing and building features.

Limit Choices

Some portions of a WordPress website are difficult (if not impossible) to fully make design decisions for clients. In general, this is because the CMS, theme, and plugins offer users several different choices.

A page builder plugin or even the Gutenberg block editor makes it possible for a user to drastically change a layout. This is one of the downsides of an increasingly visual design process.

Unfortunately, there’s only so much web designers can control here. Some page builders let you turn off features for specific user roles, which could be helpful. There is also the potential to lock down block editor templates, but it’s not always a realistic option.

One neat feature of Gutenberg is the ability to define custom color palettes, which can help users make brand-appropriate choices for blocks. The same goes for gradients and font sizes.

Combine these customizations with disabling the ability to choose beyond the options you’ve defined and users can’t go outside of these parameters. That means no crazy color combinations or tiny font sizes.

Not all WordPress software has these capabilities, however. If you don’t see any obvious settings for a theme or plugin, check out the documentation. Fail that, and it might be worth contacting the author to see if there are any undocumented hooks or filters to help you rein in users.

Think Before You Build

The most important part of keeping your design and functionality intact is thinking ahead. Plan for how that beautiful design element is going to withstand everything your client might throw at it. Consider the possibility of something breaking and ways to prevent it from happening.

You may not be able to stop a determined client at every turn. But you can build and manage a WordPress website in a way that rebuffs the most egregious issues. That should provide both you and your client with some extra peace of mind.

The post How to Build Client-Proof WordPress Websites appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

If you run a WordPress site, you know about their many related post plugins. They automatically pull articles relevant to each post on your site. Granted, this can impact performance – so there is no “perfect” choice.

That’s why we’ve curated this collection of our favorite related post plugins you might pick from. They each have their benefits, drawbacks, and interface styles.

YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin

YARPP stands for Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. It was designed as just another option from the many existing plugins at the time. Truth be told – this is one of the best.

It does eat a decent amount of resources on the server, so it helps if you’re on a VPS or dedicated host. But you can use a caching plugin to help speed things up.

Posts can be organized with thumbnails or in a link list inside your article. The templating system is also easy to edit if you know your way around CSS, so it’s easy to blend this into any site.

I’ve used YARPP on a couple of sites, and I’ve been pleased with the results. You’ll feel the same way if you take it for a test ride.

Contextual Related Posts for WordPress

Contextual Related Posts uses a custom algorithm that pulls keywords from each page’s title and main body content. This is a lot more intensive than other plugins, but it also delivers more unique results.

Once installed, it’ll automatically start pulling related posts based on the page content. You can add the shortcodes anywhere or append the related post function to your template files.

I also like how this plugin comes with its own unique caching system. However, that means even if you have another caching plugin installed, like W3 Total Cache, you’ll need to clear both caches to reset your related posts.

This approach certainly cuts down on page size but can be a pain when you have a massive website.

Intelly Related Posts WordPress Plugin

Intelly is one of the newer options that embeds related posts inside your content. Pretty cool!

I have used Intelly Related Posts sparingly, but from what I have seen, it’s a good plugin. The matching system for pulling content is fantastic, and the default templates are easy to work with.

This thing is also pretty much automated. Right from the first setup, it can:

• Generate related links for each post
• Embed link boxes after natural breaks in content
• Pull related post featured images with proper thumbnails

From the backend, you can also customize the color scheme with a few defaults. I’ve yet to find another solid in-post-related links plugin, so if you need that feature, I recommend Intelly.

Related For WordPress

The Related For WP plugin offers most of the features you find elsewhere: custom caching, automated links, and a custom template.

But there is one nice added feature with this plugin that I like. It lets you change links on certain posts if you want to manually alter the related content. The plugin gives you complete control over links on each page, and you can rearrange the order.

For installation, you can use a widget or a shortcode – both of which can work in any theme. The backend has a complete setup wizard to guide you through the process.

Simple Related Posts WordPress Plugin

I often prefer related post plugins that gather links from categories and tags. This cuts down on the required processing power since the plugin doesn’t need to scan your content or headlines for keywords.

With WP Simple Related Posts, you’ll get a plugin that looks solely at post tags and categories. These differ for each post, but the plugin aims to automate the process by randomizing the related links for each page.

And since this plugin is free, the developer released a free add-on template on GitHub. You can append features onto the plugin for even greater customization.

Similar Posts Plugin for WordPress

For a more heavy-duty plugin, check out Similar Posts. It’s a newer plugin with frequent updates from the creator.

This gives you more control over the links on your page and how those links are pulled. It can work based on keywords in the content/headline or based on post categories and tags. You choose how much weight goes towards each of those factors.

Choose how the links should appear, which post(s) should be excluded, and which relevant factors should be considered before pulling links.

Note that this does require a bit more work to get it all running smoothly. But it also gives you more control over the related post setup.

Custom Related Posts for WordPress

Custom Related Posts is an excellent choice for those who want complete control over related post functionality. It lets you pick and choose which posts you want to display.

One of its key selling points is the ability to define bi-directional relationships between posts. For example, if you’d like two posts to always be tied together, that can be accomplished. In this configuration, your pizza crust recipe will always display as related to your pizza sauce recipe, and vice-versa.

There are also multiple ways to integrate the plugin into your site. Use a traditional shortcode, widget, or Gutenberg block. Featured image display is optional.

Related Post by Pickplugins for WordPress

Here’s one other option that is relatively new. Related Post by Pickplugins lets you display related article links underneath your page content.

It works just like other plugins, scanning content, categories, and tags to find an assortment of relevant posts. This happens automatically once you install the plugin for the first time. But you also have manual control to choose the links yourself if you want to.

The plugin also has a few unique features, like an optional slider view and a way to set up the related posts inside your archive pages. Overall, it’s a pretty solid plugin to play with. It’s just one of many you can try when looking for that perfect related posts plugin for your site.

The post The 8 Best Related Post Plugins For WordPress appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.