14 Free WordPress theme frameworks to spice your Blog’s Look in 2014

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Blogging took a completely new direction in 2013, now I predict it is going to take an even bigger leap this year. 2014 is not going to be a dull year as the competition becomes more tougher. As a blogger one needs to be more innovative and productive this year in order to gain a good readership. No matter how Google changes its algorithms, you’ve got to keep blogging in order to reach your goal. If you want to stay in the race then one of the most important element to keep in your mind is the look of your blog.

Look of your blog usually comes from variety of themes which are available. But if you have an eye for a custom design then you need to go little bit extra in choosing a theme framework instead of a regular WordPress theme.  A theme framework for your WordPress blog gives you an extra advantage of creating your own theme provided you have some knowledge to play with CSS and little bit of PHP. Of course you need not run after learning those as they can be learnt just by using Google.

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Before choosing a framework all you need to keep in your mind is to see if the framework has few demo child themes and whether they support multi screens in simple check if the themes running under the framework are responsive. If you are into blogging for a while you might have known about two famous WordPress frameworks by names Genesis and Thesis. Though there are many frameworks these two frameworks have ruled the WordPress blogs. But these are paid frameworks, and they have number of child themes to choose. But for a newbie if they are still not making any money from there blogs its better if they initially use a framework which is available free of cost. So I have thought to give a list of few freely available WordPress Frameworks.

1. rtPanel: This is the framework what I use for my blog. I customized a child theme of this framework which I thought would look best for my blog. One thing I like about this framework is the team constantly updates this framework and also has a good team working behind who will design a customized child theme as per your requirements but they charge you some money. Else it won’t be that hard to play with this framework. Recently there is a new update for this framework which just made design more professional than before.

rtpanel

2. PressWork: Finding it difficult to code then this theme is for you. This framework allows you to drag and drop elements into there proper places as per your requirements. You can also play a bit with Google fonts and the child themes are built with HTML5 and CSS3 which is a perfect fit for newbie bloggers.

PressWork

3. Hybrid Core: Are you looking for a framework which can just let you design a good magazine style theme then Hybrid is a good choice. I like one of its child them by name Shell a theme which lets you to build a good theme out of it. If you ever run into any trouble, their forum is always waiting to listen and help you out.

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4. White Board: This framework is well talked of its most needed features like SEO, speed, usability, mobile support, and multi-lingual support. Apart from these features it is said to be one of the most simplest framework one can ever work with.

wp-frames-3

5. Roots: Team running this framework are good in updating newer versions of this theme. Last year itself they rolled out 7 new versions of this framework which just gives you an idea that these guys won’t let you down.

Roots

6. Skeleton: Interested to design your own theme and looking for a simple framework then Skeleton is a go. As the name suggests so is the framework, you can start your theme designing from this framework. It’s features include shortcodes for CSS3 buttons, column shortcodes with media queries, and more.

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7. Bones: Bones framework is not for those who want to develop child themes but it is intended to be a project template. This framework comes in two variants, classic and responsive. The classic version is built on 960 Grid and on the other end the responsive version can be a starting point for designing a theme for multiple screens with a stylesheet setup for media queries and a mobile friendly approach.

Bones

8. Wonderflux: Wonderflux is a professional, free WordPress theme framework. It allows you to rapidly develop highly sophisticated, custom WordPress themes with just modifying a single stylesheet. This framework produces 100% valid W3C XHTML/CSS mark-up – with a choice of document types, XHTML 4 strict, transitional etc and even HTML5 to suit your theme.

Wonderflux

9. Reverie: Reverie Framework is an extremely versatile HTML5 WordPress framework based on ZURB’s Foundation, a powerful tool for building prototypes on any kind of devices. Reverie can be used as is for a basic theme, but it also serves as a great starting point for your own custom themes. It also works with bbPress 2.0 and BuddyPress 1.5.

Reverie

10. UpThemes: UpThemes Framework is a powerful, lightweight theme options framework for producing some of the highest quality themes. This framework uses the built-in WordPress media uploader for enhanced security and less code overhead.

UpThemes-Framework

11. Simon WP Framework: The Simon WP Framework can serve as a starting point for creating our own custom themes by updating the theme directly, or one can use the child themes for more customizations. It includes a widget-ready sidebar and footer, theme options, icons, breadcrumbs, and more.

Simon-WP-Framework

12. Carrington: Carrington is a CMS theme platform that has been popular for several years. With Carrrington you can quickly create unique templates for different post types and categories. The Carrington framework is available in a variety of options, including a blog format, a text-only format, and a mobile theme.

Carrington

13. Ashford: The Ashford CMS Framework is FREE. It is a “brilliant”, “high-quality” parent theme for a personal or small web site. If you are looking for more features then you need to go for pro version of the theme which costs $49 else you can simply play with the free framework.

Ashford

14. GantryGantry is built on the 960 Grid System, 36 possible layout combinations, font sizing, and more. This theme is a comprehensive set of building blocks which enables the rapid development and realization of a design into a flexible and powerful web platform theme.

Gantry-

If you are new to CSS then you need to search for the codes in Google to learn how they work and I bet you won’t feel it that tough to learn. So are you into designing your own custom theme for your WordPress blog? Do you know any more free WordPress frameworks? If you know then comment box underneath is inviting you to share your views and opinions.

22 COMMENTS

  1. You covered pretty much everything in here, I can see the effort you took to write this list. I love few frameworks like rt Panel, Hybrid and Roots theme but still these lacks good documentation which is essential inorder to get adopted by newbie designers.

    Btw I love the way comments section is styled and the neat typography.

    • Thank you Vivek,
      Actually rTpanel has updated their theme framework which is the reason behind this neat comment section and other cool modifications you have observed.

  2. Hi bro , this article gives me an deep insight about the different frameworks for wordpress which are available for free , actually i like rtPanel, presswork and gantry.

  3. Hi Vijesh,

    I only know of Genesis framework and those used by the makers of Elegant themes. I have been thinking of becoming a website builder using wordpress, however, my limited knowledge of CSS and PHP is a big hindrance.

    You made mention of PressWorks, which makes it easy to build a custom theme.

    Thanks for sharing, its really a big research work you’ve done compiling this lists.

    Do have a nice day, and I wish you a prosperous new year.

    • Hi James,
      Thanks for your visit and sharing your valuable opinion. Genesis is a paid framework and one of the most widely used one due to a good documentation the team gives its users. Initially Thesis used to rule the framework category but as days passed by Genesis took complete dominion.
      Wish you also a Happy and Prosperous New Year…

  4. Hi Vijesh,

    I have never seen so many frameworks til now. So confusing. Anyway, I only specialized in Genesis frame. Thanks for giving me the highlites of different frameworks.

    Have a nice weekend.

    Angela

    • Hi Angela,
      I think this is one of your shortest comments till date. Anyhow frameworks topic is not much known to you so not much deal. Genesis is one of my favorite framework it is worth the money we spend on it.
      Have a blessed weekend to you and ur family…

  5. Great list of theme frameworks Vijesh. I have used Hybrid, Roots and Bones for a few projects before. They have some nice features. But for most of my websites I still prefer Genesis (may be because Genesis has a good documentation and a nice community behind it).

    • Hi Rojish,
      Thanks for your valuable feedback on frameworks, Genesis is really one of the best paid frameworks I have ever worked with and as you said they have a nice ongoing community behind it. Even there are number of tutorials on Genesis framework…
      Have a happy and Prosperous New Year…

  6. Hi Vijesh,

    The year 2014 is here again and it appears our usual Blogingreace has taken a new look. I am trying to adjust to the changes though.
    I think it will be prudent to wish you a Happy new year and to wish a properous one for that matter.

  7. Hello Vijesh,
    What a cool way to spice up wordpress blogs this 2014. Wow!!! If i had seen this post before purchasing my genesis theme, i would have truly to try out one of these themes.
    Thanks and do have a wonderful week ahead…

    • Hi Babanature,
      Genesis is one of the most desired framework for any WordPress blogger. You have made a wise decision in buying Genesis framework, this post is just for those who would like to have free frameworks. Thanks for your wishes and I too wish you a wonderful year ahead…

  8. Hi Vijesh
    Your New blog theme looks awesome. The tag line at start will increase your blog subscibers for sure.
    Thanks for your help.
    Just wanted to inform you that while tweaking my theme my complete blog got crashed and I was not able to recover any thing.
    I lost all my posts and data.
    I have started my blog a fresh. Hope to not touch the codes this time.
    Can you please write articles on taking backups and how to store them and how to bring your site up when every thing crashes.
    Thanks.

    • Hi Paresh,

      I think you need to experiment designing on your local host first before you implement it on your site. Download Xampp which serves as a local host, create a WordPress blog and practice designing on it. Later once you finish the design you can upload the tweaks onto your original blog which is online. I usually do it like this before I tweak any code first I test it on my local host once I am comfortable with it without any errors than I will implement it on my blog.

      There are many plugins to backup WordPress blog which you can restore at an later time when you need it, any ways I will write a guide on it…

  9. Genesis is popular because is cheaper. Thesis still No.1 according to what I’ve read so far about these 2 frameworks.

    Why the link of this post 10-free-wordpress…. and title 14, it should be 14 because indeed are 14 themes. Kind regards from I. C. Daniel

    • Hi Daniel,

      It may be true that Genesis is popular cos its cheaper but when working on it too it makes us feel easy. Thesis too is a good framework but few articles what I have read discussed that Thesis is loosing its past glory. Anyhow Genesis and Thesis both are really good frameworks to work with.

      It came as 10 cos I first saved the title as 10 but later I changed it to 14 so I forgot to change the permalink nothing more.

      Anyways Happy New Year Daniel…

  10. Hello Vijesh, I used a lots of framework before I start my own theme development. Right now not settled with any framework but using bootstrap and SMOF to build my own custom theme for WordPress users. This is a really a very good collection of framework. Keep it up

  11. Hi Vijesh,

    Nice to see a huge WordPress theme list. I started a free WordPress site and have experimented installing different themes available online for free. As, I have little knowledge on coding aspect I faced difficulties while tweaking them. Personally I feel Genesis themes are best in terms of responsiveness and design.

  12. Your means of describing everything in this post is really
    nice, all be capable of easily understand it, Thanks a lot.

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