When you work as a freelancer, your website needs to create the best first impression for potential clients.
And when you’re trusting a platform to build your business on, it’s hard to do better than WordPress.
It’s been around for many years, which means there’s great support and regular updates with new features.
WordPress also includes regular patches and tweaks to keep your site safe from hackers. It’s a highly stable platform that you can rely on.
And with so many top-quality free WordPress themes for freelancers, you really can’t go wrong.
Keep reading to know more!
Before we jump into our list, you need to learn how to select a WordPress theme for your website.
First of all, what do you want it to do?
Whether you want a freelance marketing career or specialize in photography, that involves looking at your branding and what features you need.
Decide on your branding before you start because you can’t easily customize some themes. You need to know you’ll easily be able to change fonts, colors, and more to suit your branding.
You also need a theme that reflects what you do, so settling on your branding enables you to choose one that fits you well.
For example, a business consultant is more likely to want a clean design, with smooth lines. Something that looks highly professional. Whereas a designer will be focused on how good the design of the theme is.
They will need to ensure the theme reflects the quality of their own designs.
Next, think about the features you’ll need.
Do you want an on-site portfolio, or will you be using an off-site one? Do you also sell products and need more of an eCommerce store? Do you need to be able to integrate with other apps, such as ConvertKit, Shopify, or ThriveCart?
Make a list of all the things you need and have it to hand so you can narrow down your options.
Consider properties for ranking in the search engines and ensure your theme can give you what you need. Google considers site speed and mobile responsiveness among its ranking factors, for example.
The other major consideration is how technical you are.
Some themes are really easy to use, and others need more advanced knowledge of WordPress. If you aren’t easily able to build your site yourself, that can impact your budget as you may need to pay for help.
Before you start choosing themes, make decisions about what you need. Decide if you’ll build your site yourself, and what budget you’ll need, if not.
Here are our top picks of free WordPress themes for freelancers:
1. Astra
The Astra theme is light and, as they say on their site, “built for speed”. This is one theme that won’t take long to load.
You can customize everything to your heart’s content, including colors, fonts, layout settings, and more. It also works with Elementor, Beaver Builder, WooCommerce, and other helpful integrations.
You don’t have to be a code junkie to make this theme work for you. In fact, you don’t have to touch any code at all if you don’t want to. You can simply use the drag and drop builder.
Astra also comes with over 180 ready-made templates, some free and some paid. The selection includes templates for writers and authors, business magazines, creative blogs, marketing firms, artists, and more.
You also get a range of features, including sticky headers, sidebars, 700+ Google fonts, and different layouts.
2. Divi Theme
Divi can take a little getting used to, but once you do, it is a powerful theme. You can customize it any way you like and create a completely unique freelancer site.
It comes with a range of different layouts that you can use as they are or alter to suit you. The drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to change things around and create your site how you want it.
In addition to the layouts, Divi also includes modules and elements that you can use in your designs.
Divi also has pre-built layouts to get you started if you’re not an advanced user.
They also have a handy web freelancer landing page that’s perfect if you want to keep it simple. Though simple doesn’t mean lacking in features. The landing page includes portfolios, service page, case studies, and more.
If you’re a visual creator, you can have a lot of fun with Divi and create some amazing designs. You can also bulk edit, which is handy if you have a lot of repeating pages or elements.
3. Oshine
For visual freelancers, such as photographers, artists, and wedding planners, Oshine offers a focus on images. If you rely on being able to show off quality photographs of your work, this could be the theme for you.
Again, there are multiple layouts available, including beautiful portfolio layouts to choose from.
With this theme, you should be able to customize it and create something unique that reflects your business.
This is also a general theme, so it could be suitable for your business, even if what you offer isn’t quite as visual. Whatever you do, you should be able to make it your own.
There’s a visual page builder, hundreds of pre-built pages to look at, and, from their site, “infinite layout possibilities.”
You can pay for the pro version and it shouldn’t break the bank, but you can do a lot with the free version.
4. Kalium
Kalium has lovely, clean lines and a professional feel that’s perfect for freelancers that need to create the right impression.
Perfect for business consultants, SEO professionals, life coaches, and anyone else that wants to look like the expert in the room.
Artists and other visual creators may also like this minimal theme as they can then place the focus on their work.
There are twenty-five pre-made templates if you don’t want to do too much work yourself. There are also excellent portfolio options.
With great site speed, and a range of layouts, you can create a great freelancer site with this one. It also integrates with WooCommerce if you want to add on a store.
5. SEOWP
If you run a marketing agency or offer SEO or similar services, SEOWP was almost tailor-made for you.
They describe themselves as the “Digital Agency Toolkit.” They even include three pre-made form designs for a design agency, a digital ad agency, and an SEO agency.
There are pre-loaded images, a Master Slider, a Google Ranking Tracker, social sharing, and more features that will show off your agency.
You can provide estimates with the estimation form, take payments online, and even have your copy translated into multiple languages.
The theme also offers a booking calendar, discount coupons, PDF file generator, and 32 page designs ready to go.
6. Vogi
If your store is an important part of your business, then Vogi is a great choice for your theme. This is a WooCommerce theme that allows you to build beautiful online stores.
It’s fast and mobile-responsive, and your site will look great on any device. You can show off your products in list view, grid view, or category view to help your buyers find what they want.
There are six pre-made home pages, and you can customize your site until it fits your branding and has the right look. There’s a visual composer and a slider plugin, with various layouts.
And you can still include information about your freelance services. This really is a great combination site that allows you to easily start selling online.
7. OceanWP
OceanWP is a highly customizable theme that’s suitable for any freelance business. It includes a variety (over 220) of ready-made demo sites that you can use to get you started.
It’s also fast and responsive, with great customer support and documentation to help you. There is also access to millions of illustrations, icons, and images to make your site unique.
According to their copy, it’s beginner-friendly and quickly customizable too, so if you’re a beginner, this could be the theme for you.
You don’t need to use coding and you can quickly get started and have your website online.
You may also be interested in these articles:
There are so many amazing WordPress themes, both free and paid, that you should be able to find the perfect one for your freelancer business.
Our selection of free WordPress themes for freelancers should give you a head start.
And if you’re anything like us, you love browsing great tools to help your business along. It’s even better when they’re free.
Why not take a look at our pick of the best freelancer tools out there?