48 of the Best Simple WordPress Themes for 2023

Are you looking for a simple WordPress theme that offers a simple, clean, and effective design for any website?

Sometimes, simple is best. Clean design, refined pages, minimal navigation and lots of white space. Nothing that gets in the way of the reader and your content.

We purposely chose to use ‘simple WordPress themes’ instead of minimalist because simple has similar characteristics to minimalism but provides more freedom. Minimalism pares everything back to the bare bones, which will work for some websites but not others.

To us, simplicity isn’t just about having lots of white space. It’s also about only using necessary page elements to tell the story while not filling the page with unnecessary elements or frippery. Simple designs have been pared back enough to remain effective with nothing left to take away.

Simple WordPress themes are user-friendly and come with many features that make building a website easier, such as clean and effective design, full responsiveness, customization options for layout, color, and typography.

These themes are a great option for beginners creating a website or blog as they also provide access to demos and templates for a more professional look.

Let’s quickly look at the top simple WordPress themes if you don’t have time to read everything, we have summed up the top 5 out of the 48 themes in the table below. 

Theme name	Price	Our rating
Astra	Free / From $47 €44 per year	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
FoodBlogger	$79 up to $299	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zakra Pro	From $49 per year.	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Corner	$49 up to $299	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Neve	From €69 per year.	⭐⭐⭐⭐

We also have a detailed list of each easy-to-use theme mentioned in the article.

Simple keeps things minimal but also offers the opportunity to add a flourish here and there without spoiling the overall effect.

To us, simplicity isn’t just about having lots of white space. It’s also about only using necessary page elements to tell the story while not filling the page with unnecessary elements or frippery. Simple designs have been pared back enough to remain effective with nothing left to take away.

This page showcases what we consider the best simple WordPress themes available. We tried and tested an almost endless list of free and premium themes and have refined them to just 48. We think these are the best designs of their type around right now.

What To Look For in Simple WordPress Themes

While a simple WordPress theme can be perfect for your website, there are certain things you need to look for.

Responsive

A dynamic website that appears beautifully irrespective of the screen size and orientation is a beautiful approach. 

A responsive theme adjusts to the device’s screen size providing smooth performance. As more people use phones to browse the web than laptop or desktop, having a responsive website is essential.

While the layout can be somewhat different depending upon what device the site is opened on, the functionality of your website should be the same. 

SEO friendly

Ranking your website on the top helps you attract new visitors to your website. But it’s only possible if your theme is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) friendly. 

While there are various WordPress SEO themes developed to make your content rank at the top, you need to look out for a simple WordPress theme that is well suited to SEO providing faster load speed, optimized pages, content, and responsive functionality. 

Speed

A website that appears slow and takes more time to load pages has higher bounce rates. Fact.

Speed is the deciding factor for your visitors to stay on your page or leave it. You could have the best content in the world, but if you make visitors wait for it, it will all be for nothing.

Page load speed not only impacts the user experience but also your SEO. Google ranks websites according to how fast they load, one more reason why speed is everything!

Compatibility

A theme that functions well on WordPress and is compatible with the latest version of WordPress and the plugins used on the site is a must. Plugins are the lifeblood of WordPress so your theme must be as compatible as possible.

Most themes that comply with WordPress coding standards should be compatible but it isn’t guaranteed. 

Top Simple WordPress Themes

Now that we know the things to look out for in simple WordPress themes, let’s view the collection in detail to make the perfect pick!

1. Astra

Astra is an incredibly flexible WordPress theme with a mix of simple templates and more feature-rich themes. There is a large collection of demo sites available covering every subject you could possibly need. There are also the tools necessary to build your own site from scratch if you prefer.

We particularly like the Author demo website for a simple WordPress theme. It’s clean, minimal and yet has enough information on the page to convey the key message. There are simple designs in the Astra site library but this one resonates particularly well for us.

The simple WordPress theme uses a white background with grey background image in the header with simple serif fonts and pops of colour for buttons and for the product being showcased. It keeps things refreshingly simple and works very well indeed.

Astra is an exceptional WordPress theme that is compatible with Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy Builder, Beaver Builder, WooCommerce and other leading plugins. The demo websites make superb templates for your own site and those page builders make short work of customization.

Recommended Astra’s templates:

• Similar and minimal website designs
• Blog website templates
• Small business website templates

Pros of Astra:

• Selection of professional looking simple WordPress themes
• Compatible with Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy Builder and Beaver Builder page builders
• Designed to load fast and use minimal resources
• Excellent value for money
• One of the easiest WordPress themes to set up and use
• Pages load quickly and score highly on PageSpeed

Cons of Astra:

• Sometimes too much choice is can bring its own challenges

Astra Pricing

Astra has a great free option with a couple of simple WordPress themes. The premium version costs from $47 €44 and offers access to all available templates.

Opinion of Astra

It’s hard to criticize a WordPress theme that offers so much. The demo sites are superb, the themes are easy to work with and are compatible with leading page builders. What’s not to love?

2. Foodie Pro

Foodie Pro is a simple WordPress blog theme designed around food. You could of course change the imagery to whatever you like but this theme has recipe cards and indexes, ideal for food. The design is clean, the palette soft and the overall impression is one of class.

Foodie Pro uses the Genesis Framework which is a very reliable platform from which to design a website. It works with most plugins and makes short work of building your website.

Pros of Foodie Pro:

• Uses the Genesis Framework
• Clean, simple design
• Nice modern fonts
• Simple colour palette works well

Cons of Foodie Pro:

• Expensive
• Genesis Framework comes with its own learning curve

Foodie Pro Pricing

Foodie Pro costs $75

Opinion of Foodie Pro

Foodie Pro is a great design that works well but while the Genesis Framework is powerful, we wonder if it’s even necessary anymore given how effective other themes are without it?

3. Silk

Silk is definitely a simple WordPress theme. It uses a lot of white space, strong header, simple navigation and borderless content blocks to help build a very attractive page. Images and coloured headers draw your attention while the navigation and features work almost imperceptibly.

The design is a strong one and while the demo is a little feminine, that is driven mainly by imagery, which can be changed very easily.

Pros of Silk:

• Simple, effective page layouts
• Coloured headers make a statement
• Lots of customization options
• Compatibility with leading plugins

Cons of Silk:

• Expensive
• The demo of Silk isn’t currently working

Silk Pricing

Silk costs €75 per year or €112 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Silk

We like the design of Silk. Those coloured headers are a small but very effective statement while frameless content blocks allow those images to shine.

4. Go

Go is an attractive free simple WordPress theme. It has a strong text header with soft contrast colours, very simple navigation and a slick layout. The page is very simple, with borderless content, nice serif fonts and optional page features depending on the use you put it to.

Go is a simple WordPress blog theme that offers a lot of freedom in terms of page layout and design. Plus, it’s free!

Pros of Go:

• Free simple WordPress blog theme
• Nice layout and page design
• Can be configured to be minimalist or contain more features
• Regularly updated

Cons of Go:

• Doesn’t have the option to add features unless you know WordPress

Go Pricing

Go is a free simple WordPress blog theme.

Opinion of Go

Go is a credible free theme that has great design and a nice modern layout. The colours work well too.

5. Minimal Pro

Minimal Pro is a premium WordPress theme for travel bloggers with a minimalist design and full customization options. It includes multiple layouts, navigation options, headers, styles, and top-notch features. 

In addition, the one-click demo Import lets you easily install pre-made demo content and settings with a single click, saving you time compared to starting a website from scratch.

IMinimal Pro supports RTL languages and is compatible with Polylang and WPML. You also get a friendly and quick support team if you encounter any issues.

Pros of Minimal Pro:

• Drag and drop page builder
• Ad management tools
• SEO optimized
• Multi-language support

Cons of Minimal Pro:

• Will need creativity to make it stand out

Minimal Pro Pricing

Minimal Pro is free and has a premium version that costs $59

6. Minshop

Minshop somehow manages to combine enough page content to make a compelling store with simple design. Yes there is a strong header image in bold pink, but the rest of the page keeps things nicely pared back.

The design allows the products to stand on their own with borderless content blocks, a very simple sidebar and minimal navigation. There is just enough here to make the store work without adding anything unnecessary.

Pros of Minshop:

• Balances the requirements of simple design with eCommerce
• Allows products to stand out without any distractions
• Pages and products load quickly

Cons of Minshop:

• Those fonts would need changing to something more modern

Minshop Pricing

Minshop costs $59 for the theme or $89 for theme plus images.

Opinion of Minshop

Minshop is a good simple WordPress theme and works well as a store. We don’t think those fonts work but they could be changed in under a minute.

7. Charitas Pro

Charitas Pro is another template that has a bold header but turns into an easy-to-use simple WordPress theme once you’re past it. This is a charity WordPress theme and uses modern san serif fonts, lots of white space and bold contrasting colours to make its message clear.

It’s a well thought-out design with a selection of predefined page types that reflect the core design. We think it stands out for all the right reasons and thoroughly recommend it.

Pros of Charitas Pro:

• Uses page layout well
• Bold colours make a visual impact
• Has all the characteristics you expect to see on a charity website
• Additional page layouts already designed

Cons of Charitas Pro:

• Pushes simple WordPress theme a little
• Not the cheapest option here

Charitas Pro Pricing

Charitas Pro costs $75 per year or $297 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Charitas Pro

Charitas Pro is a strong showing and well worth its spot on our list of simple WordPress themes. Great design, nice colours and instant appeal works for its target audience.

8. Foodica

Foodica is one of our favourite simple WordPress blog themes. It’s another food blog theme but could be customized to suit most subjects by simply changing the imagery.

The page has a great design with lots of white space, attractive typography, optional page elements and a simple but effective sidebar. The frameless content blocks make this design work well while allowing those images to shine.

Pros of Foodica:

• Simple and effective simple WordPress theme
• Ideal for food blogs with recipe cards and index
• Optional page elements including subscription
• Nice page flow and smooth scrolling

Cons of Foodica:

• No lifetime licence option

Foodica Pricing

Foodica costs $69 per year.

Opinion of Foodica

We rate the simplicity and effectiveness of Foodica very highly. It works well as a recipe blog theme but could also work for other niches with minimal customization.

9. Food Blogger

Food Blogger is a pure form of a WordPress simple theme. It’s clean, crisp, minimalist and yet has enough going on to keep your attention. The mix of fonts works well, as does the simple navigation and minimal sidebar.

This is another design where borderless content blocks work exceptionally well. A mix of traditional blog layout and modest animation keeps interest while the imagery draws you in. A very effective design.

Pros of Food Blogger:

• A pure WordPress simple theme done well
• Attractive typography
• Nice page flow with excellent use of white space
• Works with the Elementor page builder

Cons of Food Blogger:

• It’s genuinely hard to fault this template

Food Blogger Pricing

Food Blogger costs from $69 up to $299.

Opinion of Food Blogger

Food Blogger exhibits great page balance with smooth operation, a great eye for layout and some accomplished typography. Nothing to criticize here.

10. Nisarg

Nisarg is a free and a premium theme where both versions are equally viable. Both exhibit a great eye for colour and typography while keeping things simple. The free version is a traditional blog layout while the premium offers more layout options depending on how you configure it.

Both versions use modern fonts and a subtle colour palette to deliver a very comfortable page. The premium perhaps edges out the free with its optional page features though.

Pros of Nisarg:

• Genuinely usable free version that doesn’t look free
• Lots more options with the premium version
• Great use of colour and empty space
• Nice typography and layout

Cons of Nisarg:

• Designs are less impactful than some of these other simple WordPress themes.

Nisarg Pricing

Nisarg is free or $35.

Opinion of Nisarg

Nisarg uses great design and layout to create a welcoming blog or business website. It doesn’t make the same kind of impact as some of these others but that isn’t always a bad thing.

101Freedom

Freedom from ThemeGrill is another simple WordPress theme that works well. It’s a portfolio theme that uses a standard blog layout with minimal navigation and page elements to build a site.

A neat header image acts as both a background and foreground attention grabber then the page gives way to a plain white background with content blocks and features for you to use as required. It’s a simple but effective template.

Pros of Freedom:

• Both the free and premium version work well
• Simple portfolio theme
• Optional page elements with premium
• Smooth flow down the page

Cons of Freedom:

• Another design that makes minimal impact at first glance

Freedom Pricing

Freedom costs $59 per year up to $79 per year.

Opinion of Freedom

Freedom is an effective WordPress simple theme ideal for those who want a subtle website that quietly makes its entrance rather than making an instant impact.

12. Zakra Pro

Zakra Pro is a simple eCommerce template for WordPress. It’s an effective design with a contemporary feel and works well. It’s a well-balanced page with fantastic spacing and typography.

It uses a modest colour palette with single colour pops for buttons. A grey background with rounded images is a simple but very effective tool to create a great first impression that keeps on giving down the page.

Pros of Zakra Pro:

• Very effective simple eCommerce template for WordPress
• Wide range of layout options built in
• Excellent typography throughout
• Rounded images are a small but effective feature

Cons of Zakra Pro:

• Cheapest option doesn’t include Elementor

Zakra Pro Pricing

Zakra Pro costs from $48.30 up to $209.30

Opinion of Zakra Pro

We like the contemporary typography in Zakra Pro. While you can change fonts on any website, you wouldn’t have to touch these at all.

13. Cali

Cali from Athemes is a very effective WordPress theme. It’s also free. It’s a blog design with a strong header slider, font and minimal navigation. The page transitions into a more minimal design after the header with a tidy sidebar and frameless content blocks throughout.

Cali is a very modern template that could work for many niches. The mainly monochrome design is all the better for strong pops of colour from buttons and the included social media elements.

Pros of Cali:

• Free theme that looks anything but
• Makes immediate impact with that header
• Simple design afterwards with a blog layout
• Pops of colour are very effective
• Social media elements add necessary features

Cons of Cali:

• It’s very hard to criticize free

Cali Pricing

Cali costs from $69 upto $99.

Opinion of Cali

Cali doesn’t look like a free theme and doesn’t work like it either. It’s a great example of just what’s out there if you look hard enough.

14. True North

True North is a free portfolio theme for WordPress. It is simple but effective and uses a modest image header with logo, minimal navigation, a white and grey background to build the picture and borderless images to build engagement.

True North is another good quality option that proves that free does not mean old, outdated or low quality. The layout is excellent, typography first class and the overall look and feel is the same as a premium template.

Pros of True North:

• Free high quality template
• Contemporary typography
• Template is older but still updated
• Nice and simple portfolio theme

Cons of True North:

• Fewer optional page features than some here

True North Pricing

True North costs from $64 upto $174

Opinion of True North

True North is a straightforward portfolio template that works well and makes exactly the impression you want from such a design. Pages load quickly too!

15. Maisha

Maisha is another simple WordPress theme that manages to combine page elements with simplicity. It begins with a monochrome header image with orange contrasting colour. Once past the header, the page simplifies significantly and works exceptionally well.

Maisha is for charities and has page elements to suit. It’s still simple, with no unnecessary page elements and no design flourishes to speak of. The combination of design, colour choice and typography makes this an exceptional template in our eyes.

Pros of Maisha:

• Strong monochrome design with colour pop
• Charity-oriented features that work well
• Nice graphics
• Smooth flow throughout the website

Cons of Maisha:

• Very narrow focus

Maisha Pricing

Maisha costs $69.62 up to $293.82.

Opinion of Maisha

Maisha is an exceptionally strong theme with a lot to recommend it. However, it also has a very narrow focus that would be difficult to customize to a different use.

16. Revolution Pro

Revolution Pro is a simple design and portfolio template that slowly unfolds as you scroll down the page. The demo has a large image that takes up all the fold and reveals once you have scrolled past. The rest of the design is clean, crisp and minimal. Just the way we like it.

The layout is excellent with a mix of borderless and bordered blocks, shadows and effects and a subtle green contrast colour. It’s a refined design that works well.

Pros of Revolution Pro:

• Slowly reveals itself once you scroll
• Great use of white space and content
• Imaginative typography
• Good mix of simple blocks and effects

Cons of Revolution Pro:

• Expensive
• Requires Genesis Framework

Revolution Pro Pricing

Revolution Pro costs $360.

Opinion of Revolution Pro

Revolution Pro is one of our favourite simple WordPress themes due to the slow reveal. Once below the fold, the page opens up completely giving us a mix of minimal blocks and effects.

17. Minblr

Minblr from Themify is a simple portfolio or blog theme for WordPress. The demo uses a nice coffee palette with light grey/brown background, a mix of white, black and brown headers and minimal page elements to build it out.

The demo is intended to be reminiscent of Tumble, hence the name and works well. Small colour pops with the social media buttons and images are surprisingly effective, as is the ease at which the design makes you scroll down the page.

Pros of Minblr:

• Nice alternative to the usual black font and white background
• Minimal navigation and page elements
• Built-in colour options if coffee isn’t your thing

Cons of Minblr:

• Fonts need changing to something more effective

Minblr Pricing

Minblr costs $59 or $69 if you want the images.

Opinion of Minblr

Minblr has a relaxed feel that could work in many situations. It’s a simple, yet effective WordPress theme.

18. Genesis

Genesis is the core template for the Genesis Framework. It is a minimalist theme with mainly monochrome colours and a nice blue contrast. Modern typography suits the design perfectly, as does the demo template.

The default template works surprisingly well. A left-oriented main image allows header content to shine while a mixture of white and dark background and fonts contrast perfectly to tell a story. Well worth checking out.

Pros of Genesis:

• Simple but very effective WordPress template
• Superb typography for the design
• Side image effective in this form
• Subtle blue buttons work well

Cons of Genesis:

• Requires the Genesis Framework

Genesis Pricing

Genesis costs $59.95.

Opinion of Genesis

The Genesis theme is an effective simple WordPress theme and works very well. It could easily be tweaked to suit any niche with minimal effort, which is definitely in its favour.

19. Divi

Divi is a WordPress theme family, much like Astra. There are a selection of simple WordPress themes within the theme, including Wedding which we feature here. It’s a lovely theme design with a faded colour palette and great layout.

This demo suits its niche perfectly, as do the other demos. Layouts flow effortlessly as the page unfolds allowing the story to be told with minimal interruption. It’s a strong showing and definitely a theme to investigate further.

Pros of Divi:

• Strong selection of simple WordPress themes
• Easy to customize and tweak any design
• Great use of colour and typography across the range
• Optional page features possible

Cons of Divi:

• Not the cheapest option
• There’s a lot of features to get to grips with

Divi Pricing

Divi costs from $89 per year up to $249 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Divi

Divi is popular for a reason. Because it offers some amazing designs, easy of use and flexibility. All things we appreciate in a theme. You do pay for the privilege though.

20. Julia

Julia is an excellent food blog theme that pushes the WordPress simple theme boundaries a little, but not too much. A strong text header works well, as does the minimal navigation underneath, followed by a standard blog layout.

There are a selection of layouts but masonry seems to work best. A mix of serif and sans serif fonts, simple colours and the willingness to let the images shine is what makes this theme worth checking out.

Pros of Julia:

• Simple and very effective food blog design
• Mixture of typography works well
• Modest palette enables images to shine

Cons of Julia:

• Relies almost entirely on imagery to create its effect

Julia Pricing

Julia costs €75 per year or €112 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Julia

Julia is a strong design only as long as you have strong images. While it’s a good looking theme, there is something about it that wouldn’t survive as well as these others without those images.

21. Satchmo

Satchmo is a simple WordPress theme for podcasts that works very well indeed. It begins with a bold header with audio player for your latest episode while simplifying as you scroll down.

The design is mainly monochrome with colour added via buttons and images. It’s a great design that uses a mix of fonts and background shading to add interest while adding enough content to support the images.

Pros of Satchmo:

• Excellent design for its niche
• An audio player in the header should help increase engagement
• Colour pops are very effective
• The ‘Play Episode’ element is also effective

Cons of Satchmo:

• Very narrow focus that would lose effectiveness in other niches
• Lifetime licence is very expensive

Satchmo Pricing

Satchmo costs from $69 up to $389

Opinion of Satchmo

We like Satchmo a lot. If you’re a podcaster and like simplicity without enough features to deliver, this is worth checking out.

22. Kale

Kale is a very effective free simple WordPress theme from Lyra Themes. It doesn’t look free either. It has a unique patterned background with shadowed boxed layout that sets the scene nicely. Add a colourful header slider and deceptively simple navigation and you’re onto a winner.

The rest of the page unfolds as a typical food blog with three columns and optional sidebar. It is genuinely hard to imagine that this is free.

Pros of Kale:

• Free simple WordPress theme
• Quality of design is surely worth paying for
• Patterned background makes the layout shine

Cons of Kale:

• It’s hard to argue with free!

Kale Pricing

Kale is a free simple WordPress theme.

Opinion of Kale

Kale is a strong contender for best free and easy WordPress theme. It looks good enough that you would expect to have to pay for it. No more need be said really.

23. Studio 8

Studio 8 is another theme that skirts the edge of being simple. We think it works because of its mixture of image and white space with little else to distract you from the page content.

The header image and animated image blocks make a great impression, as does the contrasting white space between rows. This is a superior design that could work in many contemporary niches, hence its place in our list.

Pros of Studio 8:

• Strong modern design with heritage feel
• Great use of imagery throughout
• Contrasting white space lets you relax between rows
• No unnecessary page element to distract you

Cons of Studio 8:

• Not as simple as some on here

Studio 8 Pricing

Studio 8 costs from $75 per year up to $297 for lifetime access.

Opinion of Studio 8

Studio 8 stands out because of its style. The mix of heritage and new works well and the tone applied to the images just adds to that.

24. Didi

Didi is a very simple WordPress theme made specifically for bloggers. It does a great job in featuring blog posts in a clean minimalist way. If you run a fashion or life blog, then this might be a great choice for you.

The Didi theme is mobile responsive, easily customizable, and supports the Elementor page builder. This lets you take complete control over your website design. With lightweight code, this theme loads really fast. It also supports WooCommerce and other popular WordPress plugins.

Pros of Didi:

• Minimalist design with strong content elements
• Beautiful grid layout for your blog posts
• One-click demo import helps build web pages easily
• The website loads fast even with a lot of media files

Cons of Didi:

• The design is good for blogging, however, it may not be suited for other tasks like eCommerce or landing pages

Didi Pricing

The Didi theme costs $69.62 up to $293.82.

Opinion of Didi

We consider Didi to be one of the most relaxed blogging themes around with a great minimalist design. It is professional and great for a lifestyle magazine or lifestyle blog.

25. Corner

If you’re a working professional or a freelancer, you might want to have a look at this theme. The Corner has a great interface for a portfolio website and the simple minimalist design lets your content shine with minimal interference.

It also supports major website builders such as Elementor, Divi, and Beaver Builder to give you complete design freedom. It is lightweight, fast loading, and optimized for SEO too!

Pros of Corner:

• Professional minimalist design with 16 million color variations
• Beautiful portfolio grids and custom widgets
• One-click demo import helps build web pages easily
• Supports all major WordPress plugins

Cons of Corner:

• Lack of features compared to other WordPress resume themes

Corner Pricing

The Corner theme costs $34 up to $174.

Opinion of Corner

The Corner is a pretty efficient theme for professionals who want a simple, no-nonsense theme to showcase their work. The minimalist design creates a great first impression and is a great choice for a portfolio theme.

26. Gema

Gema combines both minimalist feel and beautiful grid pattern together to create an artistic lifestyle blog. It has some fancy blog layouts that automatically adapt to different types of featured images and content.

It also supports the WordPress Gutenberg editor which lets you build your website faster. It’s also the future of WordPress so is an excellent option if you want to learn how this block editor works.

Pros of Gema:

• Auto-adapting posts layout
• Style Manager to customize colors and fonts
• Supports Gutenberg for design and ease of use
• One-on-one customer support

Cons of Gema:

• It’s strength is in the blog layout, which limits its appeal

Gema Pricing

The Gema theme costs $75 up to $498.

Opinion of Gema

Gema is a great choice for lifestyle bloggers with an intuitive user interface. It has an attractive design that combines appeal with ease of use, which is the perfect balance!

27. Tusant

Tusant is a sleek WordPress theme designed for podcasting, music and other mediums. This WordPress theme is ideal for musicians, bands, podcasters, Vlogs and any other type of content creators

Tusant comes equipped with multiple audio and video sources, an embed option, playlists to keep your viewers engaged, as well as a host of extra features like widgets and single posts just to name a few.

Pros of Tusant:

• Multiple layouts for your podcast episodes
• Display audio and video posts in beautiful grids
• One-click demo import
• Supports the Elementor page builder

Cons of Tusant:

• The theme is a bit expensive compared to other podcast themes

Tusant Pricing

The Tusant theme costs $69 up to $389.

Opinion of Tusant

Tusant is a great theme for podcasters. The dark background that comes with the default theme is easy to navigate and customize to your needs. If you are in the audio industry and want to build a professional website, then this is the theme for you!

28. Lefkada

Lefkada is another simple WordPress theme that gradually unfolds. A very impactful video header makes an instant first impression but as soon as you scroll past it, white space takes over allowing you to relax and enjoy the page.

The design uses a blue palette that suits travel websites. There is a mix of images, graphics and simple page elements that work well while the orange buttons stand out for all the right reasons.

Pros of Lefkada:

• Very effective video header
• Simple page design further down
• Colour choices are superb
• Typography suits the design perfectly

Cons of Lefkada:

• That video header isn’t going to be for everyone

Lefkada Pricing

Lefkada costs $34 per year up to $174 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Lefkada

Lefkada has a bold design that suits its intent perfectly. Everything about the colour, font and layout works so very well.

29. Neve

Neve comes with a few simple WordPress themes. All of which work well. Neve is known for its flat design with modern fonts, bold contrasts and simple layouts. All combine to deliver a stylish impression.

Neve combines great typography with minimal page elements to tell a story that flows down the page. You can add or remove any element you like and for that, we like this theme a lot.

Pros of Neve:

• Wide range of simple WordPress themes
• Tons of optional page elements if you want them
• Pages load quickly
• Modern flat design that is very contemporary

Cons of Neve:

• The many designs available all have a very similar feel

Neve Pricing

Neve costs from £69 up to £259 per year.

Opinion of Neve

Neve has some very strong simple WordPress themes that cover almost every niche you can think of. That makes this a very flexible option for business websites.

30. Construction

Construction is an effective design with image slider header with integrated enquiry from. The stark yellow contrast colour makes an instant impact to grab your attention below flowing into a simpler page below.

The use of images, font and white space in this construction template is great. There is a lot of empty space, simple but effective elements and enough to tell your story while not overburdening the page. It could be quickly adapted to other industries too.

Pros of Construction:

• Strong header slider with integrated form
• Choice of yellow contrast colour works well
• Just enough white space to let you relax between content blocks

Cons of Construction:

• Will take a little customizing to change the niche

Construction Pricing

Construction costs from $69 up to $297 for lifetime access.

Opinion of Construction

Construction is a strong theme with a lot to recommend it.

31. VideoBox

VideoBox has two main demos, one for video and one for podcasts. Both work well with a header slider with integrated media player and content sliders down the page. There is nothing else going on which allows the content to shine on its own merit.

The layout works well with contrasting white and grey backgrounds, modern contrasting typography and a subtle colour palette throughout. The subject could easily be tweaked to suit any niche as long as that niche uses video or audio.

Pros of VideoBox:

• Integrated media player
• Nice design with smooth flow
• Lots of content and nothing to distract from it
• Pages load quickly

Cons of VideoBox:

• Only suitable for video or audio websites

VideoBox Pricing

VideoBox costs $69 per year.

Opinion of VideoBox

If you’re hosting videos or podcasts, this is a very strong option. It has a great layout with a modern feel and has nothing to take attention away from what you’re showcasing.

32. Rocked

Rocked could be either a blog theme or business website theme. It is a free theme that uses contemporary colours and typography to create a great first impression before utilizing a lot of white space to allow the content to really stand out.

The blog design works well with a traditional timeline layout. The business theme also uses similar design cues with additional elements for services and employees. Both make great use of the orange contrast colour.

Pros of Rocked:

• It’s free
• Simple but very effective WordPress theme
• Blog or business layout options
• Typography is on point
• Orange makes a great contrast colour

Cons of Rocked:

• Limited flexibility with included demo templates

Rocked Pricing

Rocked costs $69 upto $99

Opinion of Rocked

Rocked is a great free option if you’re looking for a blog or basic business template. The design looks and feels premium and has been configured to let your content really stand out.

33. Moliere

Moliere is an accomplished template that manages to be both a simple WordPress theme and a fully functional hotel booking theme. It uses a strong image slider but transitions seamlessly into a much simpler page. All while including the features you want to see on a hotel website.

The design is bold, yet simple. Colourful yet plain. It’s an excellent design that includes all the options you expect with nothing superfluous. Just what we want from simple design.

Pros of Moliere:

• Balances the needs of simplicity with those of the niche
• Includes forms and hotel elements
• Strong header image with smooth transition
• Premium look and feel

Cons of Moliere:

• Narrow focus

Moliere Pricing

Moliere costs from $34 per year up to $174 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Moliere

Moliere is a superb hotel website theme. It’s strong, impactful and well designed. All while maintaining elegant simplicity.

34. Infinite

Infinite is one of a number of simple WordPress themes based around fashion but is definitely one of the best. The design isn’t quite minimalist but uses white space well, has exceptional images and typography and slowly unfolds to reveal the rest of the page contents.

The minimal navigation also works well, as does the full page layout. It’s a very clean and crisp theme built with a great eye.

Pros of Infinite:

• Combination of fonts and images means there is no weak link
• Nice layout that unfolds as you scroll
• Excellent use of minimal navigation and layout

Cons of Infinite:

• You will need some exceptional images to pull this theme off

Infinite Pricing

Infinite costs $59 or $249 including images.

Opinion of Infinite

Infinite is a very effective WordPress simple theme that combines images and typography well. Despite that, this will require significant Photoshop skills to get the best out of it.

35. Extra

Extra from Divi is another design that skirts the edges of simple WordPress themes but is well worth it. This is a magazine theme that manages to pack in the features while not adding anything that shouldn’t be there. That’s why it’s in our list.

Extra uses a grey theme with contrast colours to differentiate the categories which works well. Those colours appear throughout the page creating a coherent feel that offers reassurance as you explore. This is a very effective template for almost any niche.

Pros of Extra:

• Great layout and arrangement
• No superfluous page elements or content
• Simple, unfussy design that still offers a lot
• A ton of extra page elements are available if required

Cons of Extra:

• Not a pure simple WordPress theme
• Not cheap

Extra Pricing

Extra costs $89 per year or $249 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Extra

Extra is a stylish WordPress magazine theme that balances simplicity with being content-rich. That’s a difficult balance to strike and Extra does it well.

36. Heap

Heap is a simple WordPress blog theme from Pixelgrade. The main demo uses a masonry layout but others are possible. It’s a simple template with minimal page elements and just a straightforward sidebar and top menu to maintain functionality.

The design is all the better for its simplicity. It can support images, audio and video posts and can be made as feature-rich as you want.

Pros of Heap:

• Simple yet effective design
• Minimal page features make it stronger
• Masonry layout works very well
• Lots of options to add or change features

Cons of Heap:

• Relies heavily on images for appeal

Heap Pricing

Heap costs €70 per year or €85 for a lifetime licence.

Opinion of Heap

Heap is a clean blog design that is happy to let the posts speak for themselves. You will need to choose your images carefully but that’s the case for many of these simple WordPress themes.

37. Futurio

Futurio is a pared-back design that can work as an online store, blog or business website. It’s a crisp, clean design with modern fonts, great borderless image blocks and a calm blue contrast colour in all the right places.

Futurio is a flexible design with demos covering its intended niches. Each has the right balance of content and white space, nice colour options and just enough on the page to engage.

Pros of Futurio:

• Free and premium options
• Well balanced designs
• Simple with enough page content to deliver
• Modern typography with off-black colouring
• Pages load quickly

Cons of Futurio:

• There is nothing wrong with this design

Futurio Pricing

Futurio has a free version and a premium that costs $39 per year or $89 for a lifetime.

Opinion of Futurio

Futurio is a very contemporary design that offers a credible free option plus premium templates. There is very little to criticize with either of these.

38. Hueman

Hueman is reminiscent of Extra in that it’s a magazine theme that also manages to be simple. It is content-rich but there is nothing on the page that shouldn’t be there. The typography, page balance and white space all combine to deliver a professional product.

The subtle colours, grey background and white content box work well. As does the side menu and contrasting accent colours. It’s an excellent option for news or hobby websites.

Pros of Hueman:

• Free and a premium version
• Combines content-rich pages with simple design
• Allows the content to stand out
• Navigation and page elements kept to a minimum
• Typography and colours are top class

Cons of Hueman:

• Support for the free version is on a best-endeavour basis

Hueman Pricing

Hueman is free with premium versions costing €59 or €89 for a lifetime.

Opinion of Hueman

Hueman is a very competent design whether you pay or use the free version. There is very little to complain about with this theme.

39. Family Blog

Family Blog is ostensibly a family blog theme but could easily be transformed to fit any niche. The strong header image is what sets the scene and the sidebar can be transformed in minutes. It’s the design itself that shines.

This is a great WordPress simple theme with a grey background and white content boxes, subtle colours and modern fonts. It is this straightforward, no-nonsense design that we value most here.

Pros of Family Blog:

• Modern blog design with a lightweight feel
• Attractive sans serif typography
• Complementing colour scheme that works well
• Everything you need on a page and nothing you don’t

Cons of Family Blog:

• The blog layout means the template isn’t as flexible as other themes
• More expensive than some

Family Blog Pricing

Family Blog costs $75 per year or $297 for lifetime access.

Opinion of Family Blog

Family Blog makes a great first impression that is entirely reliant on that header image. That offers a lot of flexibility for the niche with the minimum of customization.

40. Cookely

Cookely is a very pleasing WordPress theme with a fantastic complementing colour scheme. Alongside crisp typography, modern navigation and some strong images, this is a theme that delivers on all counts.

While the demo theme is a food blog, it is flexible enough to suit many niches. It comes with recipe cards and indexing as well as a store, so delivers everything you’re likely to need.

Pros of Cookely:

• Strong first impression with clean lines
• Lovely colour scheme
• Mix of fonts is top class
• Includes recipe cards and store options

Cons of Cookely:

• Customization options not as generous as some themes

Cookely Pricing

Cookely costs $69 per year.

Opinion of Cookely

Cookely is a premium food blog theme and it looks it. The design is clean and accomplished and colour schemes are very well chosen. Nothing more needs to be said really!

41. Augusta

Augusta is borderline minimalist, in a good way. It’s a free blog theme with simple white content blocks and grey background. Straightforward navigation and sidebars keep you on track while staying out of the way to allow the content to stand out.

It’s an easy WordPress theme to set up and could feasibly work in any niche with minimal setup. For those who want absolute simplicity without reducing impact, Augusta could deliver.

Pros of Augusta:

• It’s a free simple WordPress theme
• Strong yet modest design
• Minimal headers and sidebar increases the effect
• Nice typography throughout

Cons of Augusta:

• Suitable for blogs only
• Limited customization options

Augusta Pricing

Augusta is a free theme.

Opinion of Augusta

Augusta certainly doesn’t look or feel free and while your options are limited in terms of customization, if you know CSS, you could do a lot with this template.

42. Prime News

Prime News is a simple WordPress magazine theme that delivers the news while keeping it simple. It’s another example of how you can design a magazine template and fill it with content while still maintaining an elegant simplicity.

The demo template is ready to go and would require minimal customization to fit almost any use. Colours are as simple as the design yet are very effective, as are the fonts used throughout the page.

Pros of Prime News:

• Simple but effective magazine layout
• Superb fonts throughout
• Minimal page elements keeps your attention on the content
• Optional news sliders offer flexibility

Cons of Prime News:

• This is a good but not outstanding theme and will require good images to shine

Prime News Pricing

Prime News costs $69 per year.

Opinion of Prime News

We think Prime News is another great example of how you can combine the requirements of a magazine layout with simplicity. It is genuinely hard to find fault with it.

43. Spacious

Spacious has both a free and a premium version that uses simple design to maximum effect. The free version is good, with a traditional layout with image header and product blocks while the premium has more layout options. Either could be easily customized using built-in tools.

These are simple WordPress themes that can cover a wide variety of industries. Pages can be kept minimalist or populated a little more depending on your needs. The design is robust enough to take whatever content you want without losing its integrity.

Pros of Spacious:

• Free and a premium version
• Clean design with no superfluous elements
• Flexible premium versions offer different layouts
• Soft palettes work well throughout

Cons of Spacious:

• Customization will need a careful eye to make an impact

Spacious Pricing

Spacious costs $59 upto $79 per year.

Opinion of Spacious

Spacious is a simple WordPress theme that still delivers the goods. You will have to be careful how you go to ensure your pages make an impact though.

44. Astrid

Astrid has a free and a premium version, both of which offer elegantly simple design with a touch of class. The design uses a coffee palette that can be tweaked to suit any niche. Pages use white space well while offering all the optional elements you might need.

Astrid stands out because of the quality of layout and modernity. Even the free version looks like it should have cost money which says a lot about the quality of design.

Pros of Astrid:

• Free and premium version
• Lovely colour palette with real ease of use
• Mix of content elements with white space
• Modern typography throughout

Cons of Astrid:

• It’s difficult to argue with free

Astrid Pricing

Astrid is free or the Pro version costs £59.

Opinion of Astrid

Astrid is a contemporary design with some strong features. While it may push the boundaries of what simple WordPress themes are, it’s well worth checking out.

45. Angle

Angle is a simple WordPress theme with a definite Scandi influence. There is a clean header slider with contemporary fonts and layout, strong contrasting typography and background and crisp images, all combine to deliver a great first impression.

Further down the page, white space takes over a little more. Borderless blocks keep things clean while offering a range of layout options depending on your needs.

Pros of Angle:

• Very flexible design with lots of options
• Effective typography and colours
• Great use of layout and images
• Portfolio and store options built-in

Cons of Angle:

• The design is another of those dependent on quality images to stand out

Angle Pricing

Angle costs $59 and $69 with images.

Opinion of Angle

Angle is a very accomplished design with a relaxed feel. It could genuinely work for just about any niche and has the flexibility of a store built-in. Hard to fault that!

46. Magazine

Magazine, as the name suggests, is a simple WordPress magazine theme. Where this one differs is in the layout. It has fewer dividers and a far simpler layout than many magazines while still retaining categories and logical navigation.

The template does depend a lot on its images but the subtle colour scheme and typography to help with that. A simple menu and optional news ticker completes the very competent look.

Pros of Magazine:

• A different magazine theme than the norm
• Well designed with a nice flow down the page
• Fewer navigational cues but still works
• Complementing colours work with the fonts

Cons of Magazine:

• Will need to work hard to stand out from the crowd

Magazine Pricing

Magazine costs $59 per year or $69 with images.

Opinion of Magazine

We love it when a design does something different and that’s the case here. This is a genuinely simple WordPress theme that still fulfils its role admirably.

47. Flash

Flash has a free and a premium version that delivers a serene experience depending on how you lay it out. The demo page is very easy on the eye with a soft header image, green colour and lots and lots of white space.

The overall design seems oriented towards a business, which is fine. Navigation is very straightforward, the content blocks deliver everything you need and the overall impression is one of quality.

Pros of Flash:

• Free and premium versions
• Pleasing design with unfussy elements
• Nice page balance with lots of white space
• Colour choice and fonts are first class
• Range of layouts to choose from

Cons of Flash:

• Would be markedly weaker without a strong header image

Flash Pricing

Flash costs $59 upto $63 for Pro Plus.

Opinion of Flash

Flash has a serene feel about it that almost welcomes you onto the page. There are some very nice touches here.

48. Cenote

Cenote is a thoroughly modern template that epitomizes simple WordPress themes. It uses isolated content blocks surrounded by lots of white space, borderless elements, crisp black sans serif fonts and flat design to great effect.

This is a blog layout with subtle navigation and sidebar that doesn’t detract. It will require strong images to carry off but would work exceptionally well in the right hands.

Pros of Cenote:

• Free and premium version available
• Selection of layout options
• Crisp fonts and colours throughout
• Minimalist design with an eye for content

Cons of Cenote:

• The better demos are premium only

Cenote Pricing

Cenote has a free version while premium costs $59 per year.

Opinion of Cenote

Cenote exhibits superb design that has a leg in minimalism and a leg in simplicity. Both legs deliver a superior experience while on the page.

Installing a Simple WordPress Theme

Installing a simple WordPress Theme is a breeze. It can be completed in less than two minutes and includes just these simple steps:

1. Purchase your chosen WordPress theme and download it to your computer
2. Decompress the file until you see the ‘themename.zip’ file.
3. Log into your WordPress website.
4. Select Appearance from the left menu of your WordPress dashboard.
5. Select Themes and the Add New button.
6. Select the Upload Theme button at the top of the page.
7. Select Choose File and select the ‘themename.zip’ file.
8. Select Install Now and Activate when the button appears.

Depending on the speed of your internet connection, there may be a small delay between, selecting Install Now and Activate. That is perfectly normal.

Using Demo Data to Build Your Site

Demo data is what you use to recreate the website you saw in the live preview. It can be a fast and easy way to get your website up and running. We’ll use an Astra free theme to demonstrate how to do it.

1. Select Appearance from the left menu of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Select Starter Templates and the demo you want to import from the main window.
3. Select the Preview Site button to make sure it’s the correct theme.
4. Select the blue Import Complete Site button on the right of the window.
5. Select the import options from the popup box and select Import.

Like uploading the theme, there may be a short delay while WordPress loads all the demo data. Again, this is normal. Once complete, you can now customize your theme.

Summary of Simple WordPress Themes

It would be a mistake to consider ‘simple’ WordPress themes as anything less than any other theme. It takes a lot of skill to create an attractive page with minimal elements.

We think each of these simple WordPress themes is worthy of its place in our list as we would be happy using any of them.

Which Theme Should You Choose?

Personal taste is everything when selecting a new web theme. However, we do think a few simple WordPress themes stand out.

Astra stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of ease of use, professional design and the sheer volume of options. There are demos for minimalist tastes as well as demos for more feature-rich. To add to the appeal, Astra uses drag and drop page builders so you can build an entire website without typing a single line of code!

We also rate Satchmo for the podcast elements, Foodica for combining simple design with lots of features and Angle for delivering a great user experience while relaxing you at the same time.

Unable to find the simple theme that you are looking for? Check below themes listicles; that might help!

• 35 Best Minimalist WordPress Themes
• Simple and minimal website templates
• Starter WordPress themes
• WordPress themes for authors and writers

Do you use any of these simple WordPress themes? Have a theme to recommend? Tell us about it below!