In mid-2008 I stumbled across Theme Forest for the first time while searching for the best wordpress themes. At first I wasn’t that impressed, but I remember not spending very much time investigating just what this “Theme Forest” was. We all know there are a never ending supply of free and premium WordPress Themes online today, and at first glance this seemed to be just another choice in the virtually endless sources of WordPress wares. Thankfully, on closer examination, I realized that ThemeForest had not only addressed several of the major problems those of us face when “searching” for Premium WordPress Themes, they had done it in a very unique and inviting way. Well fast forward almost 4 years, and let me tell you about the Theme Forest of 2012.

Theme Forest In 2012

Theme Forest is a marketplace in the Envato network that is specifically for WordPress Themes and HTML Templates. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering just where you could find high quality premium WordPress themes or website templates, Theme Forest was created just for you.

There are many of these so-called “marketplaces” for just about every type of product or service you may need when doing business online, but I’d like to explain why Theme Forest is different and why they have become the first place I turn for just about everything I need to run one of my many websites.

The Theme Forest Difference

Simply put, they are a destination for WordPress and web developers to list their themes and website templates to people just like you and me. The reason this is so powerful is because it totally goes against the “norm” when it comes to purchasing a WordPress theme or html template.

Typically, you go to Company A’s website where they offer Product 1, 2, and 3. You can buy their work and their work only.

Now imagine if you had the opportunity to brows the work of hundreds and thousands of different web developers? Imagine if you could preview any website, template, or theme before you pruchased it? Imagine if you could read the comments from others who have purchased it, see which themes or templates are most popular, and even rate the work for even more transparency?

This is exactly what you get with ThemeForest, but there is so much more…

Not only can you browse, purchase, and interact with thousands of developers and customers from across the globe, you also have the chance to sell you themes and templates to a dedicated and growing community.

As proof to how large and powerful this community has become, in February 2010, ThemeForest’s top author (handle: Kriesi) just surpassed the $250,000 mark for sales of his WordPress Themes and files. Since then, other authors have also passed this significant milestone.

UPDATE: As of December, 2011 Kriesi has now crossed the $1,000,000 mark in sales.

That is no small feat, but I have no doubt it will soon be broken by one of the thousands of other members contributing to this community on a daily basis.

The Best Part About Theme Forest

But do you want to know what I love the absolute most about Theme Forest?

Envato (the company behind Theme Forest) has not only built the best marketplace for WordPress Themes and HTML Templates, they have created similar marketplaces for video files, pre-built coding solutions, web graphics, and flash files just to name a few.

Imagine being able to have just one account that let’s you buy and sell everything from stock audio to fully developed web templates that are both HIGHLY professional, focused on web standards and usability, and at absolutely rock-bottom prices!

Theme Forest closely examines each theme or template uploaded to the marketplace to ensure that only quality authors with quality products can list their work.

As the end user, you have the ability to quickly and easily access just about everything you need to run a website from a network of developers, coders, artists, and audio experts…and you can do it all from one account!

It is completely free to setup an account with Theme Forest, and this one account can be used to browse all of the other sites in the Envato Marketplace.

The Bottom Line: I’ve been doing business online for nearly 6 years now. Rarely have I been so impressed with a product that within a matter of a few weeks I can’t imagine doing business without it. This is just the type of marketplace Envato has created and one you simply can’t afford to miss.

If you are looking for professional, high-end products for your website at beyond reasonable prices, I encourage you to head over to ThemeForest and setup your free account today.

May, 2011: ThemeForest has made some slight changes to their site design, and we’re noticing a slight increase in prices for a few product lines. Perhaps this is the beginning of a rise in prices.

January, 2012: Some estimates we’ve heard put the Envato marketplaces at over 2 million members (and growing).

Updated December, 2011: In what has become somewhat of an annual tradition for Blogex, we are pleased to share with you our Third Edition of the Best WordPress Themes: this time for 2011. If you are looking for our top pick in WordPress Themes this year, it is without a doubt Elegant Themes.

WordPress has seen significant growth throughout the entire year, with an estimated 32 million sites running WordPress as of December, 2010. Whether you are completely new to WordPress or are a seasoned pro, this page contains some of the absolute best Free & Premium WordPress Themes available today. (And best of all, we keep it updated).

Forget the days of browsing site after site only to be left wondering, “Is this still updated or compatible with the latest version of WordPress?” Through all of 2011, we will be continually adding new themes with changelogs if necessary. We encourage you to share your theme recommendations in the comments below so we can add them to our list.

New For 2011

We are going to add new features this year by showcasing some great Premium Plugins (to give your WordPress site the added functionality it needs) as well as the Best WordPress Hosts (best price, highest reliability, easiest to use), so you can not only learn about the best themes for your WordPress powered site, you now have the chance to find ALL of the best WordPress services right here on one page.

Remember: we keep everything updated throughout the year, so bookmark the page and check back often. Help us even more by linking to this post on your website or blog and sharing it on FaceBook and Twitter.

We are also excited to remind you about our daily list of WordPress Themes. Each and every day we add one new Free WordPress Theme and one new Premium WordPress Theme so you can stop searching site after site for the best new WordPress Themes – we have them all here, and if you just check back here daily, we PROMISE it will be worth your time. We even have a list of the two best WordPress hosting companies (with a cool bonus from us if you join either of them). To find all of this information, simply select one of the buttons at the top of this page.

So yes, lots of exciting new additions this year – but let’s get down to what got you here in the first place: The Top WordPress Themes of 2011.

Free WordPress Themes 2011

JohnGalt is one of our favorite Free WordPress Themes for 2011.

If you are doing any sort of business online, chances are you are selling something: a product, your services, affiliate offers, etc. Over the years of testing different layouts, this narrow main content pane has consistently preformed the best and yet very few theme developers use this layout when designing free or premium wordpress themes. While you should always be testing things like graphics, font size, colors, and the like – JohnGalt will help take a big part of guesswork out of the equation by providing a layout proven to convert.

Our friends at Learn Financial Planning have not only created an exceptional free theme in JohnGalt, they also provide information on things like the top online savings account and the best savings account rates.

JohnGalt Theme: Demo | Download |

WooThemes continues to be a great source for high quality free WordPress Themes in 2011. From SEO to design to the plain ol’ attention to details, the free WordPress Themes from WooThemes are some of the best.

If you’ve spent any amount of time research WordPress Themes, I’m sure you are no stranger to WooThemes. They continue to be in front of the pack for a reason. Below you will find all of their free themes (including their 100th theme release Swatch) with links to view and download.

Swatch Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Placeholder Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Skeptical Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

The Morning After Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Bueno Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Rockstar Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Mainstream Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Metamorphosis Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Irresistible Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

BlogTheme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

TypeBased Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Snapshot Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

PremiumNews Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Blissful Blog: Blissful says it’s created for the wedding industry, but if you are looking for a clean, more minimal design, this is a great option. It is 3.0 compatible and includes features such as tweeting posts, custom sIFR fonts, featured images, custom backgrounds, headers and more. | Demo | Download |

Clear: Are you a writer looking for the perfect theme to showcase your work? Tired of all the heavy designs, features, and options that you simply don’t need? Clear Theme was designed to make your content stand out and make everything else get out of the way. | Demo | Download |

Boldly: Boldy is just one of the free WordPress themes from our friends at Site5. As you will see, this theme resembles most premium wordpress themes even though you can download and use it for free. The download link takes you to a page showcasing all of Site5’s free WordPress themes because each and every one of them is worth taking a look at for those interested in the top WordPress themes of 2011. | Demo | Download |

MiniCard: Keeping with our tradition of providing a good cross-section of Free WordPress Themes, MiniCard is a breath of fresh air for those tired of the often repetitive look to most WordPress Themes. Are you looking for a business card WordPress Theme for 2011? MiniCard might just fit the bill. Inspired by the business card site by Tim Van Damme, this theme has built in vCard/hCard support and is great for those who want a simple way to showcase their social accounts from across the web. | Demo | Download |

LiveTwit: Perhaps our most unique Free WordPress Theme for 2011, we new this had to be included. LiveTwit streams real time tweets on topics or persons of your choice. This is a very unique idea (and one that could be extremely useful for certain sites and audiences). | Demo | Download |

K2: Don’t let the minimal look completely scare you away from K2. Yes, it’s a sort of “next version” of WordPress’ standard Kubrick which was the first theme so many of us saw when installing WordPress circa 2007-2009 even though in reality the K2 theme is almost more of a framework with great features like dynamic resizing (so depending on the browser width of the user) the site might be 3, 2, or even 1 column. Their custom search box is also VERY unique. It automatically populates search results similar to Google’s instant results for a truly user-friendly experience. If you’re looking for a WordPress Theme that is more of a canvas to build your masterpiece on, definitely consider the K2 Theme for 2011. | Demo | Download |

Crafty Cart: This is an oldie but a goodie! If you are looking for a great free shopping cart that runs on WordPress, check out the craftily designed Crafty Cart Theme by King Cart. | Demo | Download |

Freemium: Nice looking free theme from Freebies Dock | Demo | Download |

NuBlue: From the venerable Jai at BlogOHBlog! NuBlue is a great, free WordPress Theme with featured Twitter functionality plus an all-around nice layout and feel for just about any website or blog | Demo | Download |

BasicoDark: After realizing we had no dark-styled Free WordPress Themes for 2011 (thanks for pointing that out Karen), we are pleased to present BasicoDark from WPExplorer. This great, free theme is the dark version of their popular Basico Theme, and if you like the black background look, you’ll definitely want to check out this top dark WordPress Theme | Demo | Download |

Simplista: The free WordPress Theme from WPNow.com | Demo | Download |

Best Free WordPress Theme Sites

If you are looking for a more artsy, graphically designed, and just all-around uniquely styled WordPress Theme, you will definitely want to check out EZ WP Themes. Not only do they release 5-10 new free themes each month, the look of their designs set them apart from the “typical” theme design.

New WP Themes was new to me in 2010, but boy was I impressed. Not only do they release a free, new WordPress Theme almost every day, the designs they come up with look pretty professional, and they have been consistently releasing themes for going on 2+ years. Some of the sites that release themes that often lack the “wow” factor because they are just focused on volume. New WP Themes seems to have found a good balance between high volume releases and nice looking designs.

Best Plugins & Code 2011

Add some of that high-end functionality to your site with one or more of these awesome premium WordPress plugins & code snippets. Prices from just $2.

Do you sell a product or service on your website or blog? Check out these awesome pricing tables. More Info

If you need to add a event calendar to your site, check out this wonderful plugin. More Info

Do you like those lightbox effects for images, video, and special content? Now you can add it to your own site! More Info

One of my personal favorites…add a Mega Menu to your website navigation with this piece of code. More Info

Add sliding tabs to your site with this jQuery-powered piece of software. Small file size – very customizable! More Info

Working with or creating a theme that doesn’t have shortcodes? Now it does. More Info

Have to see to believe. Manage multiple WordPress sites for yourself or clients? This is the tool of your dreams. More Info

Best WordPress Hosting 2011

We’ve tested just about every major (and minor) webhost out there, and at the end of the day — these are the only 2 you should care about. Plans start from $3.95/month and both specialize in WordPress Hosting.

For Blogging Experiment we used to use HostGator’s basic shared hosting which you can get for 1 penny with this link. Just recently, we transferred to Site5 for their VPS account. You can try Site5′s shared hosting or even VPS hosting FREE for one month with this link (coupon code: FREETRIAL).

Web Hosting Hub is our favorite all-around web host with the best combination of price and features. Check them out today!

For a more detailed review of Web Hosting Hub, check out our WordPress Hosting review page and discover how to join for 43% off!

Best Premium WordPress Themes

Let’s face it: when things are free, you often get what you pay for. While there are a LOT of resources for high quality Free WordPress Themes listed above (the best in my opinion), sometimes it’s hard to know which of the Premium WordPress Themes are worth the investment. Here are our three favorites for 2011.

Number 3: WooThemes

WooThemes not only releases some of the Best Free WordPress Themes, they are also one of my favorite places for Premium WordPress Themes. I have bought a lot of themes from Woo, and if you are in the market for a top-notch premium theme, you should definitely check out their offering. It’s one of the best!

Number 2: Theme Forest

Theme Forest is a wonderful place for WordPress Themes in 2011, and if you are looking for the widest selection of premium themes and HTML templates, this is your choice. Better yet, they are part of the Envato Network which includes other sites like Graphic River (to buy stock images), Audio Jungle (to buy stock audio), Video Hive (pre-created video clips), and more so your one account can work across their entire network.

Visit Theme Forest, setup your own account, browse the different marketplaces they have created, and you will quickly see why everyone loves the Envato sites. They are the first place I turn for all things “web” related, and they are one of my top picks for Premium WordPress Themes in 2011.

Visit ThemeForest

Number 1: Elegant Themes

At the end of the day, there is simply no better deal in all of WordPress than Elegant Themes. With over 60+ premium WordPress themes, this club blows everything else out of the water. For a mere $39 (yes, just $39) you get access to ALL of their premium themes + access to their support forums which are second to none. I’m not just a fan of ElegantThemes, I’m also a paying customer.

They provide some of the highest quality Premium WordPress Themes of 2011, and they come at a price you simply won’t find anywhere else! This is one example where you as the customer get the better end of the bargain. While most individual premium themes cost $40-$100 each…for a fraction of that, you can download ALL of the over 50 premium themes from ElegantThemes for $39. If you do anything with WordPress, this is the membership you need!

[title5_wrap]HEY! It’s a new year, and we’ve got a new list of themes! Check out the Best WordPress Themes of 2012[/title5_wrap]

2011 Update: This post is old! Be sure to read about our new and updated Best WordPress Themes of 2011.

It’s a new year, and it’s time for a new list of the best wordpress themes.

We all know there is site after site touting theme after theme, and because I didn’t want this to be a “me too” type post where I just copy information from another blog, I have intentionally narrowed down this list to bring you what I think are some of the Best WordPress Themes for 2010.

Throughout the year, I will continue to update this list as new themes/marketplaces come on the scene, but for those of you looking for several of the best looking wordpress themes now, I KNOW you will find one or two on this targeted list.

Free WordPress Themes

Finding nice looking (and usuable) free wordpress themes is a REAL chore these days. Take a look at some of the best free wordpress themes online today with these selections. Remember that with most things that are “free,” you get what you pay for. Finding the needle in the haystack doesn’t have to be impossible anymore thanks to some of these great free themes.

WooThemes is at the top of my list this year. I’ve picked apart several free wordpress themes from several different companies, and from a “complete package” standpoint (out-of-the-box seo, design, and attention to the details), the free wordpress themes from Woo are some of the best I’ve seen.

While I’m sure you are no stranger to WooThemes if you’ve spent any amount of time researching WordPress Themes, they continue to be the front of the pack for a reason. Below you will find all of their free themes with links to view and download.

Bueno Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Rockstar Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Mainstream Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Metamorphosis Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Irresistible Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

BlogTheme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

TypeBased Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Snapshot Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

PremiumNews Theme from WooThemes: Demo | Download |

Freemium: Here is a nice looking free Theme from FreebiesDock.com | Download

Simplista: The free WordPress Theme from WPNow.com | Download

Best Free WordPress Theme Sites

WP Theme Designer has dozens and dozens of high-quality free WordPress Themes.

If you are looking for a more artsy, graphically designed, and just all-around uniquely styled WordPress Theme, you will definitely want to check out EZ WP Themes. Not only do they release 5-10 new free themes each month, the look of their designs set them apart from the “typical” theme design.

BlogOHBlog continues to be a great place for Free WordPress Themes even in 2010. I have personally hired Jai (the owner) to do some WordPress customization work, and if you are looking for someone who really knows WordPress inside and out, he’s definitely one you should consider (he can be hard to get a hold of sometimes, but he has always done good work). Even if you don’t use him for custom WordPress work, you should at least check out his popular Free WordPress Themes.

New WP Themes was “new” to me, but boy was I impressed. Not only do they release a free, new WordPress Theme almost every day, the designs they come up with look pretty professional. Some of the sites that release themes that often lack the “wow” factor because they are just focused on volume. New WP Themes seems to have found a good balance between high volume releases and nice looking designs.

Best Premium WordPress Themes

Let’s face it: when things are free, you often get what you pay for. While there are a LOT of resources for high quality Free WordPress Themes listed above (the best in my opinion), sometimes it’s hard to know which of the Premium WordPress Theme sites are worth the investment. Here are my 3 favorites…

Number 3: WooThemes

WooThemes not only releases some of the Best Free WordPress Themes, they are also one of my favorite places for Premium WordPress Themes. I have bought a lot of themes from Woo, and if you are in the market for a top-notch premium theme, you should definitely check out their offering. It’s one of the best!

Number 2: ElegantThemes

It was a tough decision between this and my top recommendation, so let me start off by saying this: If you are even thinking about purchasing a premium them, I would sign up for Nick Roach’s Elegant Themes Membership Club. For $39/year you get access to all of his custom designs.

They are not only some of the most high quality Premium WordPress Themes of 2010, they come at the absolute cheapest price I have seen anywhere! This is one example where you as the customer get the better end of the bargain. While most individual premium themes cost $40-$100…for a fraction of that, you can download ALL of the premium themes from ElegantThemes. I am personally a member, and I couldn’t be happier.

P.S. If you’d like a more in-depth review of Elegant Themes, be sure to check out my detailed Elegant Themes Review.

Number 1: ThemeForest

Let me tell you why I ended up picking Theme Forest as the Number 1 destination for Premium WordPress Themes in 2010. About 6 months ago, I stumbled across a site called Audio Jungle where you could buy stock audio and sound clips. I had been looking for a marketplace like this for sometime, and was happy to discover that not only could you purchase stock audio, you could visit one of the many other sites in the Envato Marketplace and purchase things like graphics, pre-coded software and solutions, video, flash, and…you guessed it…Wordpress Themes.

Now the reason this is so powerful is because this is really the only “marketplace” where WordPress developers can come together and release their work to the public, giving us as consumers the chance to sort through hundreds and thousands of different themes. There is no place on the web with a more diverse range of high-quality Premium WordPress Themes at such great prices.

FURTHERMORE…when you create your free account at ThemeForest, it can be used at any of the sites on the Envato Marketplace. Now you can not only buy audio, video, code, themes and more, you can do it all in ONE place, with ONE account (you can even sell your own work on the marketplace and earn money).

The bottom line: Visit Theme Forest, setup your own account, browse the different marketplaces they have created, and I’m sure you will quickly grow to love the Envato sites as much as I do. They are the first place I turn for all things “web” related, and they are my top pick for Premium WordPress Themes in 2010.

Visit ThemeForest