Why do we want a lightweight theme? Besides getting rid of unnecessary visual clutter, they help your website load super fast which is especially important in today’s ADD society and especially important in today’s rising mobile-browsing trend. Fortunately, this trend has forced all themes today to be written with cleaner and lighter code.
NOTE: I’ve tried over 100 themes from well-known established companies to unknown developers (also had to support them via clients). Ultimately, I would say a theme isn’t useful in the long run without a big community to support it. You’re bound to run into issues without any solutions and won’t be as inspired to evolve your theme regularly.
I feature my favorite 3 lightweight WordPress themes, from fastest and lightest to most “full-featured” (but still light):
1. GeneratePress
Probably the best choice for most people. Super lightweight, great community, dedicated developer. Not only lightweight but full of hooks and hacks for every possible little customization you’d like. It has many built-in features, yet friendly enough for both non-coders and coders alike.
RECOMMENDED for: seasoned WP experts who like tweaking everything little snippet of code, feature, and aesthetic. Also good for beginner WP users who want to grow into power users or become a paid WordPress expert. Also good for those who want more of a full-featured theme but find Genesis to be too “expensive”.
- If you don’t like Genesis, GeneratePress is probably the next best coded theme that’s respected by both beginners and seasoned developers.
- I highly recommend this one if you need something more than an empty/minimalist page.
2. Genesis Framework
The biggest and strongest community IMO of all 3. Most mature theme with every option you’d want. Their themes are by no means slow or bloated but they do come with many options pre-loaded.
Genesis is best if you’re running a professional site, requiring a more polished look with more functions, and want professional help from time to time. Genesis is well-supported and recognized by many developers.
In my eyes, Genesis or GP will give you the fastest site possible and not Astra. The reason why is because Astra is an “unfinished” theme to me. To really maximize it, you’ll have to install all kinds of plugins which will end up being heavier than GP or Genesis.
RECOMMENDED for: beginners who want a professional look with minimal effort (via themes), or pro developers who don’t like coding from scratch each time and appreciate mature/polished code.
- I personally like Genesis the best as I like to do everything ultra-professional. But for those in low budget or DIY situations, GeneratePress is a better fit IMO.
3. WP ASTRA
Mostly solid theme, coded nicely and lightweight. All options beautifully integrated into the standard WordPress theme customizer.
The free version is nice, well-designed and looks great even with system fonts. Pay a little more for the Agency package and you get all kinds of goodies. I love that they have a growing community with lots of developer input. Astra is great if you want just a quick-and-dirty personal site (blog, or not-so=commercial business look).
I could see Astra growing into a really nice premium theme but that’s going to be a few years away and I prefer them sticking to the ultra-lightweight niche as they’ve mastered that perfectly. The moment you start adding a few KB of features here and there, you’ll grow into bloat before you know it.
RECOMMENDED for: beginners or seasoned WP users who want a free lightweight theme with minimal options/clutter and not looking to spend lots of time. I hear they are bombarded lately with all kinds of support requests and very slow to respond.
- My programmer didn’t like how Astra was coded. He found it annoying to work with. Maybe something to think about if you want to do custom-coding with it.
- Others find it unreliable and buggy, especially alongside WooCommerce.
- For the most part, Astra is best used with pagebuilders.
Runner Ups (and their issues)
1. OceanWP
Nice-looking theme and also very lightweight but I hate their lack of pricing transparency. The theme starts out free but requires a paid extension for every little “feature” you want to add. I was fooled by their sexy demos at first but then when I tried to recreate the same look, I was shocked by how many add-ons they try to sell you.
Their business model is annoyingly similar to WooCommerce where they give the base for free but charge for everything you need to make it truly functional. I also hate how the admin options make you feel like the entire theme is neutered. I switched over to WP Astra and never looked back. It’s no surprised WP Astra has nearly double the members in their Facebook Group compared to WP Ocean.
RECOMMENDED FOR: if you really like the exact look of OceanWP demo themes and don’t mind paying for their extensions.
2. Thesis Framework
Thesis used to be coolest thing 10 years ago when they were ahead of the times. Now they’re kind of outdated, clunky, hard to work with, and still living off the fumes of their prior success. Most serious developers that used to love Thesis have switched over to Genesis years ago.
Their theme skins are indeed very lightweight but their look may or may not be desirable to you. Maybe good for simple blogs or that “internet marketer” look but pretty much terrible for anything else. The worst part of all is that it’s hard to work with. Customizing Thesis is un-intuitive and unlike working with any other theme. I’m sure I might learn to love it if I dedicated myself to working with only Thesis for the rest of my life…but until then, I’m gonna stick with WordPress themes that act more or less like other WordPress themes.
RECOMMENDED FOR: WordPress-savvy internet marketers who know how or are willing to learn how to work with Thesis themes. I can’t imagine ever recommending Thesis for a newbie user or client.
I like Thesis Framework
Long time Genesis fan but I’m compelled to look more into Astra and GeneratePress. Been hearing about them too much.
Bought the Ocean WP lifetime offer just in case and actually came from Thesis many, many years ago.
Good stuff!
Hehe, don’t bite into Astra yet. I’ve tried it for a custom site and don’t like it. From here on out, I recommend either Genesis or GeneratePress. Genesis is still the #1 pick for me but GeneratePress ain’t bad either. Different vibe. Super solid professional (Genesis) vs really well-crafted community theme (GeneratePress). I think you should pick the one with the community you like better. Genesis community is full of pros and A-level coders. GeneratePress feels more like DIY type of folks.
How about wp page builder framework? What is your opinion about this theme?
I haven’t used it personally but I also don’t see the point. Most themes are responsibly coded to be pagebuilder-friendly. And now you have to think about what goes beyond a theme. If it’s for a coder, they can practically use any framework since they know how to code from scratch and they might not even want a pagebuilder. A typical user will probably need child themes that are already pre-finished (which this framework doesn’t have); which means they would probably go with Astra or OceanWAP which has prebuilt templates already integrated with popular pagebuilders.