13 Best Free WordPress Themes for Writers

Poe

Even if your parents didn’t name you Edgar Allen, you will surely appreciate the Poe theme for its clean design, full site editing options, and incredibly fast loading time. In a nod to its namesake, Poe’s default appearance is a stylish white on black color scheme with yellow accents and clean sans-serif typography. However, Poe is designed to be flexible, so you’re not obligated to keep that look when building your writer's site. Adjust it to suit your needs accordingly.

Features:

• Includes ten different theme styles to choose from
• Uses the site editor, which allows you to change the header, footer, and all other parts of the theme
• Supports global styles so you can customize the colors, typography and spacing on your site
• Has ten pre-built color schemes that you can pick from in the global styles panel
• Contains over 30 block patterns to get you started – including multiple header and footer designs
• Uses only 13K of CSS and no JavaScript at all (translation: it loads very, very quickly)
• Offers a “sticky post” option to enable you to keep your most important post at the top of your blog
• Comes “translation-ready” so you can load it up in the language of your choice

Author

It’s kind of a no-brainer that Author is on this list of free WordPress themes for writers. It would be strange if it wasn’t. As if the name didn’t already give it away, this theme is tailor-made for writers. That would explain why it has thousands of active installations across the web and an overwhelmingly positive five star rating average in the WordPress repository. The minimalistic layout automatically adjusts to different screen sizes, so you’ll be able to meet your readers on whatever device they’re on. Get into the features below.

• Works flawlessly with the Gutenberg Block Editor
• If you prefer drag-and-drop builders, it’s compatible with Elementor too
• Carefully optimized to load quickly on all devices
• Built with code tested on thousands of real, live websites
• Same-day support from the developers who make the theme
• Tutorials with step-by-step instructions if you prefer self-help
• WooCommerce compatible if you ever want to start selling things
• Actively maintained and updated before every major WordPress release

Neve

If Neve isn’t your favorite WordPress theme, then you probably just haven’t used it yet. There aren’t many who have and who consequently haven’t fallen in love with it. That’s not hyperbole, it’s speaking factually – just check the 94 % rating from WordPress.org for validation. With its mobile-first approach and user-friendly functionality, Neve is sure to make your writer's website shine.

Features:

• Lighting fast (can load in less than one second)
• Simple to set up and easy to use
• Seamlessly integrates with all popular page builders
• Extremely lightweight (Google will love you)
• Customizable header and footer
• Quality code and full support
• Reliable updates
• Over 100 ready-to-import starter sites

Rishi

In the oldest piece of Sanskrit literature known as the Vedas, the word Rishi denotes “an inspired poet.” While it’s no guarantee that your writer's website will maintain its relevancy for thousands of years like the Vedas, when you use the Rishi theme, you may very well feel like an inspired poet. With the wide variety of features and integrations that Rishi offers, your carefully crafted prose is sure to draw a devoted audience of visitors.

Features:

• Compatible with the block editor and Elementor so you can build your writer's site your way
• Works with WooCommerce so you can start selling in only a few clicks
• Integrates with two of the most popular SEO plugins – RankMath and Yoast
• Offers a buffet of pre-built ready-to-import site templates to help you quickly design an elegant site
• Allows you to fully customize your header with logos, buttons, and menus according to your taste
• Gives you the option to set your own color and font for any page element
• Provides multiple layouts to choose from for your blog and archives
• Comes with a live preview feature so you can view adjustments in real-time while you make them

Lavander Lite

If you’re sniffing out a clean and polished WordPress theme with a minimalistic feel, then Lavander Lite might be exactly the scent you’re looking for. Its overall design follows the latest industry trends, making it a great choice if you plan to give your writer's site visitors a smooth content consumption experience. Check out the features below.

Features:

• Retina ready and fully responsive so your site will look amazing on any size device
• Six pre-built demos that you can install with one simple click of your mouse or trackpad
• Social media icon links to turn your site visitors into devoted followers
• Three different post formats (standard, gallery, video) to give variety to your content
• Various double and triple column presentation options to display your text or images
• Clean, stylish typography that transports you back into the world of print magazines
• Search bar so visitors can find exactly what they want on your writer's site
• Google Maps embedding option if you have a physical location and want local visitors

Tove

Tove is a fun and colorful block theme built entirely around the concept of full site editing. Full site editing (or FSE for short), is a collection of WordPress features that focuses on using blocks to style all parts of a website, not only the content. Thanks to the layout features offered by FSE, you can use the Tove theme to create your writer's website exactly how you want it. Learn more below and get into it.

Features:

• Jumpstart your writer's site with over 40 pre-built block patterns
• Access six different header designs and seven different footer designs
• Keep visitors from waiting for your site to load because Tove is only a smidgen over 200 kilobytes
• Modify the structure of your blog archive and blog posts easily
• Change the colors in the theme, adjust spacing, and tweak the typography with just a few clicks
• Add a sticky post to the top of your blog to highlight what you want visitors to see
• Translate the theme into whatever language you’d like
• Customize the menu and upload your logo

Zakra

Zakra’s tagline is “the only theme you’ll ever need.” That’s a bold statement, but Zakra backs it up with a host of features and close to 100 pre-made starter templates. You probably won’t even get through all of them before you find one that will fit your future writer's website. You will also love Zakra for its ease of use, where custom coding is welcome, but completely optional.

Features:

• Optimized for speed to keep site loading time to a minimum
• SEO-optimized and works with major SEO plugins
• Compatible with the block editor and Elementor site builder
• Tested with all major browsers to ensure a consistently clean aesthetic look
• Widget areas are available on important areas of the theme from header to footer
• Translation-ready so that any hardcoded English text can be translated to another language
• Option to use custom CSS to tweak the look and the design of the theme

Blocksy

If you’re a WordPress beginner and feel intimidated at the thought of building your own writer's website, then Blocksy’s tagline will speak to your soul: “Build your next web project visually in minutes, without coding skills.” Blocksy doesn’t only make you feel at ease, but also offers plenty of features for both beginners and seasoned WordPress users to get excited about. Check them out below.

Features:

• Built to work with popular WordPress page builders like Elementor, Brizy, and BeaverBuilder
• Hyper-intuitive options to customize and change every part of your website in real-time
• Ability to manage and access color and background options where and when you need them
• Freedom to change the typography in each part of your website – globally or locally
• Five types of modern and clean archive layouts for your blog posts
• SEO ready right from the first line of code
• Modern page hero/title sections with parallax effects and more
• Related posts section to reduce the bounce rate by displaying more recommended content

Hello

The simple greeting “hello” can often be the start of a great conversation. It’s no surprise then, that a theme named Hello can be the start of a great writer's website. Its “blank canvas” concept will let you build your website exactly the way you want it using the Elementor page builder. Keep in mind, though, that this theme is meant mainly for Elementor users. If you’re not a fan of the page builder, you might want to check out other themes on this list. Say hello to some of its features below.

Features:

• Designed by the good people at Elementor, so it works quite well with this popular page builder
• Using Elementor’s Theme Builder, create custom headers, footers, page layouts, and more
• Colors, typographies, and logo are under your control
• Kickstart your writer's site with designer-made templates, from page blocks to entire websites
• Customize specific aspects of your site by device, because Hello is responsive by default
• Works seamlessly with popular WordPress plugins
• Built with lean, non-intrusive code and has zero unnecessary styling
• RTL supported and written in clean code, so you get to shape and expand Hello if you so choose

PopularFX

PopularFX is simple, but powerful enough to help you build a quality writer's website. It uses Pagelayer, which is a drag-and-drop page builder that makes it easy for even the most beginner WordPress user to create a website quickly. With visual editing, every change you make appears right in front of you in real-time. This way you know exactly what you are getting without having to use code.

Features:

• Lightweight and provides great performance
• Includes hundreds of pre-made templates to build your dream website fast
• Fully responsive layout so it will fit your desktop screen all the way down to your smartphone
• “Translation-Ready” and RTL language support, so you can use whatever language is best for you
• Choose your width layout with left sidebar, right sidebar, or full width (no sidebar)
• Customize various aspects of your writer's site, including the background, logo, and menu
• Use threaded comments to organize conversations with your visitors
• Beautify your page headings and titles with a variety of typography options

Kadence

Kadence is a theme with a lot to offer for anyone looking to build a writer's website. Right off the bat, there is an extensive library of no-code-required, ready-to-use starter site templates. You can import one of these, swap out some text and photos, and have your writer's site live in no time. If you’d rather march to the beat of your own cadence, you can do that too. Kadence is compatible with many popular page builder plug-ins, including Elementor, and Beaver Builder. See more features below.

Features:

• Header & footer builder with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface
• Global color palette so you can change colors site wide with a few mouse clicks
• Global typography with any Google font or web-safe font applied to your whole site
• Global button settings to create the perfect button style that will apply to buttons across your site
• Built-in breadcrumb generator to enable breadcrumbs and keep visitors on your site longer
• Social icons for your header and footer so you can connect your site with your community
• Fully responsive from tiny screens to large monitors and you can customize to your liking
• Built with the best SEO Practices for markup and schema where needed

Customify

As its name implies, Customify is a theme that was made to bend to your will. Openly advertising itself as “the most customizable WordPress theme on the market,” it has a lot of flexibility as you’d expect, but the advantages don’t stop there. It’s also compatible with all the popular page builders, optimized for speed and SEO, and offers email support if you need help while building your writer's website.

Features:

• Dozens of available pre-made sites ready to import
• Edit and see the changes in real-time with the built-in visual editor
• Elementor, Brizy, BeaverBuilder, ThriveArchitect, and other page builder integration also available
• High-level of customization including unlimited typography settings
• Create a header or footer exactly the way you want it to be displayed
• Plus a unique header specifically for mobile devices
• Responsive edit modes to customize how you want a page to look on desktop, tablet, and mobile
• Pro version offers even more, including infinity scroll and mega menu for large sites

Cenote

The word cenote is derived from a Yucatec Maya word and refers to any location with accessible groundwater. The same way that access to water is necessary for life, access to a fast, customizable, and user-friendly theme is necessary to build a successful writer's site. The Maya trust cenotes to provide what they need, and with all of the powerful features that this theme offers, you can trust Cenote to meet your needs as well. Take a sip from the offerings below.

Features:

• Compatible with all major browsers for a consistent visitor experience
• Optimized for both speed and SEO
• Choose the width and layout of your page with a sidebar on the left or right, or no sidebar at all
• Multiple widgets included, with the option to add custom widgets
• Over five ready-to-use starter sites to get your writer's site up and running
• WooCommerce integration with additional features to help you create a well managed store
• Works with many popular page builders so you can create a layout to your liking
• Add your social media links to convert your visitors into followers