A free theme is the cheapest part of an online store, and choosing one takes about an hour. Everything after that, the products, the payments, the shipping rules and the checkout, is where the actual work lives, and no theme does it for you.
That is worth saying up front because theme lists tend to imply otherwise. The fourteen free themes below are all genuinely capable of running a real WooCommerce store. What separates them is not features on a comparison chart, it is how much they get in your way once the store has products in it.
This collection covers free ecommerce themes. If you are comparing paid options, our best ecommerce WordPress themes list is the one you want. For WooCommerce-specific free themes there is free WooCommerce themes, and if you have not built the store yet, start with how to create an ecommerce website with WordPress.
Table of Contents
- What actually takes the time when you build the store
- What to look for in a free ecommerce theme
- 14 free ecommerce WordPress themes
- 1. Botiga
- 2. Neve
- 3. Zakra
- 4. Popularis eCommerce
- 5. Astra
- 6. GeneratePress
- 7. Woostify
- 8. OceanWP
- 9. Rife
- 10. Kadence
- 11. Orchid Store
- 12. Superb eCommerce
- 13. ShoppingCart
- 14. Storefront
- FAQs about free ecommerce WordPress themes
- Choosing your free ecommerce theme
What actually takes the time when you build the store
Having built stores on several of the themes below, the hours land in roughly the same places every time, and almost none of them are theme decisions:
- Products. Not adding them, describing them. Images at a consistent size, variations that make sense, descriptions worth reading. This is the single biggest block of time and it is entirely yours regardless of theme.
- Payments. Picking a gateway, connecting it, and testing a real transaction end to end including a refund. An afternoon, and worth doing properly before launch rather than after the first order.
- Shipping. The part that surprises people. Zones, classes, weights, free-shipping thresholds. Shipping rules take longer than the entire theme setup on most stores.
- Tax. Depends entirely where you sell. Sometimes a checkbox, sometimes a genuine project.
- The theme. Import a demo, set your logo and colours, adjust the shop and product page layout. An hour or two on any theme in this list.
The useful conclusion: do not agonise over the theme. Pick one that looks right and stays out of your way, then spend the saved time on shipping rules, which is where stores actually break.
What to look for in a free ecommerce theme
- Real WooCommerce support, not just compatibility. Styled cart, checkout and account pages out of the box. A theme that only styles the shop grid leaves you with three ugly pages at the point of purchase.
- Product page layout options. Gallery position, tab layout, related products. These are the controls you will actually reach for.
- Light by default. A store already loads WooCommerce, a payment gateway and usually a few extensions. The theme should not be the heaviest thing on the page.
- A free version that is not a trial. Some free themes gate the cart or checkout styling behind the paid tier, which you discover late. Every theme here is genuinely usable free.
Botiga is first below because it is built for WooCommerce specifically rather than a general theme with store support added, and it is ours, which we would rather state than bury. Merchant is the companion plugin if you want the conversion features once the store is live.
14 free ecommerce WordPress themes
Every theme below is free and runs a complete WooCommerce store. Read them with the shop, cart and checkout pages in mind rather than the homepage, because those are the pages that decide whether somebody buys.
1. Botiga
The perfect theme can make all the difference to your online store. If you want visitors to be impressed right away, Botiga is well worth a look.
This complete eCommerce theme features an elegant, minimalist design that lets you showcase your products in an attention-grabbing way. Botiga is versatile enough for a wide range of businesses and brands to use. It offers multiple listing styles with various product card customization options, three product page gallery designs, and different checkout styles. It also comes with product recommendation and filter features as well as five header styles to choose from.
Botiga lets you add a blog to your online store, which is an excellent feature for highlighting and promoting your products. In addition, it comes with six different archive layouts, providing you with a variety of options for showcasing your posts. It also includes various cart layout customization choices. For example, you can choose to display the cart’s total amount at the right or bottom of the page.
You can even select from multiple badge styles to promote certain products that are on sale and bring attention to any special offers or limited-time deals. If you’re looking for a flexible and sophisticated theme for your online store, Botiga is one to check out.
2. Neve
The Neve theme is a perfect choice if you want a theme that’s built to load fast and one that’s easy to customize.
When it comes to eCommerce sites, speed plays a huge impact on your conversion rates and the Neve theme shines in this department. Neve offers a well-organized homepage that makes it easy to display your featured and most popular products. You can also easily showcase your shop policies using the homepage feature boxes.
In terms of customization, the Neve theme offers plenty of ways to incorporate your brand. From customizing colors to changing fonts and uploading your logo, you can quickly create a unique design. The Neve theme works great with Elementor so you can have full control over your page layouts.
In addition to all of the above features, the Neve theme comes with a growing collection of starter sites to speed up your design process.
3. Zakra
The Zakra theme has a clean and inviting design.
You can make use of the header area to include a call to action for your most popular product or product category. The rest of the homepage follows a well-organized grid layout so you can feature products from various categories. You can also build trust by showcasing your store’s policies and highlighting free shipping.
This theme can be used for fashion, tech, grocery, and any other type of store. What’s more, the theme integrates well with Elementor so you can easily create a unique store layout. You can customize the colors and fonts, upload your own logo, and more.
Zakra is also translation-ready and compatible with the major WordPress plugins.
4. Popularis eCommerce
Do you need a no-frills theme with all the essentials? Popularis eCommerce could be the right option for you!
This theme has neat layouts with bold typography. While free themes typically have limited customization options, it’s good to note that Popularis eCommerce is compatible with many page builders including Elementor, Beaver Builder, Thrive Architect, and Divi. This means you’ll still have a lot of control over the design of your online store. Plus, the theme itself has a lot of handy features, including promotional banners, a Google Map, and a top bar widget area.
The theme has a search bar in the header, making it easy for shoppers to find products they’re interested in. This element is also included in the sidebar area, along with a price filter, product list, and recent posts.
Overall, this theme is ideal if you have a small shop with basic products.
5. Astra
The Astra theme touts itself as the fastest theme for WordPress and when it comes to eCommerce websites, speed matters a lot.
After all, nobody wants to wait around for the page load before they can start shopping for their favorite products. Another thing that makes Astra unique is that it works great with page builder plugins like Elementor which means you can easily create a unique layout for your store with a drag-and-drop interface.
The theme is also easy to customize, for example, you can change the colors and fonts, add your own logo, and more. Don’t forget that you can also customize various elements using the Elementor page builder plugin, so the customization options are numerous with this theme. Astra is also SEO-friendly, translation-ready, and accessibility-ready.
In addition to all of the above features, the Astra theme supports mega menus as well as transparent headers.
6. GeneratePress
GeneratePress is a fantastic free WordPress theme that can be used to set up virtually any type of online store quickly.
The code is solid and lightweight, meaning your site is optimized for speed and performance. This theme ditches third-party libraries in favor of pure JavaScript to keep things loading even faster. The design also ensures that your site will be accessible, so you'll reach a wider audience.
You can complete just about any customization you want on this theme, including making adjustments to the colors, typography, and various styling elements. You also have control over the broader layout, including margins, sidebars, footers, and padding.
GeneratePress is compatible with most popular page builder plugins and works with a number of hooks and filters for further expanding its eCommerce functions.
Especially for a free theme, GeneratePress offers more than enough.
7. Woostify
Many themes are sold on the promise that they will help you develop a website quickly. However, sometimes you’ll need to take more time perfecting your design, especially if you run an eCommerce website. Fortunately, Woostify has plenty under the hood to help you achieve that.
To be clear, Wootsify can still offer a rapid setup time. It includes multiple demos that have a straightforward installation process, an almost endless set of customization options, and integration with the bundled Elementor page builder plugin. However, if you have more unique requirements for your site, this theme really begins to shine.
Wootsify’s best feature is the collection of hooks and filters it places at your disposal. While you’ll definitely need coding knowledge to use them, these WordPress code snippets enable you to implement practically any functionality on your website. They’re even useful if you work with a developer to realize your vision.
In my opinion, Wootsify is an ideal eCommerce theme to scale with. You can begin building your site with the included templates and features, then hire a developer to make further improvements.
As such, this is one theme that could stick with you on your entire eCommerce journey.
8. OceanWP
Most free themes come with limited customization options. However, OceanWP can help you build an eCommerce site that’s tailored to your needs.
While most of OceanWP’s demo sites are only available with the pro version, you’ll get multiple layouts for free. These include designs for your shop, product pages, and blog. The free theme also includes seven customizable header styles, different logo options, and more. Plus, you get complete control over color and typography settings.
Additionally, OceanWP has a lot to offer with its eCommerce features. For example, you can choose from a multi-step or distraction-free checkout, display multiple filter widgets, and enable shoppers to check product information without leaving the page. All of these features are designed to help increase conversions on your eCommerce site.
9. Rife
The Rife theme has seven premade layouts to choose from, one of which is an online store demo.
You can import it with a single click and have your site up and running in a few hours. The theme has a stunning above-the-fold area where you can highlight new arrivals or direct them to a particular category. The homepage also has plenty of space to showcase featured products from various categories.
The theme is easy to customize; you can change the colors and fonts and tweak other visual elements using the Customizer. It’s also translation-ready and comes with support for popular WordPress plugins.
On top of that, the Rife theme integrates with Elementor so you can quickly and easily create custom page layouts.
10. Kadence
If you're looking for a minimalist theme for your eCommerce site, Kadence might be the solution for you.
This lightweight, versatile theme comes with a library of pre-made templates, including two demos for eCommerce stores, to help you get started quickly. It also includes a drag-and-drop builder, pre-made menu designs, and custom layouts, as well as plenty of color and typography options.
All in all, Kadence offers a relatively straightforward yet solid experience, especially if you’re planning to build a simple eCommerce website.
It’s also available in a premium version if you’re looking for more advanced features, such as header addons and use on unlimited sites.
11. Orchid Store
The Orchid Store theme is a versatile free theme with several demos that you can easily import with a single click.
It supports the Elementor page builder plugin, which means you can easily rearrange the layout of the demos using a visual interface.
This theme is easy to customize, for instance, you can change the colors and fonts, upload your own logo, and more. Orchid Store is SEO-friendly and translation-ready, too.
In addition, the entire homepage is widgetized, so all you have to do is drag and drop the desired content into place.
It also supports RTL (right-to-left) languages, so it's perfect for internationalized online stores. You can use it for any type of eCommerce site, from fashion and jewelry shops to tech and appliance stores.
12. Superb eCommerce
A clean and simple layout can make your products stand out. Superb eCommerce is a minimalist theme that streamlines the shopping journey, helping you make more sales.
This theme includes all the core pages for your online store, including a blog with two different layout options. You’ll also get a page dedicated to your team and a separate About section. With the premium version, you can customize almost every aspect of your site, using Elementor. This includes all fonts and colors, the header, and the navigation menu.
While Superb eCommerce doesn’t offer many layouts to choose from, it can still help you build a tasteful and functional store. It comes with full WooCommerce integration and a selection of eCommerce widgets, such as search bars, filtering options, and a shopping cart.
If you want a professional, no-frills site for your online business, Superb eCommerce may be the right choice for you.
13. ShoppingCart
ShoppingCart is another multipurpose WooCommerce theme for WordPress.
It comes with several demos to choose from which depict a fashion and clothing store and a jewelry store. The theme has a stunning above-the-header area where you can add a call to action to feature the most popular collection or highlight a new arrival in your store. You can also present products from various categories right on the homepage.
ShoppingCart also supports popular plugins such as Breadcrumb NavXT, WP-PageNavi, Contact Form 7, Jetpack, bbPress, and many more. It’s translation-ready, highly customizable, and comes with premade page templates to speed up the site design time.
On top of that, you’ll find multiple navigation menus, custom social media icons, and plenty of widgets to add content to the homepage.
14. Storefront
Storefront is Automattic's official WooCommerce theme, created by the developers of the WooCommerce plugin.
It's a truly lightweight theme. An eCommerce store's conversion rate is heavily impacted by load times, and Storefront is completely bloat-free.
The theme itself looks decent, with a full-width image on the homepage, as well as product category thumbnails and stylish product galleries.
To build a recognizable brand for your store, Storefront allows you to change the color scheme for key areas of the page, with a choice of unlimited colors.
FAQs about free ecommerce WordPress themes
What is the best free ecommerce theme for WordPress?
Botiga if you want a theme built for WooCommerce rather than adapted to it, since the cart, checkout and product pages are styled properly out of the box. Several others on this list will serve you equally well, so pick on how the shop pages look rather than on feature counts.
Can you build a real online store with a free WordPress theme?
Yes. Every theme here runs a complete WooCommerce store with products, payments, shipping and checkout. Paid themes buy layout options and support, not the ability to sell.
Do free ecommerce themes support WooCommerce properly?
The ones in this collection do, but check the cart and checkout pages specifically. Some free themes style the shop grid and leave the purchase pages unstyled, which is exactly the wrong way round.
How long does it take to set up a WooCommerce store?
The theme takes an hour or two. Products, payments, shipping rules and tax take considerably longer, usually days rather than hours, and none of that changes based on which theme you picked.
Should I use a free theme or pay for one?
Start free. You will know within a fortnight which layout controls you actually miss, and that is a far better basis for spending money than a feature list read before you have any products.
Choosing your free ecommerce theme
Import two or three demos, put five real products into each, and look at the shop, product, cart and checkout pages. That takes an afternoon and tells you more than any comparison table, including this one.
Once the store is running, our fastest WooCommerce themes comparison has measured load data, and single product themes covers the one-product case, which is a genuinely different build.
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