Minimalist WordPress themes serve a number of purposes. They can be used for just about any type of website, from personal blogs to business websites. One thing that really stands out about minimal themes is the amount of whitespace. So much space around your content serves two purposes: making your content really stand out and minimizing distraction.
Another great thing about minimalist WordPress themes is that they suit a wide range of needs. For instance, if you’re building a gardening blog, you can easily use this type of theme to accentuate photos of flowers and plants. The same goes for websites centered around photography, fashion, beauty, cars, and many other niches.
Keeping all this in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best minimalist WordPress themes that truly speak to the needs of designers and developers. Each of these themes is easy-to-use, includes plenty of features, and best of all — free!
1. Sydney
If you want a stunning theme that boasts a minimalist design, look no further than Sydney.
Our free, modern theme, which is officially recommended by the Elementor page builder plugin, is both easy to use and optimized for speed. It offers a bold and distinct look that is flexible for a wide variety of websites. It’s also packed with customization and design features that let you personalize it with ease.
Sydney includes multiple menu layouts, blog post styles, and button styling options. You can choose from five different headers and a handful of elegant starter sites. While the theme is flexible and highly customizable, it’s not overwhelming. It’s the ideal solution for beginners looking for a polished, clean look for their sites.
The free theme includes everything you need to get started. However, if you want to unlock even more features and functionality, you can also upgrade to the Pro version for additional WooCommerce elements and blog archive styles.
2. Botiga
Botiga is an eCommerce theme that boasts a modern yet elegant design that is both simple and impressive. It is perfect if you’re looking for a sleek, clean way of showcasing your products and services.
It’s also an excellent choice if you want a lot of customization features. Botiga comes with multiple checkout styles, several product page gallery designs, and five header types. It’s also a useful theme if you want to add a blog to your site, as it comes with six different archive layouts.
With Botiga, you can launch your online store quickly and easily, thanks to its one-click demo import feature.
3. Astra
Astra is a minimalist theme that works for most niches. It comes with plenty of pre-made sites to get you started quickly and a lot of customization options. With custom blog layouts, headers, typography settings, and page builder style options, you can easily create the look you want.
This free multipurpose theme is both flexible and lightweight. One of the aspects it’s best known for is its compatibility with page builder plugins such as Elementor and Beaver Builder, as well as other popular plugins such as WooCommerce and Toolset.
If you’re looking for a popular, well-supported, and flexible minimalist theme, Astra is worth checking out. It can work well for nearly any type of website.
4. Namaha
If you’re looking for a simple yet stunning theme, Namaha has a lot to offer.
This free theme boasts an elegant design that is ideal for websites that focus on health and wellness, including those designed to promote yoga, nutrition, meditation, and more. It’s also a solid choice for wellness coaching, spas, therapists, and similar businesses. The minimalist zen elements offer a clean yet professional canvas for showcasing your content and offerings.
Namaha integrates seamlessly with the Elementor page builder plugin, and comes with an impressive array of design and customization features. This includes flexible blog layouts, stunning slider and header images, and e-commerce tools. If you’re looking for more advanced capabilities and options, you can also upgrade to the premium version.
If you’re a yoga teacher, wellness coach, mediation mentor, or simply work in the health industry, Namaha is a must-see theme.
5. Minimalistix
Are you a writer or blogger looking to share your work on a clean and simple website? Minimalistix was designed specifically for blogs, personal portfolios, and magazine sites.
Minimalistix is a block-based WordPress theme, so you can customize it with the Site Editor. It’s also compatible with Elementor, Divi Builder, SiteOrigin, Brizy, Visual Composer, and Beaver Builder, giving you plenty of customization options.
The theme comes with several widgets, including an Instagram feed and a customizable sidebar.
Minimalistix can be ideal if you want to monetize your blog with affiliate marketing and ads. It integrates with AdSense and you can easily place banners on your website. It also supports WooCommerce so that you can sell products along with running a blog.
This minimalistic theme is a great option for bloggers who want to make money online.
6. Olsen Light
Another theme to consider is the Olsen Light WordPress theme. It’s an elegant theme for blogs that can be adapted for use for just about any niche topic, including food, recipes, travel, health, fitness, beauty, lifestyle, photography, and more. The theme itself is responsive and customizable. It’s easy-to-use and set up, and takes full advantage of the WordPress Customizer.
If you’d rather work with an expanded set of features, this theme is also compatible with popular page builders such as Elementor, Brizy, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
7. GeneratePress
GeneratePress is a lightweight, customizable theme that is also multipurpose. It comes with a live Customizer that lets you quickly and easily tailor your site. You can also use popular drag-and-drop page builder plugins such as Elementor and Beaver Builder to create your pages.
It may take some effort to build a unique look for your site as the free version doesn’t include any demos. Still, with its modern design and customization options, you can create a great minimalist website with GeneratePress, no matter the industry.
8. Bard
Are you in search of a minimalist theme that focuses on imagery? Bard can help you achieve that and more.
This is a free, sophisticated theme that can be used for just about any type of blog. It includes WooCommerce compatibility, as well as integration with Elementor, Beaver Builder, and other go-to page builder plugins to make creating your site simpler.
While the free version of Bard only offers one demo and limited customization options, there’s still much to love about it. Some of Bard’s notable features include an Instagram widget, a footer menu, and a full-screen slider. It also leverages a grid-based layout, making it the perfect theme for when you want to showcase your posts in a neat and aesthetically-pleasing manner.
9. Zakra
If you’re looking for a minimalist theme that can be used in a variety of ways, Zakra is an option worth considering. This lightweight theme is designed primarily for bloggers, but it can be used for businesses of many kinds.
Zakra comes with over 65 starter templates and a one-click demo importer, as well as a live Customizer and individual page settings. This stylish, modern theme also boasts superior performance.
With Zakra, you get seamless WooCommerce integration, as well as page builder compatibility and plenty of support. It’s a smart choice if you’re looking to create any type of website as quickly as possible.
10. ColorMag
ColorMag is another minimal theme but this one has a specific focus on publications and online magazines. This WordPress theme is what you want to use if you intend on starting a news site, a magazine, or a periodical. It’s also a good choice if you want to start a blog that features multiple authors.
This theme comes with a wide set of features, including post tags, ad widgets, author widgets, featured posts, featured categories, multiple menus, header banners and ads, social media icons, as well as a variety of homepage and post layout options. ColorMag is a great choice for building any type of website for a publication, so if that’s your goal, give this one a look.
11. Kadence
Kadence has a lot to offer for those seeking a more minimalist approach.
This fast, lightweight, and user-friendly theme features a drag-and-drop header and footer builder, which makes it easy to design the core foundation of your site in minutes. It also provides a library of starter templates for you to choose from, and thorough integration with a lot of powerful WordPress plugins. This includes Elementor, WooCommerce, LearnDash, bbPress, and more.
Kadence also offers multiple menu styles, social icons, and a shopping cart. It’s versatile enough to be used for a wide variety of businesses, and it offers a showcase of theme demos so that you can get started immediately.
12. Hitchcock
Hitchcock is a minimal WordPress theme that’s aimed squarely at designers and photographers, though it can be used by anyone in a creative line of work. It has a responsive design, is mobile-optimized, and is SEO-friendly. You can also take full advantage of its support for Gutenberg.
Other features of Hitchcock include social icons, Jetpack infinite scroll, custom header images and accent colors, gallery posts, preview titles, editor styling options, font colors, and more. This theme is an excellent choice for visual portfolios of all kinds.
13. Neve
Neve excels in both performance and appearance. This theme offers a large variety of starter sites, making it a solid option for beginner users.
You’ll find that Neve offers a sleek, minimalist design. It’s also fast, lightweight, and easy to use. Plus, it provides an array of features that can help you seamlessly customize your website so it stands out from the crowd. It even comes with a Customizer that lets you modify your site’s layout and pages, including elements such as the header, titles, and footer.
One area where Neve really stands out is its mega menus. This feature enables you to arrange your pages, posts, and site content in a cohesive way with minimal effort. Whether you’re a business or an individual, Neve offers a flexible and user-friendly experience.
14. Ashe
If you’re running a blog, Ashe is a minimalist theme that you should undoubtedly check out.
This theme can be used for a wide variety of blog niches, from fashion and food to travel and technology. It comes with WooCommerce support, and is compatible with popular page builder plugins such as Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, and Visual Composer.
While the free version has limited customization options, you still get access to the live Customizer and you can easily change elements such as the footer menus, header image, and fullscreen slider.
If you’re looking for a clean and impressive way of showcasing your blog posts, Ashe is worth a look – particularly if you’re planning to incorporate e-commerce functionality.
15. Blocksy
If speed and performance are important to you, Blocksy should be at the top of your list. This multipurpose theme is both lightweight and packed with powerful features.
Blocksy is high customizable. It comes with a collection of style and design options, including a live preview Customizer, advanced typography settings, and header, footer, and layout styles. It’s also fully compatible with page builder plugins such as Beaver Builder and Elementor.
On top of being lightning fast, Blocksy is also incredibly easy to use. It’s a perfect option for beginners looking to make their starter sites more professional and aesthetically pleasing.
16. Pure
Pure is another great minimalistic WordPress theme that you can use for a wide number of purposes. The design itself is simple and oh-so clean that your content will look fantastic within it. No distractions are to be found here, and that’s precisely as intended.
This theme can easily be used for a blog or portfolio and does so by remaining simple. The homepage features dropdown navigation, custom headers, portfolio support, grid layouts, filters for portfolio categories, and more. Blog posts are supported in a variety of styles as well, including full-width, single slider, YouTube video, Vimeo video, grid layout, masonry layout, and more.
17. Anariel Lite
The Anariel Lite WordPress theme offers a straightforward design that’s as appealing as it is easy to use. This theme puts your photos front and center and makes it easy for your visitors to get a sense of what you and your brand are about at a glance. You can use this theme for portfolios or blogs, as it offers feature sets workable for both.
Set a featured image, add a custom logo or header image, establish an about me widget in your sidebar, and more. This theme keeps things simple and sometimes that’s precisely what you need.
18. Inspiro Lite
On many minimalist websites, photos and videos are the primary focus. If this is the approach you’d like to take, you might want to consider Inspiro Lite.
This is a lightweight, photo-focused theme that showcases a sleek design. It comes with a slideshow with a video background, a gallery module, and a theme options panel.
It’s also a strong choice if you want to incorporate videos throughout your site, as it comes with support for popular video hosting platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. Inspiro is also compatible with WooCommerce, as well as popular page builder plugins like Elementor and Beaver Builder.
Overall, Inspiro Lite is a beautiful theme for media-heavy sites, even though the free version comes with limited features.
19. Spacious
Spacious is a multipurpose WordPress theme that’s aimed at the agency/corporate crowd. This responsive WordPress theme is well-coded and loads fast, making it a great choice for business websites, but it can also be used for portfolios and blogs. It comes with four page layouts, two page templates, and 13 widget areas.
It also includes five custom widgets, a slider, light and dark color skins, the ability to set a primary color option, and more. This theme is translation-ready, SEO-optimized, and mobile-optimized, so it’ll look great on any device too.
20. Baltazar Lite
Baltazar is another free minimal WordPress theme that’s aimed directly at bloggers. Only this time, the style of the theme is for the gentlemanly crowd. So, those who are interested in men’s fashion, grooming, and anything else in that ballpark should definitely give this theme a try.
Once installed, you find this theme has a masculine design that can work for any number of situations. The theme itself is free and licensed under GPL, so you can use it however you’d like, for as long as you’d like. Or, you can upgrade to the premium version which includes additional features and customization options.
21. MinimalistBlogger
One of the perks of using a minimalist theme for your blog or news site is that your content can take center stage and shine. This makes MinimalistBlogger ideal for a professional blog or writing portfolio in any niche.
To be as user-friendly as possible, MinimalistBlogger offers a variety of handy features right from the WordPress Customizer. You can add a header image and change your site’s color scheme. It also includes a sidebar and multiple footer widget areas that you can add elements to. Although it’s a little light on customization options when compared to some other themes, it gives you enough to personalize your content a bit.
MinimalistBlogger also enables you to monetize your site by integrating AdSense content into your sidebar. You can even create banner ads, providing more real estate for paid promotions.
If you’re starting up your first blog or portfolio site, this user-friendly and budget-conscious theme is well-suited to your needs. MinimalistBlogger will help you get set up quickly so that you can start publishing and bringing in revenue.