13+ Best WordPress themes for writers, bloggers and authors
Finding WordPress themes for writers can be difficult. WordPress is a blogging tool and content management system, so all themes (for the most part) are optimized or at least suitable for blogging. However, not all WordPress themes are optimized for writers. That’s because not all writers are bloggers. But what’s the difference between bloggers and writers?
Bloggers are content creators who tend to delve into the business side of things. Writers, on the other hand, tend to focus on writing. You can see the differences on their websites as well in the themes they use. Blog WordPress themes tend to advertise the blogger or the business in one way or another, whether if it’s a full-on landing page design on the homepage or a sidebar that features classic blog widgets. WordPress themes for writers, again, are all about content.
What are WordPress themes for writers?
A proper WordPress writer theme is stripped down and has very few features. It uses a true minimalist approach to web design. This is because written content is the central focus of a writer’s website. This means these themes shouldn’t use headers with calls to action, complex menu systems or other features you’d expect to see in professional blog themes. The content should be the main focus of the website. It should greet you as soon as you open it.
WordPress themes for writers should be customizable as well. There should be multiple ways for writers to make these themes their own. This involves sophisticated typography settings, such as the ability to pick different fonts for body text and headers. It can also include things like the ability to choose different colors for different elements and being able to switch out logos with ease.
We’ve compiled a list of the best WordPress themes for writers to help you narrow down your options. They’re modern, responsive and designed to draw the reader’s attention to your content.
MH Magazine is our very own magazine & news WordPress theme, but it still has a place on this list of WordPress themes for writers. It's a WordPress theme designed for content-heavy sites, making it ideal for writers who write <em>a lot</em> of content and different types of content. It's also customizable, allowing you to choose from an unlimited number of colors, adding a text-based logo complete with a tagline and more. This theme is ideal if you want a professional editorial website.
Typology is one of the most minimalist WordPress themes for writers on this list. It's text based, meaning most of its design is dependent on your content. It uses a simple header, which mainly consists of your logo, menu and a featured post. The demo uses a flat background in red for this header, but you can choose different colors. It also borrows a few elements from Google's Material Design, namely soft shadows. This is a beautiful theme to showcase your writing skills.
Wild Book is a personal blog theme, but it's still great for general writers. It uses one of the most elegant designs you'll see in this list of WordPress themes for writers. It uses a static header that displays as a sidebar on the left-hand side of the theme. Your content is displayed on the right-hand side. The image on the left remains static no matter where you navigate to, but the image itself may change. Wild Book is ideal if you're looking for a vintage / retro template for writers.
GraceUnderPressure is one of the most versatile WordPress themes for writers on this list. It allows you to choose one of five designs based on what type of writer you are. This includes Literary, a great theme for traditional writers, such as authors. It also includes blog designs, even ones for specific niches, such as Foodie and Fashion. This theme offers great flexibility for your editorial website.
Hemlock is a blog theme, but it's minimalist and customizable enough to be used as a writer theme. It uses an elegant style, and the options available in the live theme customizer allow you to change a variety of different elements, including colors. It also comes with a full-width blog layout, giving you the ability to create a website whose design is centered around your content.
IMBT is an <em>internet marketing blog theme</em> that uses a minimalist style and a design that matches the overall layout of Medium. Its individual blog post pages use large headers containing the posts' featured images, which use a parallax effect as the reader scrolls down the page. There are no sidebars, so your written work as well as any images you include will be the main pieces of attraction on these pages. This blog WordPress theme is optimized to convert visitors into subscribers.
Reply is a blog theme whose layout comprises of a design where <em>minimal meets bold and content gets center stage</em>. It comes with plenty of powerful blogging features, but it also comes with a lot of simple features that make this theme a powerhouse for writers. This includes several different post formats, color options and the ability to upload your own logo with ease via the live theme customizer. Give this theme a try if you're looking for a beautiful blog template for writers.
Gillion is a multi-concept blog theme, which means it can be used by a variety of different niches in the blogging industry. However, there are plenty of reasons as to why this theme is making an appearance on our list of best WordPress themes for writers. For starters, it comes with a fullwidth demo and plenty of customizable features, giving you the ability to use this theme to build a website optimized for a writer. Gillion can be used for beautiful magazine & news sites as well.
Soledad is a multi-concept blog and magazine theme. It's intended for content-heavy sites, such as professional blogs and news sites, but we found it to be customizable enough for us to include it in our list of best WordPress themes for writers. This includes an elegant and overall minimalist style throughout the theme. This template also includes over 300 options you can play around with and customize in the live theme customizer. Soledad is a flexible WordPress theme for many purposes.
Newsmag is a dedicated news theme, and one of the most powerful news themes available for WordPress. However, it includes a number of different features that also make it one of the best WordPress themes for writers. This includes several different layouts, some of which are more minimalist than others. It also includes well-designed author boxes and the ability to make changes with ease through an integration with Visual Composer.
The Reader is a blog theme that falls between the lines of sophistication and simplicity. It's a great theme for bloggers, but it's just as great for writers. This is because it allows you to use a multi-colored sidebar and a blog layout inspired by the design seen on the <em>Smashing Magazine</em> blog. The Reader also allows to customize different elements.
Himmelen is a personal blog theme that comes with a number of different features that make it as powerful as it is. This includes the ability to choose from different layouts, different header styles, over 650 fonts and more. This ultimately gives you the ability to shape this theme into whatever you need it to be, <em>including</em> using it as a WordPress template for writers.
SmartBlog is another elegant addition to our list of best WordPress themes for writers. It features a beautiful minimalist style, making it easy for dedicated writers to get a site up and running on their own. This minimalist style also gets rid of a cluttered design that only takes attention away from your content more often than not. You can also choose different header styles and take advantage of a great content organization system.
Jevelin is a powerful multipurpose theme. One of its purposes is blogging, which is why it made our list of what we deem to be the best WordPress themes for writers. You'll have the ability to strip this theme down to however you need it for writing, but you can also take advantage of the more advanced and business-oriented aspects of the theme. Most, if not all, of this can be done from the theme's powerful theme panel the developer has created.
Divi may not deserve to be on a list of the best WordPress themes for writers, as some might say, but that doesn't mean it's not powerful or flexible enough to be used for different purposes. In fact, the possibilities with Divi are endless. It's powered by the Divi Builder, so you'll be able to shape this theme into a design you feel suits your content best.
Conclusion: Choose your favorite WordPress template for writers
That’s it! We hope you enjoyed this overview with some of the best WordPress themes for writers. Whether you want to start a blog, launch an online magazine / news website or just focus on your writing skills, these WordPress themes should got you covered. What’s your favorite theme in this collection? Or do you have any questions? Just let us know in the comments! If you haven’t found a suitable WordPress template yet, you could also have a look here: