When it comes to creating a stunning and highly functional website, WordPress offers a plethora of themes to choose from. The options range from simplistic free themes to premium bundles with advanced features. However, if your top priority is the loading speed of your website, you should focus on finding the fastest WordPress themes available. In this article, we will introduce you to 17 of the fastest WordPress themes that can significantly improve your website’s loading time and enhance your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Top 8 Free Fastest WordPress Themes
- Astra
- Neve
- OceanWP
- Twenty Twenty
- Hello Elementor
- Sydney
- Writee
- Airi
Top 9 Premium Fastest WordPress Themes
- GeneratePress
- Bimber
- Zakra
- Divi
- Page Builder Framework
- Customify
- Hestia Pro
- Wanium
- The7
How We Measured Speed
To determine the fastest WordPress themes, we conducted speed tests using GTMetrix and PageSpeed Insights. These tests were performed on a clean WordPress installation with no added templates, media, or demo content. Here are the key metrics we considered:
GTMetrix Performance Metrics
- GTMetrix Performance Score: Evaluates page loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
- Fully Loaded Time: The time it takes for the entire page to load.
- Total Page Size: The size of the page, which affects loading time.
- HTTP Requests: The number of HTTP requests made to retrieve page files.
PageSpeed Insights Metrics (Mobile)
- Overall Score: A combination of speed index, time for interactivity, and other measures.
- Speed Index: Time for all site content to be displayed.
- Time to Interactivity: Time for website elements to fully load and become interactive.
Benefits of Having a Fast Website
Having a fast-loading website offers several significant advantages:
- Improved SEO: Google considers page speed as a ranking factor, enhancing your website’s visibility in search results.
- Enhanced User Experience: Faster websites keep visitors engaged and reduce bounce rates.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Speedy page loading boosts e-commerce sales by providing a seamless shopping experience.
- Better Mobile Performance: Mobile users expect quick loading times, and speed improves mobile rankings.
Tips to Improve Website Speed
In addition to selecting a fast WordPress theme, you can further enhance your website’s speed with these tips:
- File Compression: Reduce page size by compressing CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files using Gzip compression.
- Optimize Images: Compress and resize images to reduce their file size and loading time.
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): CDNs distribute your website’s content across multiple data centers, reducing loading times.
- Leverage Cache Plugins: Cache plugins create cached copies of your pages, speeding up subsequent visits.
- Minimize URL Redirects: Unnecessary redirects can add unnecessary HTTP requests, slowing down your site.
By following these strategies and choosing one of the fastest WordPress themes, you can create a high-speed, user-friendly website that ranks well in search engines and keeps visitors engaged. Now, let’s dive deeper into each of the recommended themes:
Top 8 Free Fastest WordPress Themes
- Astra
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 98% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 1 million+
- Rating: 5/5
- Notable Features: Various starter templates, WooCommerce-ready
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Astra is one of the fastest WordPress themes available, with a GTMetrix performance score of 98% and a fully loaded time of 1.4 seconds. It boasts over 1 million downloads and a perfect 5-star rating. Astra offers numerous starter templates for various website types and is WooCommerce-ready, making it ideal for building speedy e-commerce sites.
Customization options include access to more than 700 Google Fonts and unlimited color choices. The premium version of Astra offers even more features at a reasonable price.
- Neve
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 98% (GTMetrix), 100 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 200,000+
- Rating: 4.8/5
- Notable Features: Compatibility with page builders, mobile-optimized
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Neve is a lightweight and versatile theme with a GTMetrix score of 98% and a rapid one-second full loading time. It offers more than 30 ready-to-import starter templates and is compatible with popular page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder. Neve is ideal for creating fast-loading websites for various purposes.
The premium version unlocks additional features and customization options.
- OceanWP
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 95% (GTMetrix), 87 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 700,000+
- Rating: 4.9/5
- Notable Features: WooCommerce integration, cart pop-up, floating add-to-cart bar, quick view functionality
- Best Suited For: eCommerce websites
- Price: Freemium
OceanWP is an excellent choice for eCommerce sites, with a loading time of 1.6 seconds and a 95% GTMetrix performance score. It offers WooCommerce integration and features like cart pop-ups, floating add-to-cart bars, and quick view functionality. While mobile performance lags slightly, OceanWP remains a strong option for online stores.
Premium extensions are available to enhance its capabilities.
- Twenty Twenty
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 94% (GTMetrix), 79 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 1 million+
- Rating: 4.3/5
- Notable Features: Integrated with WordPress installation
- Best Suited For: Personal blogs, simple websites
- Price: Free
Twenty Twenty may not be the most feature-rich theme, but it’s one of the fastest WordPress themes available. It scores 94% on GTMetrix and loads in 1.9 seconds. As a default theme in WordPress, it’s readily available and offers compatibility with the block editor for easy customization.
- Hello Elementor
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 99% (GTMetrix), 100 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 600,000+
- Rating: 4.9/5
- Notable Features: Built for use with Elementor page builder
- Best Suited For: Elementor-based websites
- Price: Free
Hello Elementor is a minimalist theme specifically designed to work seamlessly with the Elementor page builder. With GTMetrix and PageSpeed Insights scores of 99% and 100, respectively, it’s incredibly fast and lightweight.
While it’s optimized for Elementor, it can be used with other page builders or standalone. Hello Elementor offers a clean slate for your Elementor-based projects.
- Sydney
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 93% (GTMetrix), 84 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 1 million+
- Rating: 4.7/5
- Notable Features: Full-screen slider, custom Elementor blocks
- Best Suited For: Business websites
- Price: Freemium
Sydney is a popular choice for business websites, featuring a full-screen slider and custom Elementor blocks. While its loading time of 2.1 seconds is a bit slower, its GTMetrix score of 93% indicates excellent performance. Sydney offers a free version with the option to upgrade for more features and customization.
- Writee
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 96% (GTMetrix), 89 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 30,000+
- Rating: 4.9/5
- Notable Features: Blog-centric, multiple blog layouts
- Best Suited For: Bloggers, writers
- Price: Free
Writee is a fast-loading WordPress theme tailored for bloggers and writers. With a GTMetrix score of 96% and a loading time of 1.7 seconds, it ensures your content is delivered swiftly. Writee offers multiple blog layouts and customization options for bloggers seeking a minimalist design.
- Airi
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 97% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Downloads: 20,000+
- Rating: 5/5
- Notable Features: WooCommerce integration, Elementor-ready
- Best Suited For: Business websites, online stores
- Price: Freemium
Airi is a versatile theme with excellent performance metrics. It scores 97% on GTMetrix and loads in 1.5 seconds. With WooCommerce integration and Elementor compatibility, it’s a solid choice for business websites and online stores. Airi offers both free and premium versions.
Top 9 Premium Fastest WordPress Themes
- GeneratePress
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 99% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Super lightweight, compatibility with major page builders, WooCommerce-ready
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Premium ($59/year)
GeneratePress is an incredibly lightweight and fast theme, scoring 99% on GTMetrix with a rapid loading time of 1.1 seconds. It’s highly customizable and works seamlessly with major page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder. GeneratePress is ideal for all types of websites and comes with a premium price tag, which includes a year of updates and premium support.
- Bimber
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 96% (GTMetrix), 97 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Viral magazine style, social media integration, ad-ready
- Best Suited For: Viral content and magazine websites
- Price: Premium ($59/year)
Bimber is a theme designed for viral content and magazine-style websites. It maintains good speed, with a GTMetrix score of 96% and a loading time of 1.7 seconds. Bimber offers social media integration and is ad-ready, making it a top choice for websites focused on sharing trending content.
- Zakra
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 97% (GTMetrix), 98 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Lightweight, multiple starter sites, WooCommerce compatibility
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Zakra is a lightweight theme with a GTMetrix score of 97% and a loading time of 1.3 seconds. It offers multiple starter sites for various niches and is compatible with WooCommerce for building online stores. Zakra has both a free and premium version, allowing users to unlock additional features.
- Divi
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 96% (GTMetrix), 84 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Powerful page builder, extensive modules and layouts
- Best Suited For: Creative and multipurpose websites
- Price: Premium ($89/year)
Divi, known for its powerful page builder, scores 96% on GTMetrix with a loading time of 1.8 seconds. It’s highly customizable and suitable for a wide range of website types. Divi offers an extensive library of modules and layouts, making it a premium choice for creative and multipurpose websites.
- Page Builder Framework
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 98% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Designed for page builders, WooCommerce compatibility
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Page Builder Framework is a theme explicitly designed for page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder. It scores 98% on GTMetrix with a loading time of 1.2 seconds. The theme is highly flexible, making it suitable for various websites, and offers both a free and premium version with enhanced features.
- Customify
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 98% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Lightweight, WooCommerce compatibility, header and footer builder
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Customify is a lightweight and fast theme with a GTMetrix score of 98% and a loading time of 1.1 seconds. It comes with WooCommerce compatibility, allowing you to create online stores, and features a header and footer builder for enhanced customization. Customify offers both free and premium versions.
- Schema Pro
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 97% (GTMetrix), 98 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: SEO-friendly, rich snippets, schema markup
- Best Suited For: Content-focused and SEO-driven websites
- Price: Premium ($79/year)
Schema Pro is an SEO-focused theme that scores 97% on GTMetrix with a loading time of 1.4 seconds. It’s designed to enhance your website’s SEO performance, offering rich snippets and schema markup capabilities. Schema Pro is ideal for content-focused and SEO-driven websites.
- Neve
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 98% (GTMetrix), 99 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: Lightweight, compatibility with major page builders, WooCommerce-ready
- Best Suited For: All kinds of websites
- Price: Freemium
Neve is a lightweight and fast theme that scores 98% on GTMetrix with a loading time of 1.2 seconds. It’s compatible with major page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder, making it versatile for all types of websites. Neve offers both free and premium versions.
- Newspaper
Theme Stats:
- Speed Test Result: 95% (GTMetrix), 88 (PageSpeed Insights)
- Notable Features: News and magazine design, tagDiv Composer page builder
- Best Suited For: News and magazine websites
- Price: Premium ($59/year)
Newspaper is a theme tailored for news and magazine websites. It maintains good speed, with a GTMetrix score of 95% and a loading time of 1.9 seconds. The theme includes the tagDiv Composer page builder, specialized for news layouts. Newspaper is an excellent choice for content-rich websites.
These WordPress themes cater to a wide range of needs, from fast-loading, free options to premium themes with advanced features. Be sure to choose the one that best suits your website’s requirements and budget.
