10 Best Themes for SEO Performance
There are plenty of strategies you can use to boost search engine optimization (SEO) on your website. From targeting high-value keywords to backlinking and beyond, many digital projects begin with a comprehensive SEO strategy in place.
However, one of the easiest ways to boost your site’s visibility in search is to build it with SEO performance in mind. That means choosing the right tools, plugins, and themes to create a digital environment where your larger SEO strategy can truly thrive.
The right theme can make all the difference for your SEO strategy down the line, but with more than 10,000 themes available in the WordPress repository, finding the right one for your site can be time consuming.
To help you narrow your search, we’ve compiled 10 of the best WordPress themes for SEO below (including free options). Let’s dive in!
Astra
Astra is one of the most popular themes in WordPress history, with more than 2 million sites and a 5-star average rating from more than 5,000 reviews. Among other performance features, Astra’s codebase architecture follows all current SEO best practices, including Schema markup capabilities, to facilitate the best possible search rankings.
You can download the free version, which includes tons of templates to get you started, or upgrade to the Pro, Essential Bundle, or Growth Bundle packages for even more advanced features.
Divi
Another popular theme with stellar SEO capabilities is Divi. Known for its design versatility and the integrated drag-and-drop Divi Builder, the theme code is clean and crafted with SEO best practices in mind, including descriptive HTML and responsive elements.
While there’s no free option for Divi, you can test it free for 30 days to get a feel for the theme and page building experience. If you like the workflow, you can get lifetime access for a single payment of $249.
Genesis
Free for all WordPress users, the Genesis Framework is one of the best options for a theme that will boost your SEO efforts. With high-quality support and extensive documentation for its powerful, built-in SEO tools, Genesis is the perfect framework for building an SEO-ready site on WordPress.
Features like baked-in Schema.org data and semantic HTML5 markup make Genesis great for SEO performance right out of the box, and the wide variety of Genesis-built themes will provide a powerful yet lightweight foundation for your site.
While the built-in SEO functionality of the Genesis framework is powerful on its own, it will also support all major plugins for builders who have a preference for a specific tool and will automatically disable its own built-in options if you choose another too.
Use the Genesis Framework for free, or upgrade to Genesis Pro for $360/year to use Genesis, its premium themes, and the Genesis Pro plugin on as many sites as you’d like on any hosting platform!
GrowthPress
Created by ProteusThemes, GrowthPress is a conversion-focused theme that’s built to improve your engagement rate. Features include a standalone sales page, widgets support, and pre-approval from Google’s mobile-friendliness tests, not to mention the fact that it’s optimized for local SEO out of the box.
Try it out with a 7-day free trial or purchase a plan to get started. The Personal plan will work great for a single active website, while the Agency plan will give you access to all of ProteusThemes’ 21 WordPress themes for an unlimited amount of active sites.
Marketing Pro
Designed with modern marketing workflows and agency use in mind, the Marketing Pro theme comes with a handful of ready-made, responsive templates and an easy-to-use visual composer. The lightweight code is SEO friendly and the visual editor and flexible page elements make it easy to build a stunning site, even with little coding experience.
You can download the theme for just $59 to try it yourself!
NavigationPro Theme
Free for WP Engine and GenesisPro customers, the NavigationPro theme comes equipped with a bold, beautiful look that’ll help you stand out. As with the entire suite of GenesisPro themes, NavigationPro is SEO-ready right out of the box, and the included starter packs make it a great option for building stunning travel, cuisine, fitness, or law sites.
WP Engine and GenesisPro customers can download NavigationPro and start using it for free today!
Porto
This multipurpose eCommerce theme includes more than 130 pre-built sites to get your next project up and running quickly, and it’s been used by more than 80,000 WordPress users to date. Plus, the Speed Optimize Wizard included in the theme allows you to quickly make changes that will improve site performance, like enabling lazy loading for images and the ability to minimize elements.
You can download Porto, the multipurpose and WooCommerce theme, for just $59.
Qi
If you like working with Elementor, you’ll love the Qi theme. Adding it to your workflow is simple, and your SEO strategy will thank you for it.
Whether you want to test out the free version or upgrade to a paid version for even more functionality, this SEO-optimized theme will set you up for success with blazing fast speed, responsive styles, and nearly endless customizability.
Schema
Developers at MyThemeShop created Schema with SEO-friendliness in mind, and its customizable designs and schema integration make it a great choice for developers with SEO on the brain.
Try it out on a single site for just $39 or purchase a MyThemeShop membership to use the Schema theme on unlimited sites for $199.
SEO Crawler
For agencies that want to crank out SEO friendly websites quickly and easily, SEO Crawler by GoodLayers is a great option. With a 4.63 star rating on themeforest and reviews that rave about stellar customer service, SEO Crawler is a great choice for building fast, responsive, SEO-friendly websites.
Download SEO Crawler on themeforest for just $64 to get started.
Start With SEO in Mind
The best way to ensure success in your SEO strategy is to keep it in mind during every significant decision you’ll make for a website, starting with the theme you choose to build with.
If you’re looking for deeper insights into the wide world of SEO, join our June SEO Mini-Series! We’re bringing together experts in the field for three sessions, each dedicated to a different aspect of SEO readiness.
Learn more about the discussion topics here, or head straight to the registration page to save your spot!
