Themes play a role in website design. Choosing the right theme can determine whether your website is responsive on various types of device screens, SEO-friendly, and even neat in terms of the use of fonts and images.
On WordPress, there are thousands of themes, both free and paid. For beginners, a free WordPress theme is more than enough because it has a variety of features to suit all types of websites.
A good-looking WordPress theme is great, but there’s more to it than good looks. That’s right, apart from looks, the loading speed of a WordPress theme is also important. In this article, we will cover the 10+ fastest WordPress themes in 2021.
The themes we reviewed and recommended here will not only make your website look nicer, but also optimize its loading speed and performance. Happy reading!
Why is Loading Speed Important?
Imagine you are standing in line to buy a cup of coffee at a coffee shop. Their coffee variants and flavors are indeed delicious, but to make an order, they take more than 15 minutes even when it’s not crowded.
Pretty annoying, right?
It doesn’t matter if you can always be patient, especially if the coffee they sell is really good.
Unfortunately, not everyone has unlimited patience.
This also applies to website loading speed. According to Kissmetrics, 40% of visitors will cancel visiting a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
Based on these statistics, try to estimate how many of your prospects will turn away.
They may come back because they already like your product. But sadly, Kissmetric data also shows that 79% of customers who are dissatisfied with a slow website are less likely to make time to return.
What’s more, the loading speed will not only affect traffic, but also the website’s SERP (Search Engine Results Pages). As a result, sales figures and brand awareness can also be affected.
There are many factors that can affect the loading speed of website pages.
One of them is web hosting that is not optimal. The performance of the hosting provider plays an important role for page loading speed. So, choose a trusted hosting provider.
Another factor is the theme you use. This problem is common with WordPress sites, as website owners usually prioritize low prices over performance.
For that, choose the best WordPress theme that will help increase the speed of your website.
10+ Fastest WordPress Themes for Optimal Performance
Out of the many best WordPress themes available, we have selected 15+ of the fastest WordPress themes that can help optimize your website. The themes we reviewed here not only have an attractive appearance, but also fast loading times.
The themes we list here have gone through a website speed test from Pingdom, based on survey results which state that the longest loading time that is generally understandable is three seconds.
So, our recommended themes are guaranteed not to take more than three seconds to load.
1. Scalia
Versatile themes are now increasingly favored by users. Because a theme like this is suitable for various types of websites. Well, Scalia can be the right choice because it will make your website look more unique and attractive compared to competitors’ websites.
Depending on the purpose and niche of your website, choose one of Scalia’s five design concepts. Relax, you can still add a personal touch through the available customization options.
If you need to do a complete customization, Scalia provides a Visual Composer page builder to help you spruce up your site layout.
Even cooler, you will not only get the Visual Composer plugin. This theme is equipped with other premium plugins, such as LayerSlider and MailChimp which will further optimize the performance of your website.
On top of that, this one of the fastest WordPress themes is SEO compatible, includes integration with Google Analytics, and has a loading time of just 1.87 seconds! Really a good choice and pocket friendly.
2. Astra
This versatile, fast loading WordPress theme provides tons of customization options to build the website of your dreams. There are various ready-made website templates that you can choose from, and you can customize them however you like.
Whether you are creating a personal blog or an eCommerce store, Astra is the most versatile super-fast WordPress theme out there. What’s more, you don’t need to understand coding to start your project with this theme..
Astra is also a lightweight WordPress theme that uses the best coding standards for a smooth User Experience for visitors. In terms of SEO, this theme is compatible from the start as well as user-friendly and has tons of useful widgets & features. If you have a problem, there is a comprehensive documentation page available to help you.
There are over one million active users of this theme now, and with WooCommerce integration and loading times of less than one second, Astra is a fast loading WordPress theme option that you should look into.
3. TheGem
TheGem is one of the fastest WordPress templates you should try. Launched by CodexThemes, TheGem offers 40 ready-to-use demos for various types of websites that can be easily imported into your site.
The customization features are also available with a theme options panel and a complete and powerful drag-and-drop page builder tool.
With all these advantages, TheGem doesn’t require you to have any technical background to customize every element of the site’s appearance.
Like Scalia, TheGem is also compatible with several translation, newsletter, eCommerce, and optimization plugins such as WooCommerce, Yoast, and MailChimp. Even better, this theme includes responsive WordPress themes that support display on mobile devices.
In terms of speed, this theme only takes 2.00 seconds to load. With excellent retina-optimized image quality and icons, TheGem will fine-tune the performance and appearance of your website to deliver maximum results.
4. Skylar
Skylar can be used for all types of websites. The six demos it provides are not only suitable for popular sites such as personal blogs and online stores, but also for niche websites such as agency and industry sites.
You can change the various customization options as you wish via Visual Composer.
Because it is designed for various needs, Skylar provides Ultimate Addon to its users through Visual Composer. So you’ll get 36 additional shortcodes for building sophisticated websites.
Some of the shortcodes provided include adding animations, Google Trends integration, and a countdown timer.
If you do the math, Skylar has more than 820 theme options and 75 shortcodes, with a loading time of just 961 milliseconds. Plus, this theme is also SEO-friendly!
5. Avada
Avada is one of the best multipurpose themes with tons of demos for your different needs.
There are more than 50 demos that you can use right away or mix-and-match with others as you wish. You can import demos with just one click and then customize them without any custom coding.
Another cool feature offered by Avada is its compliance with the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). To ensure your website is GDPR compliant, Avada provides GDPR tools to manage various privacy-related activities on your site.
With this GDPR tool, you can protect the privacy of your visitors and build trust in their eyes.
Despite having many advanced functions, Avada remains one of the fastest WordPress themes with a loading time of just 1.24 seconds. With this theme, visitors will definitely keep coming back to your website.
6. Adaline
Adaline is one of seven magazine themes designed by Themetry. Unlike previous themes, Themetry doesn’t have many customization options. You may only change the site’s color scheme.
However, this limitation is considered as a distinct advantage by the developers because users don’t have to bother choosing options.
So, Adaline is the right choice for users who don’t want to bother with lots of customization.
Adaline can also be used for a fashion blog although it is basically a magazine theme. This theme’s frontend template provides extensive support for default WordPress widgets and multilevel menus in addition to other core functionality.
As for speed, Adaline passed our speed test with an astonishing score of 560 milliseconds.
If you look at the number of images loaded in it, this theme is definitely worth considering as one of the fastest WordPress themes.
Adaline is available for $69 for a single theme. However, you can get seven Themetry themes bundled for as little as $99.
7. TopNews
TopNews is one of the fastest WordPress themes focused on news sites.
Specifically for news, newspaper, magazine and blog themes, TopNews can arrange your content to make it look more eye-catching and accessible from the homepage.
To date, TopNews offers 11 modern homepage demos focused on popular niches such as travel, food, and technology.
There is also a choice of header and menu styles to personalize the look of your site. The Visual Composer page builder it provides can also facilitate many more complex modifications.
Apart from that, each theme is responsive and SEO-friendly to help you increase your traffic in the long term. In order for the site’s reach to expand quickly, take advantage of the social counter widget from TopNews to monitor your social networking activity.
The loading time of this theme is only 1.87 seconds, so you should consider TopNews as a fast WordPress theme with powerful features.
8. Jannah
Jannah is also one of our recommended WordPress news themes. This theme includes 27 ready-to-use demos that are very easy to import with one click, and can be used with any type of website.
In addition to its advanced customization options, you can upload your own font if the options provided don’t suit your needs. Well, but it looks like you don’t need to use your own font because Jannah has more than 800 Google Fonts and 150 FontFace fonts.
To complete its elegant style, Jannah provides various tools to improve your site’s performance. These tools include GDPR Compliance Support, Gutenberg Support, and Article Inline Ads.
One of Jannah’s great features is its migration plugin. Jannah facilitates the migration process of 17 different themes without changing your post data and shortcodes. On top of that, this theme loads in just 1.58 seconds, making Jannah one of the fastest loading WordPress themes available today.
9. Wanium
Want a fast WordPress theme that is simple but elegant? Wanium is the right choice. This multi-concept theme, which includes 18 demos, is suitable for various types of websites so you can build the website of your dreams effortlessly.
Using Visual Composer as the page builder in this theme will also make the customization and modification process easier. You can mix-and-match each demo feature to design a fresh look on your website.
Want to use this theme for eCommerce sites? Don’t worry, Wanium provides WooCommerce integration and guarantees that your site will always be SEO-friendly. Plus, with a loading time of only 1.35 seconds and an affordable price, this theme will be the right choice if you’re looking for the fastest WordPress theme.
10. Paperio
Designed to facilitate various types of websites, Paperio focuses on providing a sophisticated yet attractive design for users who prioritize appearance.
Paperio offers seven demos that are both aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eyes, as well as fully customizable and retina compatible. This theme will help create branding on your site quickly.
Paperio’s customization features use the default WordPress live customizer, without additional plugins or frameworks. So, there are more than 400 customization options that you can use.
When it comes to features to improve performance, Paperio provides translation plugins, social media widgets, MailChimp newsletter subscriptions, and much more.
You can also use breadcrumb navigation for a better visitor experience. This type of navigation can be especially useful if your site has complex hierarchies.
How about the loading speed of this theme? It doesn’t take long, Paperio only takes 1.35 seconds to load. With a beautiful design, there’s no reason for you not to use it!
11. Visia
Visia is another of our recommendations for portfolio theme options that will enhance the look of your site. Its elegant design is able to make visitors interested in whatever you have to offer using this theme.
Even though it only has a single page, the performance and appearance of Visia is no less amazing than a theme that is able to house websites with complex hierarchies.
Besides that, the recent update of Visia confirmed that this theme fully supports full screen video additional homepage layout with subscription box.
To optimize performance, Visia is a responsive and retina compatible theme. Apart from that, this theme also applies a parallax effect in its design to create an amazing depth illusion.
Apart from its premium appearance, Visia is the perfect choice with a really fast loading time. Your website can fully load in just 449 milliseconds, making it one of the fastest WordPress themes you should choose.
12. SociallyViral
As the name suggests, SociallyViral focuses on increasing your website traffic to go viral with an attractive appearance. Providing two demos that you can choose from, the accessibility of the content on your website is guaranteed to be more optimal and attract attention.
Some of the features that will increase your website traffic are Social Share Optimization, Social Media Icons, Trending Post, and Subscription Box.
What’s more, SociallyViral is not only SEO-friendly, but also optimized for speed and Adsense. Plus, with Schema integration which will improve site SEO, your website’s ranking in search engines will shoot up.
To reach a wider audience, SociallyViral provides RTL support and translation features. Apart from that, you can maintain the quality of your content by taking advantage of the built-in rating system.
Fully loaded in just 408 milliseconds, there’s no doubt that SociallyViral is also one of our recommended super-fast lightweight WordPress themes.
Conclusion
To build a website, an attractive appearance is important, as well as the loading speed of the site.
Unfortunately, many website owners still ignore loading speed for the sake of a beautiful appearance. As a result, website performance has decreased drastically, affecting SEO and ultimately helping to disrupt business.
It is undeniable that loading speed will definitely affect your site. So, it’s best to do research on this aspect before deciding to choose a theme. Good luck!
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