A killer portfolio is your trusty sidekick — it’s always there to help you showcase your best work and land those awesome gigs. If done well, it helps catch wandering eyes and secure those oh-so-coveted clients.
WordPress is a terrific choice when determining which platform to use for your website. That is of course if you’re not using our portfolios 😉 It’s free to download and has a deep pool of talented coders and designers creating new eye-catching features frequently.
With that in mind, read on for the best WordPress portfolio themes to use in your website design!
Hub
An all-around powerhouse portfolio theme that’s versatile and simple to use.
TheGem
Another terrific theme with premium plugins and over 400 pre-made layouts.
Disclosure: When you buy after clicking some of the links this article, we may earn an affiliate commission.
1. Hub
I personally use this theme on my portfolio website and two others (so far), and love it.
The Hub theme is a visual website builder, and is an excellent choice for your portfolio. One of my favorite aspects of the theme is how fast-loading and lightweight it is, while still being feature rich. The authors also paid special attention to SEO optimizations, which will help your designs get discovered online.
The theme also includes over 80 pre-built websites, over 700 section templates, and more than 100 inner pages. Add to that the 13 pre-made portfolio grid layouts with customizable hover effects and more, and you’ve got everything you need to launch your website, whether it’s a straightforward portfolio, an e-commerce shop, or anything in between.
The authors are still creating new features and releasing them often. So, once you’ve got the theme, you’ve also got access to the new elements.
Hub is truly an amazing, all-in-one portfolio solution you should try.
- Fast loading
- Tons of pre-made designs and widgets
- Amazingly customizable
2. TheGem
Built with creatives in mind, TheGem offers many professional and eye-catching features for creatives right out of the box.
In fact, not only are there 400+ pre-made templates includes, there are over 20 aimed specifically at creatives.
What’s more, included in the theme purchase are the following premium plugins:
- WPBakery Page Builder (valued at $64)
- Revolution Slider (valued at $85)
- LayerSlider (valued at $25)
- WP Rocket (valued at $49)
We use WP Rocket to speed up the blog here on Foundmyself and it’s terrific. With the rest of these plugins you’ll be able to visually create a masterful portfolio worthy of your creations.
- Free premium plugins
- 400+ pre-made templates
- Fast & SEO friendly
3. Bridge
Bridge is another complete website solution that can create just about anything you can think of. In fact, they have over six hundred pre-made demos for inspiration if you need it.
Bundled with the theme are a number of premium plugins, together worth over $100. These include Elementor and WPBakery, both of which are popular and powerful visual builders; Slider Revolution for visually striking carousels and galleries; Layer Slider for more animated image effects; and Timetable Responsive Schedule, which is a handy calendar and planner you could use to show visitors your availability.
For portfolios, Bridge has ample pre-built options. Creating your own is easy, too, with the visual builders and high-quality modules. It’s easy to see why Bridge has so many downloads and five-star reviews.
- Powerful builder
- Premium plugins
- 600+ demos
4. Oshine
Oh, Oshine – what an excellent theme for creatives of all types. It’s modern, performant, and easy to customize. Included is the free version of Tatsu Builder, which is a visual editor with lots of pre-built sections. The pro version, which isn’t included, offers more, but you’ll likely be able to make whatever you like with the free one, as it’s plenty powerful.
On the backend, there are lots of performance enhancements. For example, lazy loading images, and JavaScript that loads asynchronously and only if necessary. Many themes load all the JavaScript they might possibly need, even if your design isn’t using the parts that require that code. Oshine, on the other hand, loads code based on what features you’ve incorporated into your site, cutting down on overhead and improving site speed.
With impressive download numbers and positive reviews, Oshine is worth your time!
- Sleek visual builder
- 50+ pre-made demos
- 60+ design elements
5. Laurits
With a clean and modern artistic flair, the Laurits theme has a distinct look. If your work leans toward the artistic side or is minimalist in style, this theme might be a perfect one for you.
The theme includes a dozen templates to get you started if you need them, plus a bunch of portfolio and page layouts. It also includes the Slider Revolution Responsive WordPress Plugin, which if bought separately would cost around $85.
Personally, I like the sparse, organized look of the theme. If you do, too, give it a look at the link below.
- Refined & modern look
- Slider Revolution
- 12 homepage templates
6. Novo
Although marketed toward photographers, the Novo theme is nonetheless a terrific them for any portfolio website. It includes a number of pre-made layouts, plus a visual builder to create your own custom pages.
Features like a before and after slider are included. It’s also WooCommerce compatible (as are many of the themes listed here), so you can easily sell products or images.
I was impressed with the clean and professional look of the pre-made themes. Each one is also available in a light and dark color scheme, but you can customize everything exactly how you like.
- Elementor & WP Bakery
- 13 gallery types
- Frequent updates
7. ART
Here’s another theme that will help your portfolio website stand out. ART is modern and quirky, but easy to use and quick to load. I feel like it could just as easily be named “Chic” based on the look and feel of the pre-made designs.
Just like the other high quality themes in our list, ART is SEO optimized, as well, meaning you don’t have to bend over backward for search engines to index and rank your content.
Recently the authors added new features, as well, such as a before and after slider, parallax effects, funky transitions, and more.
- Modern look
- 30+ pre-made layouts
- Visual editor
There you have it
Seven amazing and easy-to-use themes to wow your future clients. Hope you found this list useful!
FAQ
Is WordPress the best platform for my creative portfolio?
WordPress is an excellent platform for your portfolio website. Besides the recommended themes on this page, there are many free (but somewhat limited) options. Plus, WordPress has a massive library of sliders, galleries, and other plugins that you can use to show your creations off in style.
Are these themes pre-built templates or can I make changes to them?
Each theme recommended in this article offers completely pre-made websites and sections (think slideshows, fancy headers, etc.). These are useful for examining some of the themes’ more advanced styling and layout features. Also, starting with a template and changing it to suit your tastes can save you time.
Each theme also includes a premium visual site builder, like Elementor and WPBakery, which you can use to build your website visually. Visual builders allow you to drag and drop elements onto your website to get an immediate idea of how the final design will look.
How do I install the theme after I’ve downloaded it?
How you install your theme depends on which one you’ve chosen. You should follow the instructions in the ZIP file the theme’s author provided.
In most cases, you just log into your WordPress control panel and then go to Appearance > Themes > Add new. After that, upload the theme’s ZIP file in the main bundle of files that you downloaded.
I’m a graphic designer/photographer/fine artist – which theme is best for me?
Please read the reviews above for details on which would work best for your passion and style. However, any of these should work fantastic whether you’re a fine artist, a graphic designer, a photographer, etc.
Are these purchases subscriptions?
No. Each theme you buy is yours forever. You’ll even enjoy free updates as long as the authors roll them out.
