Less is more right? This simple rule also works well for web design as well as many other aspects of life. Designers know it and users love it. Having said that Website and Blog designs certainly can be complex, colourful and overwhelming and too many themes for WordPress was designed like that. If you want the design of your website to comply with basic elements of minimalistic design I’m sure the list of minimal WordPress themes below will be a real treasure for you. WordPress started out as a dedicated blogging platform and for sure there are some amazing WordPress blog themes available. However we also have other types of themes in this article as WordPress have powerful solutions for many other areas. Minimalist WordPress themes can be excellent as they are but typically they are used as a good starting point for creating a unique look and feel. Because they are minimal and simple they are easier to adjust to your specific requirements. This article is often updated with new themes and all links are checked.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you). I recommend that you do your own independent research before purchasing any product or service. This article is not a guideline, a recommendation or endorsement of specific products.
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Minimal WordPress theme collection
SimplePress WordPress Minimal Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
SimplePress is a slick new page-based WordPress minimal theme great for anyone looking to give their website a clean and professional look. My goal with this design was to make something similar to our other business-oriented themes, but with a simpler and crisper aesthetic. The theme features a un-bloated bloated homepage with a beautiful javascript slider and clear hierarchy, as well as fully functional Blog and Gallery sections. If you like this type of theme I am sure you will like the collection I made of simple WordPress themes – they are great for starting up a unique design and easy to adapt to your needs. You find the simple themes here.
TRIM Minimal Responsive theme for WordPress – MORE INFO / DEMO
Trim is simple, professional, versatile and fast WordPress minimal theme. Trim might be simple, but with that simplicity comes a sense of balance and crispness that is quite refreshing. Coupled with a bunch of great features, Trim is a great theme that will prove useful for a variety of different websites. Trim is a fully responsive design that adapts to your user’s variable screen size.
80/20 – Magazine Minimal WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Eighty Twenty is a simple WordPress theme for both print and digital publications. Eighty Twenty uses a bold, clear, and organized layout as well as strong and simple visual elements. All together creating absolutely minimal fluff and fuss – just a smart and simple window for your post content.
The theme options are lite and easy, freeing you from feature-bloat and unnecessary learning curves that get in the way of you and your content. Just install the theme and get going. Eighty Twenty makes the most of the WordPress sticky-post functionality, so it’s a breeze for you to organize your homepage featured posts and avoid duplicates.
Blox: Bold WordPress Minimal Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
A big, bold, beautiful, portfolio theme for creatives. Designed to put your work in the forefront, Blox is all about showcasing your talent. Each portfolio is its own “block” of creative awesome which can feature your designs, demo reels, or audio tracks. Or all three.
Lucid WordPress Theme Minimal Layout – MORE INFO / DEMO
Lucid is a sleek and modern magazine theme that does a great job displaying tons of content while still maintaining a minimalistic layout. Clean design elements and a strict grid give the theme an organized layout that is a pleasure to read. Lucid is also fully responsive, meaning that the design will adapt to mobile phones and tablets for a more intuitive browsing experience, making it one of the best WordPress minimalist themes.
U-Design WordPress Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
U-Design is a very powerful theme which suits both, users with no programming background as well as advanced developers. It will help you build your site in no time to your liking with minimal effort. It empowers you to set any color to elements such as backgrounds, links, text, menu links, etc. You can completely change the look and feel of your site in seconds. You can also choose from over 400 fonts, including Google Font Directory and Cufón fonts. This number will grow with time since many new fonts are being added to the Google fonts library. The theme also features 6 (six) Home page sliders for you to choose from. U-design is great for business websites – and if this is what you want to set up I recommend you check out LeanBiz – A Great Business WordPress Theme‘ text=’this article’] with business websites only.
Flexible Responsive WordPress Portfolio Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Flexible is a sleek and minimal portfolio and photography theme packed full of some awesome features. The theme puts your work first, keeping the design elements to a minimum while still maintaining a definitive modern style. With its filterable, ajax-powered multi-media gallery, Flexible is perhaps our most feature-rich gallery theme yet.
WP-clear – MORE INFO / DEMO
Solostream recently released version 2.0 of their popular simple WordPress theme, WP-Clear. This updated version includes numerous new features and layout options with magazine, business and blog layout styles. Other features include 2 content sliders, multiple post and page layout options, integrated banner ad spots, options panel for easy customization and more. This simple WordPress theme is a “must see”.
AREA53 – A Responsive HTML5 WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
AREA53 is a Responsive (full) HTML5 with a cool responsive slider. It’s full featured with the Content Composer to create professional pages in minutes, filterable portfolio and much more.
Nova Cool Minimal Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Nova is a sharp, simplistic design that makes for an intuitive user experience. Nova’s biggest strength is its homepage, which allows you to organize your content into two areas. The Featured Slider is perhaps the most versatile slider we have built, and comes with multiple slider variations that breath new life into the design.
Deadline Minimal Magazine Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Deadline is a Powerful, Professional, Premium WordPress News or Magazine theme. It comes packed with an impressive array of custom options and widgets allowing you to control the look and feel.
Cleanr – Responsive, Minimal Portfolio Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Cleanr is a responsive, corporate, beautiful WordPress theme and it just fits perfectly for your upcoming corporate project. Just the right amount of features are included, no extra jib-jabbing, yadda-yadda.
It comes with a handful set of options, like: Responsive Layout, swift AJAX enhancement of Portfolio Items on the Homepage, Portfolio Items support for both Images, Slideshow & Embedded Videos, multiple Post Formats (Audio, Video, Standard, Image) and more stuff which is waiting for you to discover.
Passion Reloaded Responsive WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
This is a really cool simple business WordPress theme with great responsive layout and page builder to take complete control of the individual pages.
Easy Minimal WordPress Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
Easy is a great Magazine WordPress Theme that offers a clean design and neat code. The rich theme admin panel and widgets enable you to control over your content, manage your advertisment, show your latest tweet, video, photos and much more.
Modest – WordPress Minimal Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
A WordPress minimal theme with beautiful typography and subtle gradients from Elegant Themes and it certainly belongs in this list of Minimal WordPress Themes.
Avada | Responsive Multi-Purpose Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
The Avada theme is build to match any type of website; business, corporate, portfolio, products. etc. The layout is clean, super flexible and is fully responsive (try resizing your browser). Built with HTML5 and CSS3 . A lot of thought and care were put into Avada making it a pleasure to use. Avada is loaded with options, and has powerful customization options.
Coraline Ajax And Responsive WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Coraline is a great theme for the creative agency, freelancer or general business. Has a lot of modules are ready for homepage, it’s simple-to-use, customize and install.
Evolution Minimal Responsive theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Evolution come with 4 distinct layouts, each meant to improve your user’s experience when browsing on mobile phones and tablets. No longer will they need to zoom and scroll to view your site, as the theme’s layout will adapt to the small screen and serve your content in an intuitive way automatically. Just try reducing your browser’s window size when preview the theme to see the magic in action!
Yin & Yang: Clear and Slick Portfolio Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Yin & Yang is a light, minimalistic, simple to use portfolio theme. Quick to setup and easy to customize, thanks to the powerful admin panel, and the detailed documentation, Yin & Yang is the perfect theme for showcasing your most important work directly in front of your potential clients.
Yin & Yang has got you covered on all fronts, so if you ever get stuck on anything, rest assured that you’re going to get the help of a professional, if and when you need it, because Yin & Yang comes with excellent customer support.
SmartStart WP – Responsive HTML5 Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
SmartStart WP is a simple and clean but still professional WordPress theme suitable for any business blog or portfolio, and it’s created by using the latest HTML5 and CSS3 techniques. With a responsive design it is easily usable with any device (Desktop, tablet, mobile phone…), without removing any content!
The Professional WordPress Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
The goal with TheProfessional was to create a sleek and simple design without all of the extra features on the homepage that some people have no need for. This layout will be very easy for your visitors to understand and navigate. The three short blurbs on the homepage are easy to take in and the prominent slider provides a clear call to action.
DeepFocus – MORE INFO / DEMO
This is a great pick among the many Minimal WordPress Themes available. Deep Focus turns your WordPress blog into a fully functional online photo gallery while still maintaining all of the features of a normal blog. Along with the gallery layout, DeepFocus comes with a robust blog and CMS-style homepage as well, making it an amazing solution for artists/photographers looking to build an online presence.
Bigbang – Responsive WordPress Template – MORE INFO / DEMO
This is a crisp and clean looking WordPress theme that is fully responsive. It has 6 blog formats and portfolio page templates, 2 contact page layouts, 2 home page layouts and many more nice features.
Standard WordPress Theme – MORE INFO
A personal or professional blogging premium WordPress theme which has been designed to place the focus on your content. The theme claims to be carefully coded for load speed and SEO optimisation and includes an admin options panel, integrated advertising placements, 4 built in page templates and more. This is one of my favourite Minimal WordPress Themes.
Whitelight Clean Theme for WordPress – MORE INFO | DEMO
Whitelight was designed by Chris Rowe, with the aims to set a new standard on our business theme line-up. It features a clean and responsive design, customized modular homepage, portfolio functionality that we all love and integrated WooCommerce goodness (child theme) for your e-commerce needs.
CHAMELEON Minimal WordPress Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
Chameleons are known for their ability to change the color of their skin. The patterns and color combinations you find in chameleons are almost endless, and our new theme is no different! Chameleon was created to be a simple and professional theme with loads of customization options that do not require web development experience to utilize.
ARES – Blog Magazine Minimal Template – MORE INFO / DEMO
Ares is The Clean Magazine, News and Blog Template built with latest WordPress features.
DailyJournal Responsive Blog WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
DailyJournal is a fully responsive personal blog. It is the first blog theme from ElegantThemes that will automatically adapt to the screen’s size, insuring that your content is always displayed beautifully no matter what device visitors are using. Check the varius layouts (media queries) below or test the theme demo yourself.
Good Space – Responsive Minimal WP Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
Good Space Good Space is a WordPress theme especially for creative agency. It’s very clean, minimal with modern design. This theme is also has a responsive ability. Moreover, it comes with tons of features. Including our page items that can be managed very easily via our awesome tool, ‘Page Builder’. Admin panel in this theme is a real feature rich. You can also create unlimited sidebar, choosing over 450 fonts or if you want to use your own, we provide a cufon uploader. You can also translate each elements to your language via this admin panel.
Purity Minimal WordPress – MORE INFO / DEMO
Purity is a Clean and Minimal New WordPress Theme with a ‘BOLD’ feel that can be easily used as a personal portfolio or a business website. With an extensive documentation and a demo content you won’t have any problems setting your page up.
Minimal WordPress Theme – MORE INFO / DEMO
Minimal is a great theme for those who want to give their blog a truly simple and elegant feel without sacrificing any of the advanced features you have come to expect from ElegantThemes. The colors are easy on the eye, and the overall minimalist approach to the design makes for a relaxing and user-friendly experience for your visitors. This is one of the best simple wordpress themes available – at least that is my opinion.
Aggregate WordPress Theme – MORE INFO | DEMO
Aggregates comes packed with tons of content and widget-ready areas, and manages to display everything in a clear and readable manner. It has some handy new widgets, as well as many new advertisement areas. If you have been searching for a feature-rich Magazine-style theme for your blog, then look no further!
GoodMinimal – MORE INFO / DEMO
Good Minimal is a responsive HTML5 & CSS3 , clean and minimalist style theme that is good for portfolio, blogs and businesses. This theme is flexible and is used media queries to adapt screen sizes, whether it is iPhone, iPad and wide screens.
Media Consult – MORE INFO / DEMO
Even if presented as a consultancy theme, Media Consult WordPress theme can be used for a wide variety of business & portfolio sites or just a personal blog.
Propulsion – MORE INFO / DEMO
Propulsion is a responsive WordPress Theme (try resizing your browser), suited for users who want to create a business, portfolio or eCommerce site. The Theme is built on top of the fabulous woocommerce shop plugin as well as the bbPress Forum plugin. It comes with a plethora of options so you can modify layout, styling, colors and fonts directly from within the backend. 3 Slideshows, 21 predefined skins (which are easy to modify from your backend), font and color options as well as dynamic template builder will help you create the Website you need in no time.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice collection
Maybe you could add “codium extend” to your awesome list! http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/codium-extend or “Commune” http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/commune
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Top Collections..Thanks!
They are beautiful in their own minimal beauty, but the main thing I wanted to tell is:
1) thanks for post
2) you have a BROKEN LINK to your other post about elements and principles of minimalist web design – you probably want to correct it. I managed to find the post you mean by erasing 2011 from URL.
Good luck!
Thanks Elene, I have fixed the link!
Nice list! I see that most themes listed here are from Themeforest. Themeforest is one of my favorite places to go for WP themes.
Yes I agree Jessica. Themeforest is a great theme marketplace!
Clean and neat designs. Thanks for sharing this inspiring collection.
very nice themes. thank you !
I do not see minimalist templates here, most of them are loaded with features
they are nice, but not minimalist … I am looking for real clean minimal themes…
Connie you are right real minimalism is less but again there are different levels of this depending on the actual needs.
very nice collection, thank you for info.
Thought this was a great article and one that features some very interesting and inspiring designs. I really like the Vulcan theme with the use of colour and layout. It really gets across a clean and modern feel and with the use of typography also gets across the minimalist style. There are a lot of great designs in this collection and I will be using this article as a resource when I come to design a site with a minimalist feel. Great article and I look forward to more from yourself.
I just re-launched a client’s site with Woothemes’s Whitelight / commerce, their support is top notch and the site came out amazing: http://homebase610.com
These are great themes! Minimal themes are a great start for a personal business, to! They are in some way easy to create, if you know a little something about modern design. I make minimal themes in Lubith first of all because they are highly customizable and you can easily change from one look to another with just a few clicks.
I love elegant themes. My first Websiteprojekt runs with the SimplePress Theme. Its a classic….
Thanx. Great samples. Go on with that.
Awesome collection of themes, very helpful for bloggers as well designers to get inspiration from them,
These are great themes. Elegant Themes definitely have quite a number of options for a good subscription price.
I was hoping that this list of “minimal” themes would include one or more that is just a clean and simple all css theme like that used at Vanilla Forums. A theme like the Vanilla theme would be an excellent starting point for creating a variety of fast, clean, and modern WP themes. I’m not saying I don’t like your list, I’m just on the hunt for a true modern and minimalist theme.
Some of them are pretty cool
I am looking for a really minimal white clean pared down with no fancy elements, theme.
Any suggestions gratefully received. Just our logo, and 8 photo boxes on home page. Nothing else. Have spent a long time looking to no avail.
These seem rather busy to be considered minimal, but they are all gorgeous and functional. The top half of Purity is brilliant.
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