There are many things to consider when selecting a WordPress theme. Some of them are obvious, such as if the look and feel of the design matches your industry. Others are not so obvious, such as the quality of the front end code that the theme generates. This review focuses strictly on the latter.
These are the factors we considered in the review which are relevant in 2013:
- Responsive/mobile friendly
- Load time performance for mobile and desktop
- Valid HTML5 and CSS3
It is likely that you are considering other themes besides the ones reviewed here. If so, take the time to “look under the hook” as we did. If it’s a premium WordPress theme, you don’t even have to purchase it before reviewing it; you just need the demo. The only thing that is crucial is that you remove the frame that the demo is loaded in. Sometimes this is as easy as clicking the “x” to close the frame. Other times you might have to look in the source code for the URL of the pure demo.
Pixel Press Theme:
Theme name: | Pixel Press | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 86 | HTML5 errors: | 11 |
Mobile score: | 72 | CSS3 errors: | 199 |
White Light Theme:
Theme name: | White Light | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 59 | HTML5 errors: | 4 |
Mobile score: | 41 | CSS3 errors: | 95 |
Olya Theme:
Theme name: | Olya | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 85 | HTML5 errors: | 60 |
Mobile score: | 68 | CSS3 errors: | 33 |
Scrollider Theme:
Theme name: | Scrollider | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 80 | HTML5 errors: | 16 |
Mobile score: | 64 | CSS3 errors: | 61 |
Ellipsis Theme:
Theme name: | Ellipsis | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 91 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 80 | CSS3 errors: | 45 |
Sintia Theme:
Theme name: | Sintia | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 90 | HTML5 errors: | 1 |
Mobile score: | 85 | CSS3 errors: | 280 |
Super Skeleton Theme:
Theme name: | Super Skeleton | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 89 | HTML5 errors: | Cannot recover after error |
Mobile score: | 86 | CSS3 errors: | 64 |
Responsives Theme:
Theme name: | Responsives | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 89 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 77 | CSS3 errors: | 542 |
Smart Theme:
Theme name: | Smart | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 88 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 81 | CSS3 errors: | 62 |
Traject Theme:
Theme name: | Traject | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 85 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 80 | CSS3 errors: | 5 |
MyApp Theme:
Theme name: | MyApp | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 85 | HTML5 errors: | 3 |
Mobile score: | 75 | CSS3 errors: | 180 |
Gonzo Theme:
Theme name: | Gonzo | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 84 | HTML5 errors: | 12 |
Mobile score: | 74 | CSS3 errors: | 56 |
Smartio Theme:
Theme name: | Smartio | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 81 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 52 | CSS3 errors: | 2 |
Infringe Theme:
Theme name: | Infringe | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 79 | HTML5 errors: | 6 |
Mobile score: | 67 | CSS3 errors: | 82 |
Daisho Theme:
Theme name: | Daisho | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 78 | HTML5 errors: | 4 |
Mobile score: | 75 | CSS3 errors: | 46 |
U-Design Theme:
Theme name: | U-Design | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 77 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 76 | CSS3 errors: | 8 |
Konzept Theme:
Theme name: | Konzept | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 76 | HTML5 errors: | 0 |
Mobile score: | 74 | CSS3 errors: | 43 |
Avada Theme:
Theme name: | Avada | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 71 | HTML5 errors: | 16 |
Mobile score: | 68 | CSS3 errors: | 402 |
SmartStart Theme:
Theme name: | SmartStart | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 64 | HTML5 errors: | Document cannot be checked |
Mobile score: | 56 | CSS3 errors: | 43 |
Pinword Theme:
Theme name: | Pinword | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 62 | HTML5 errors: | 28 |
Mobile score: | 61 | CSS3 errors: | 4 |
Avenue Theme:
Theme name: | Avenue | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 59 | HTML5 errors: | 24 |
Mobile score: | 50 | CSS3 errors: | 9 |
The Agency Theme:
Theme name: | The Agency | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 59 | HTML5 errors: | 2 |
Mobile score: | 90 | CSS3 errors: | 17 |
City Desk Theme:
Theme name: | City Desk | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 83 | HTML5 errors: | 3 |
Mobile score: | 77 | CSS3 errors: | 1 |
WP-Clear Theme:
Theme name: | WP-Clear | Responsive: | Yes |
---|---|---|---|
Desktop score: | 63 | HTML5 errors: | 6 |
Mobile score: | 21 | CSS3 errors: | 14 |