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Best WordPress Themes of All Time: Improve your Website SEO
Best WordPress Themes of All Time: Improve your Website SEO
If you are looking for the best WordPress themes, you have come to the right place. Whether you need a multipurpose SEO-friendly theme or a super-fast free theme, we have covered you.
The design of your website plays a crucial role in determining its overall success. It affects various aspects, such as user experience, site speed, and conversions.
When selecting a WordPress theme for your website, it is essential to pick one that is well-coded, SEO-optimized, and secure. This ensures that your website performs optimally and ranks well on search engines.
In this post, let’s talk about:
- The best WordPress themes (including free and premium)
- Their features
- Pricing (if any)
- Download links and more
In full transparency – some of the links on Webqo Blog are affiliate links, and if you use them to make a purchase, we will earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Best WordPress Themes of All Time
Let’s look at the 10 best WordPress themes to enhance your website.
Astra
Astra is a WordPress theme developed by Brainstorm Force, used by over 1.65 million websites worldwide. It is ideal for a fast, responsive, and SEO-optimized website. The theme offers a variety of customization options, allowing you to edit the header, blog, archives, single pages, posts, sidebar, and footer according to your preferences.
Key Features of Astra
- Gutenberg Ready
- Install it on unlimited sites
- SEO-optimized and mobile-responsive theme
- Gives you over 180 ready-to-import starter websites
- Seamless integration with page builders like Elementor, Beaver, etc
- Astra is completely WooCommerce-ready
- It comes with Schema.org code integrated
Pricing
Astra theme offers a free version with the following three premium plans:
1. Astra Pro: This plan costs $47 per year and offers hundreds of customization options. You can use Astra Pro on unlimited websites.
2. Essential Bundle: This plan costs $169 per year and gives you access to features from Astra Pro, 180+ premium templates, and the WP Portfolio Plugin.
3. Growth Bundle: This plan costs you $249 per year and gives you all the powerful tools you need, including:
- Everything in Essential Bundle
- Convert Pro Plugin
- Schema Pro Plugin
- Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder
- Ultimate Addons for Elementor
- SkillJet Academy Membership
Does Astra offer a free version? Yes. Download Astra for Free
Divi
Developed by Elegant Themes, Divi is considered one of the top WordPress themes. It provides a robust theme framework that assists in designing every aspect of your website. Divi allows you to create stunning designs that impress your audience regardless of your business type.
Key Features of Divi
- Offers drag & drop builder
- Custom CSS
- Access to over 40 design elements
- Over 800 pre-made website layouts
Pricing
You need access to the Elegant Themes account to grab the Divi theme. Elegant Themes offers the following two pricing packages.
1. Yearly Access: This plan costs you $89 annually and gives you access to Divi Builder, Extra, Bloom, and Monarch.
You’ll also get access to the following things:
- hundreds of website packs
- product updates
- premium support
- uses all their products on unlimited sites
2. Lifetime Access: This plan costs $249, a one-time fee. You’ll get access to Divi Builder, Extra, Bloom, and Monarch.
You’ll also get access to:
- hundreds of website packs
- lifetime updates
- Lifetime premium support
- uses all their products on an unlimited number of sites
You can use this link to get a 10% instant discount on your membership.
Does Divi offer a free version? No! Buy Divi Today
GeneratePress
GeneratePress provides a comprehensive suite of tools, plugins, templates, and pre-designed websites that allow you to quickly build any website. Whether you’re creating a portfolio, an agency site, or an eCommerce platform, GeneratePress has got you covered.
Key Features of GeneratePress
- Gutenberg Ready
- Install on up to 500 websites
- Offers a block-based theme builder
- Fully translated over 30+ languages
- Access to a ton of pre-made templates in the Site Library
- 1 year of updates and support on the yearly plan
- Lifetime support and updates on their lifetime plan
Pricing
GeneratePress can be downloaded for free. Choose one of their premium plans in the following two pricing packages for more features.
1. Yearly plan: This plan costs you just $59 per year, and you’ll get the following features:
- Full access to the Site Library
- 1 year of updates
- 1 year of premium support
- Use on up to 500 websites
2. Lifetime plan: If you want lifetime updates and support, this plan is for you, which costs you $249, and you’ll get the following features:
- All premium features
- Full access to the Site Library
- Lifetime updates
- Lifetime premium support
- Use on up to 500 websites
Does GeneratePress offer a free version? Yes. Download GeneratePress for Free
Neve
If you are looking for a fast, AMP, and Gutenberg-ready WordPress theme, Neve is the best option.
Key Features of Neve
- The theme is 100% fully responsive and adaptive to all screens
- Translation ready
- Comes with Elementor integration
- Custom layouts
- Starter sites
Pricing
Neve Theme offers a free theme version and a premium version. The premium version comes in three pricing packages, which are listed below.
1. Personal: This plan costs you $59 per year, and you’ll get access to the following things:
- Header & blog booster
- Elementor booster
- Custom layouts
- Scroll to top
- 1-Year of Support for Unlimited Sites
- 1-Year of Updates for Unlimited Sites
2. Business: This plan costs you $99 per year, and you’ll get access to the following things:
- Header & blog booster
- Elementor booster
- Custom layouts
- Scroll to top
- 1-Year of Support for Unlimited Sites
- 1-Year of Updates for Unlimited Sites
- Premium starter sites
- WooCommerce booster
- Priority support
3: Agency: This plan costs you $159 per year, and you’ll get access to the following things:
- Header & blog booster
- Elementor booster
- Custom layouts
- Scroll to top
- 1-Year of Support for Unlimited Sites
- 1-Year of Updates for Unlimited Sites
- Template Cloud Access
- Premium starter sites
- WooCommerce booster
- White label
- Priority & live chat support
Does Neve offer a free version? Yes. Download Neve for Free
OceanWP
Are you in search of a versatile and lightweight WordPress theme? Do you need a theme that can assist you in building any type of website, be it a blog, a portfolio website, a business website, or a WooCommerce store? Look no further than OceanWP, one of the most popular themes in the WordPress directory.
Key Features of OceanWP
- Fully responsive WordPress theme
- RTL & translation ready
- SEO-optimized theme
- Work with the most popular page builders, such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, Visual Composer, Divi, and SiteOrigin.
Pricing
OceanWP offers a free version and a premium version. The premium version has three pricing packages, which are listed below.
1. Personal: This plan costs you $39 per year, and you can install it on 1 website. You’ll get the following features:
- 7 Free Extensions
- 13 Premium Extensions
- 15 Free Demos
- 158 Pro Demos
- 12 Months of Updates & Support
2. Business: This plan costs you $79 per year, where you can install up to 3 websites, and you’ll get the following things:
- 7 Free Extensions
- 13 Premium Extensions
- 15 Free Demos
- 158 Pro Demos
- 12 Months of Updates & Support
3. Agency: This plan costs you $129 per year, where you can install up to 25 websites and you’ll get the following things:
- 7 Free Extensions
- 13 Premium Extensions
- 15 Free Demos
- 158 Pro Demos
- 12 Months of Updates & Support
Does OceanWP offer a free version? Yes. Download OceanWP for Free
Avada
Avada is a top-selling theme on ThemeForest with over 959,561 users worldwide! It offers easy-to-use front-end design and editing tools for building visually stunning websites and online stores.
Key Features of Avada
- 100% SEO Optimized
- Built with HTML5 and CSS3
- Access to a ton of professionally designed demos that can be imported easily with one click
- Offers the most intuitive page builder on the market
- Drag and drop any of our elements
- 100% responsive theme
- Free updates for life
Pricing
Avada from ThemeForest costs $69 for a single license, which includes access to all future updates and six months of support from ThemeFusion (the developers who created the Avada theme).
Does Avada offer a free version? No. Buy Avada Today
Blocksy
If you are searching for a free, fast, and lightweight WordPress theme to easily create any kind of website, Blocksy is an excellent choice. The theme is fully compatible with the Gutenberg editor and blocks.
Key Features of Blocksy
- Fully responsive and adaptive
- Translation ready
- Integrates with all the major WordPress page builders, including Elementor, Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, and Brizy
- SEO optimized
- WooCommerce built-in
Pricing
Blocksy offers both free and premium versions. Choose the premium plans below if you need additional features and extended limits.
- A personal plan costs you $49 per year, which can be used on 1 website
- The professional plan costs you $69 per year, which can be used on 5 websites
- The agency plan costs you $99 per year, which can be used on unlimited websites
Does Blocksy offer a free version? Yes. Download Blocksy for Free
Genesis Framework
The Genesis framework is the product of a team of dedicated professionals and developers. It is a great choice if you are looking for high-performing, fully responsive, and SEO-optimized WordPress themes. In fact, over 600,000 websites around the world use the Genesis framework. The best part? The framework is completely free to use on unlimited sites.
Key Features of Genesis Framework
- Access to Genesis Pro
- Access to block library
- Content sections and full-page layouts
- Custom block builder
- Free access to Genesis framework
- Use on unlimited sites
- Access to 35 StudioPress-made premium child themes
- You can use it on unlimited sites
- Access to 24/7 chat support
Pricing
Genesis framework is absolutely free forever as it is an open-source project.
To unlock more features, such as support, blocks, customizations, etc., you need access to Genesis Pro, which costs $360 annually.
Does it offer a free version? Yes. Download Genesis Framework for Free
Kadence
If you are searching for a fast and user-friendly WordPress theme, the Kadence theme is an excellent option. It provides many customization options for the layout, making it easy to modify any part of your website with just a few clicks.
Key Features of Kadence
- 20 new header elements
- Add blocks or page builder content anywhere on your site
- Menu options for mega sub-menus, highlight tags, icons, and more
- Header/Footer Scripts
- Woocommerce Addon
- Custom fonts
- Use on unlimited sites
Pricing
Kadence theme offers the following three pricing packages in its premium version.
1. Kadence Pro: This plan costs you $59 per year, where you’ll get the following features:
- Header Addons
- Hooked Elements
- Woocommerce Addon
- Ultimate Menu
- Custom Fonts
- Header/Footer Scripts
2. Essential Bundle: This plan costs $105 annually and includes everything from the Kadence Pro plan.
- Kadence Blocks Pro
- Pro Starter Templates
3. Full Bundle: This plan costs you $154 per year, and you’ll get everything from the Essential Bundle along with the following stuff:
- Child Theme Builder
- Kadence Shop Kit
- Kadence AMP
- Includes all our themes and plugins
- Access to all future products
Does the Kadence theme offer a free version? Yes. Download the Kadence theme for Free.
Zakra
If you’re looking for a multipurpose responsive WordPress theme with a performance and SEO-optimized design, consider the Zakra theme.
Key Features of Zakra
- Comes with 50+ different demos
- 7 widget areas
- Fully translation ready
- Fully compatible with Gutenberg
- Elementor support
- Custom CSS
Pricing
The Zakra theme is available in both free and premium versions. To unlock more features, choose one of the paid plans listed below.
1. Personal: This plan costs you $59 per year where you’ll get access to the following:
- 1 site license
- 1-year premium support
- 1-year updates
- 25+ Free Starter Demos
- 100+ Customizer Options
- 30+ Page Settings
2. Personal Plus: This plan costs you $67 per year, and you’ll get access to the following:
- 3 sites license
- 1-year premium support
- 1-year updates
- 25+ Free Starter Demos
- 30+ Premium Starter Demos
3. Professional: This plan costs $202 annually and gives you access to the following:
- 10 sites license
- 1-year premium support
- 1-year updates
- 25+ Free Starter Demos
- 30+ Premium Starter Demos
4. Developer: This plan costs you $209 annually and gives you access to the following:
- Unlimited sites license
- 1-year premium support
- 1-year updates
- 25+ Free Starter Demos
- 30+ Premium Starter Demos
Does the Zakra theme offer a free version? Yes. Download the Zakra theme for Free
Bonus WordPress Themes
WordPress Themes 2024: Most Popular, SEO Optimized & Multipurpose
Jannah
Well, let us tell you that Jannah is the WordPress theme we use in our blog.
Jannah is a beautifully crafted, powerful, and highly flexible WordPress theme designed specifically for News, Magazine, and Blog websites. The theme’s unique blend of aesthetics and utility makes it an excellent platform for various content types.
Key Features of Jannah
- Responsive for Today’s Modern Devices
- High Performance, Blazing Speeds
- Comes with different demos
- Fully translation ready
- Fully compatible with Gutenberg
- Elementor support
- Custom CSS
Pricing
Jannah from ThemeForest costs $59 for a single license, which includes access to all future updates and six months of support from TieLabs (the developers who created the Jannah theme).
Does Jannah offer a free version? No. Buy Jannah Today
X The Theme
X The Theme from ThemeForest is WordPress’s most flexible and customizable theme. It is also one of ThemeForest’s best-selling WordPress themes, with over 224,643 sales worldwide.
Key Features of X The Theme
- Fully integrated with the WooCommerce plugin
- Setup one-page navigation
- Offers dozens of navigation options, including positioning, height, centering, integrated search, etc
- Unlimited sidebars
- Custom backgrounds
- Translation ready
- Optional search functionality
Pricing
X The Theme from ThemeForest costs $79 per single license, and you’ll get all future updates along with six months of support from THEMECO (the developers who created the theme).
Does X The Theme offer a free version? No. Buy X The Theme Now
FAQs about the Best WordPress Themes
Best WordPress Themes of All Time: Most Popular, SEO Optimized & Multipurpose
You’ll discover some frequently asked questions about the Best WordPress Themes below.
How do I choose the right WordPress theme for my website?
You should choose a WordPress theme that matches the style and purpose of your website, supports the necessary features, is easy to use, and is updated regularly.
Which theme is best for WordPress?
Here are some of the best themes for WordPress.
- Astra
- Divi from Elegant Themes
- GeneratePress
Where can I download free WordPress themes?
Here are some of the best websites to download free WordPress themes in 2024.
Can I use a WordPress theme for my e-commerce website?
Many WordPress themes are designed for e-commerce websites that integrate with popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce.
Can I switch my WordPress theme after I’ve already built my website?
Yes, you can switch your WordPress theme at any time. However, you may need to adjust your website content and settings to ensure everything looks and functions correctly.
Quick Links
Best WordPress Themes of All Time: Most Popular, SEO Optimized & Multipurpose
We hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, you might want to check out these other resources:
Conclusion
Finding high-performance, lightning-fast, and multipurpose WordPress themes is difficult. However, we have compiled a list of the best WordPress themes to meet your website needs and save you time. Please review each theme on this page and choose the one that best suits your requirements. If you think we have missed any of your favorite WordPress themes, please let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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How to Connect Your WordPress Site to the Fediverse – WordPress.com News
You created your website for a reason. Whether it’s showing off your art, passing on family recipes, or selling boutique high-performance yo-yos. (That may or may not be Doc Pop’s example.) You created your website to reach an audience and to communicate directly with that audience.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was an easier way for you to connect with them and make it easier for them to follow you and engage with your content online? In this final episode of the Fediverse Files, Doc Pop walks you through how to connect your WordPress site to the Fediverse using ActivityPub.
Federate your website today and get 25% off a WordPress.com Business or Commerce hosting plan by using coupon code federate25—or click below:
Join 112M other subscribers
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14 Tools for Creating and Selling Digital Products (Expert Pick)
Creating and selling digital products is a great way to earn passive income and share your expertise with a global audience. But you’ll need the right tools to make it happen. Otherwise, you might waste time and money on complicated systems that don’t deliver results.
At WPBeginner, we’ve been creating digital products for over a decade, and we’ve had a lot of success using Easy Digital Downloads to sell our plugins and software. That being said, we know that other businesses might have different needs for their own online stores.
Since a lot of you have asked about what the best tools are, we’ve come up with this guide to help you choose.
We’ll share our top picks for making and selling everything from eBooks to online courses. These are tools we’ve tested ourselves, and we even use some of them in our own business.
3 Must-Have Tools for Creating and Selling Digital Products
No time to read? Here are our top 3 picks of the best platforms to make and sell digital products online:
🥇1st Place
Best for: Creating lead magnets
Pricing: Free to $99/mo
Key features: Drag-and-drop editor, templates, blog content import
🥈2nd Place
Best for: Selling digital downloads
Pricing: Free to $349.65/yr
Key features: Unlimited downloads, licensing, discounts
🥉 3rd Place
Best for: Membership sites and courses
Pricing: $179.50 to $399.50/yr
Key features: Content protection, drip content, courses
How We Tested the Best Tools to Sell Digital Products
We take our recommendations seriously, and our testing process reflects that.
Firstly, some of the tools we’ve recommended are ones we use every day in our own business.
For example, we’ve been using Easy Digital Downloads for years to sell our WordPress plugins. This hands-on experience gives us confidence in recommending this tool, as we know its strengths and limitations firsthand.
You also might notice that we’ve featured some of these tools in our other product review articles. That’s because we’ve found them consistently reliable and effective.
For other tools, our experience comes from using them for specific tutorials or projects. Through this process, we’ve discovered their strengths for particular purposes.
We’ve also tested popular options to see if they live up to their claims. Our process involved checking the tool’s features, testing it to see if it actually works as promised, and evaluating its value for money. We’ve also assessed how easy the tool is to use, especially for beginners.
Finally, we’ve paid close attention to customer reviews, like the ones from WPBeginner Solution Center. We know that sometimes we might miss certain contexts or use cases, so these reviews help complement our perspective. They’ve given us insights into how the tools perform in real life.
With that in mind, let’s check out our list of tools to create and sell digital products. We’ve divided this article into two sections, and you can skip to your preferred section using the quick links below:
Why Trust WPBeginner?
We’ve been helping people with WordPress and online businesses for over 16 years. Our team doesn’t just read about these tools – we use them every day. Our goal is to help you find the best solution for your needs, not just promote products. That’s why we test each product thoroughly on our own websites to understand what truly works.
Want to know more? Check out our detailed editorial process.
Best Tools to Create Digital Products
Whether you’re looking to generate passive income or explore new digital products to sell online, these tools can help you create various kinds of digital products efficiently and professionally.
We’ve selected a range of digital content creation tools, including some free options, to help you grow your digital product business.
1. Beacon (Lead Magnets)
Beacon is a freemium lead magnet tool that we use ourselves to create various types of content for email marketing campaigns. With its easy drag-and-drop interface, you can create digital products like eBooks, workbooks, checklists, and even video lookbooks.
What we like about Beacon is its simplicity. After signing up for a free account, you’ll go through a straightforward onboarding wizard. By answering a few questions about your goals, you can quickly select a template and start customizing it in the drag-and-drop editor.
Beacon is designed to be as easy to use as possible, making it accessible even if you’re new to creating lead magnets. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, you’ll find the process intuitive and straightforward.
However, it’s worth noting that some users might find the templates a bit basic and not as stylish as they’d like.
Additionally, during our testing, we occasionally encountered issues when trying to delete certain pre-existing elements in templates. Keep this in mind when customizing your lead magnets.
Pros of Beacon:
- Easy setup and use for quick lead magnet creation
- Ability to import blog content directly into lead magnets
- Dozens of templates from various industry categories and seasons
- Multiple embedding options like inline forms, horizontal bars, and content upgrades
Cons of Beacon:
- Templates may appear basic or less stylish compared to some alternatives
- Some difficulty in deleting pre-existing elements in templates
Pricing: Beacon offers a free plan that includes 1 lead magnet per month, 100 leads, 1 user account, 1,000 monthly pageviews, and 500MB file storage. Paid plans range from $19 to $99 per month, with higher tiers allowing for more lead magnets and additional features.
Why we chose Beacon: We picked Beacon because it’s really easy to use for making lead magnets, which has helped us with our own email marketing. It’s simple, flexible, and has a free option, making it great for all kinds of businesses, even if you can’t customize designs too much.
2. Canva (Beginner-Friendly Graphic Design)
Canva is a popular freemium tool for graphic design that works well as a digital products maker. We’ve found Canva particularly useful for creating eye-catching social media posts and professional-looking eBooks. Many other people have also used Canva to create custom templates and sell them to fellow users.
Compared to Beacon, Canva’s designs are generally more stylish and varied. It offers a wide range of design options, including social media posts, presentations, documents, resumes, print products, websites, and videos.
Besides a drag-and-drop editor, the platform provides pre-made color palettes, font sets, design elements, and more. You can also draw on your own designs.
That being said, Canva can sometimes be slow to use, especially when working with more complex designs. And if you use Canva on mobile or tablet, you might have to be even more patient with its performance.
Pros of Canva:
- Easy to use while still producing professional designs
- Huge design library with over 1 million templates, 1000 design types, and 3 million stock photos
- Powerful premium features like AI tools and team collaboration features
- Video editing feature is also available for creating video products like online courses
Cons of Canva:
- Can be slow to use at times, especially with more complex designs
- We noticed the mobile app can be a bit laggy compared to the desktop version
Pricing: Canva offers a free plan with 5GB of cloud storage. Paid plans range from $15 to $30 per month, offering more storage, premium stock photos/videos, AI tools, and team management features. A 30-day free trial is available for paid plans.
Why we chose Canva: Canva’s ease of use and professional-quality designs make it perfect for creating a wide variety of digital products to sell. For many businesses, it’s become an irreplaceable tool for quick, high-quality graphic design.
3. Google Workspace (Digital Resources)
Google Workspace may not be the most design-friendly tool compared to specialized platforms. That said, its widespread use makes it highly accessible. We use it across our businesses to improve efficiency and communication, but the Workspace suite can also be used to create digital products.
Many people already use these products in their daily lives or work, but they might not know how to maximize their potential. This is where you can step in and offer ready-to-use templates that enhance their Google Workspace experience.
Plus, with the recent integration of Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, using the platform for digital product creation has become even easier. We’re a big fan of it ourselves here at WPBeginner to speed up our workflow and communication.
We’ve seen numerous success stories with this approach. For instance, Luke Scarpino on TikTok shared a Google Sheets template for efficient travel packing. His video went viral, and he now sells a pro packing template, showcasing the potential for monetizing these digital resources.
Pros of Google Workspace:
- Free to get started
- Gemini integration helps with AI content creation
- Accessible and familiar to a wide audience who already use these products
- Easy collaboration features for team projects
Cons of Google Workspace:
- May not be the most flexible for complex designs
- Limited customization options compared to specialized design tools
Pricing: Google Workspace is free for basic use. For additional features like custom domains, advanced security, and more storage, prices range from $3.60 to $ 18 per user per month.
Why we chose Google Workspace: Its massive user base provides a ready market for your digital products. With the Gemini AI integration, it’s an ideal platform for creators to sell templates and resources despite some design limitations.
4. Adobe Illustrator (Logos/Digital Illustrations)
If you’re looking to create and sell licensed digital art, Adobe Illustrator is a powerful tool to consider.
We have used it in the past to create featured images and other graphics for our blog posts. It’s a popular vector graphics software used by professionals to create digital illustrations.
While Adobe products are known for their higher price point, they’re often seen as a worthwhile investment, and we feel the same way. There is a learning curve, but once mastered, Illustrator offers great perks.
For one, designs made with Illustrator are highly scalable. This is great for creating logos, custom fonts, and other digital illustrations with income potential. Additionally, the designs you create in Illustrator are suitable for professional printing, which opens up more monetization opportunities.
Pros of Adobe Illustrator:
- Creates scalable designs, perfect for logos and illustrations
- Industry-standard, lending professional credibility to your work
- Versatile for various projects: web graphics, mobile apps, infographics, prints, logos
- Integrates well with other Adobe products for professional work
Cons of Adobe Illustrator:
- Can be overwhelming for beginners
- Costly subscription model
- Requires a powerful computer for optimal performance
Pricing: Adobe Illustrator costs $22.99 per month. Alternatively, you can get the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which includes 20+ Adobe apps, for $59.99 per month. A 7-day free trial is available.
Why we chose Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator’s versatility makes it an excellent choice for artists looking to create and sell high-quality digital art, despite its steeper learning curve and cost.
5. MPL-Publisher (WordPress eBook/Audiobook Creator)
MPL-Publisher is a WordPress plugin that helps you turn multiple blog posts into an eBook or audiobook you can sell. It makes creating and selling digital content from your WordPress website easier.
We downloaded and thoroughly tested this plugin to check out all its features. And our favorite thing about the plugin is how well MPL-Publisher works with WordPress.
Once installed, you can easily add your book details, make a cover, adjust the design, and choose which posts to include.
The process is pretty straightforward, which is why we talked about it in our guide on making eBooks in WordPress. We also liked being able to edit the content to make it fit better in an eBook format and save the book as a MOBI, PDF, or audiobook file.
However, MPL-Publisher’s templates aren’t as fancy as those in Beacon or Canva. If you want to make big changes to how your eBook looks, you might need to know some custom CSS.
Pros of MPL-Publisher:
- Works well with WordPress and easily imports posts
- Offers multiple eBook download formats like ePub, audiobook, and PDF
- Lets you edit post content in the plugin for better eBooks
Cons of MPL-Publisher:
- Offers fewer template options than some other tools and may require CSS knowledge for advanced customization
- Book cover editor only available in the paid version
Pricing: MPL-Publisher has a free version with 50 chapters per book and 2 book designs. The premium version costs $49 per site and includes no ads, unlimited books, and a book cover maker.
Why we chose MPL-Publisher: This plugin is great for turning WordPress blog posts into sellable eBooks or audiobooks. It’s user-friendly and offers various export options, making it a good choice for WordPress users who want to sell digital content.
6. Audacity (Music and Audio Products)
Do you have a knack for sound and enjoy working with audio? If so, you can use Audacity as a digital products maker, turning your talent into money by creating various audio goods.
Audacity is a free audio editing and recording app that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. While music production is an obvious choice, you don’t need to be musically gifted to benefit from this tool.
You can also make audiobooks, record guided meditations, capture nature sounds for relaxing tracks, create podcast intros, or even design sound effects for games or videos.
That said, we have to admit that using Audacity wasn’t always easy because its layout looks a bit old-fashioned. However, since the software is open-source, we discovered lots of helpful YouTube tutorials and a big community of users ready to assist.
Pros of Audacity:
- Free and open-source
- Has a helpful community of users
- Comes with built-in effects and works with audio.com resources
- Works on different types of computers
Cons of Audacity:
- The interface looks outdated
- Not the best for multitrack music recording and editing
Pricing: Audacity is completely free to use, with no need to buy a license.
Why we chose Audacity: Even though it looks a bit old, Audacity is a powerful, free tool for making many kinds of audio products. Its open-source nature, supportive community, and flexibility make it a great choice for beginners in digital audio creation.
7. Adobe Photoshop (Photo Editing)
Unlike Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop focuses more on editing photos and making graphics that don’t need to be as easily resized. We have used it extensively across our business to create and edit attractive and professional-looking images.
With Photoshop, you can edit photos to sell as stock images, create mockups for various products, design custom brushes or photo presets, and even make digital planners or bullet journals. The software’s flexibility makes it great for creating many different digital products.
We know that Photoshop can be hard to learn, especially compared to simpler tools like Canva. But once you get used to it, you can do so much more. It’s expensive, but it can be worth it if you’re serious about making professional-quality digital products.
Pros of Adobe Photoshop:
- Good for creating many types of visual digital products
- Works with many file types like JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and PDF
- Lots of tutorials and courses are available to help you learn Adobe Photoshop
- Many brushes and filters online you can download to boost creativity
Cons of Adobe Photoshop:
- It is expensive, and some extra tools like brushes/filters cost more
- Takes time to learn how to use it well
- Needs a powerful computer to run smoothly
Pricing: Adobe Photoshop costs $22.99 per month. Or, you can get the Adobe Creative Cloud package, which includes over 20 Adobe apps, for $59.99 per month.
Why we chose Adobe Photoshop: Even though it’s not easy to learn, Photoshop is incredibly versatile and powerful for high-quality digital product creation. Its wide range of features and how well it works with other Adobe products make it a great choice for serious digital creators.
8. Create Block Theme (WordPress Block Themes)
WordPress block themes are becoming more popular, but there aren’t as many of them as classic themes or themes made with page builders. This means you have a chance to create and sell your own block themes.
The good news is you can use the free Create Block Theme plugin to make your themes. We’ve used it to change our block themes and make custom designs. It’s also great for making child block themes.
From our experience, it’s an easier way to create block themes, even if you’ve never done it before. You can design your theme right in WordPress, which makes it less scary if you’re new to custom theme development.
However, keep in mind that this plugin only works for block themes. Right now, not as many people use block themes, so your market might be small. But as more people start using the full site editor in WordPress, block themes will likely become more popular.
Pros of Create Block Theme:
- Works well with the full site editor
- Easy to use and helps you design themes visually
- Lets you make new themes based on themes you’re already using
Cons of Create Block Theme:
- You can only use it to make block themes, not other types
Pricing: Create Block Theme is free to use.
Why we chose Create Block Theme: This plugin makes it possible for more people to create themes, even if they don’t know how to code. As block themes become more common, Create Block Theme is a great way for WordPress users to start selling their own themes.
9. Divi (WordPress Themes Made With Divi)
If you’ve been using WordPress for a while, you probably know about Divi. It’s a popular tool for building pages and themes, and we rank it third in our theme builder review.
But did you know you can also make and sell Divi child themes and layouts on their creative marketplace?
Divi is widely used, which means there are lots of people who might want to buy your themes or layouts. We’ve also found the platform to be really easy for beginners to use, thanks to its drag-and-drop design, customizable parts, and dynamic content features.
Look at DiviFlash as an example. It’s a Divi plugin that’s been featured on HubSpot.
You could create something like this, too!
One thing to keep in mind is that everything you submit to the Divi marketplace is checked by the Elegant Themes team. This helps ensure quality but can also slow down how quickly your products or updates are available to buy.
Pros of Divi:
- Easy to learn, so you can make layouts or child themes quickly
- You get 70% of each sale you make on the Divi Marketplace
- Lots of potential customers because Divi is so popular
Cons of Divi:
- The review process can slow down your product releases and updates
- You need to keep updating your products to work with the latest version of Divi
Pricing: Yearly plans cost from $89 to $277 per year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also pay once for lifetime access, which costs $249 to $297.
Why we chose Divi: Divi gives you a great chance to sell to lots of WordPress users who want custom themes and layouts. It’s easy to use and has a big marketplace, making it a great place for creators to design and sell digital products that could become very popular.
10. Camtasia (Video Digital Products)
If you’re comfortable being on camera, you might be good at creating video digital products like online courses. Camtasia is a great tool for this kind of work. It ranks second in our list of video editing software.
We recommend Camtasia over other tools because it has a built-in screen recording feature. This means you can easily capture what’s happening on your computer screen while you’re teaching. It even records audio and mouse movements, which is really helpful for step-by-step tutorials.
Camtasia isn’t just for recording. You can also edit your videos using its many features like filters, transitions, on-screen text, animations, sound effects, and even royalty-free video clips. So, even if you don’t want to be on camera, you can still use Camtasia to create videos made from other clips.
Overall, Camtasia has worked well for us so far. However, some users have reported that it doesn’t always run smoothly on Mac computers.
Pros of Camtasia:
- All-in-one solution: screen recording, audio recording, and mouse recording
- Lots of editing resources: 30 filters, 150 transitions, unlimited royalty-free music
- AI detection for filler words like ‘um’ and ‘uh’
- Easier to use compared to other platforms like Adobe Premiere Pro
Cons of Camtasia:
- Some users report performance issues on Mac
Pricing: Camtasia costs between $134.91 and $375.25 per year. You can try it for free for 7 days.
Why we chose Camtasia: Its combination of easy-to-use screen recording and comprehensive editing tools makes it ideal for producing and selling high-quality videos, even for those new to video creation.
Best Platforms to Sell Digital Products
Now that you’ve created your digital products, the next step is finding the right place to sell and market your digital products. The platforms we’re about to discuss can help you grow your business and optimize your sales process.
You may notice we don’t include digital product marketplaces on our list. That’s because of some long-term problems with using them, which is explained very well in this expert quote:
Third-party marketplaces do make sign-up easy and have a low initial cost. However, you’ll end up paying high transaction fees of up to 30% for every product you sell. You also don’t own your own data; you just rent it.
Your product listings, customer information, and purchase data are all stored on someone else’s server. Migrating to a different platform later can be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Chris Klosowski, Easy Digital Downloads founder
1. Easy Digital Downloads (Digital Products Only)
Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is the tool we use to sell our premium WordPress plugins and digital downloads. Over the years, it’s proven to be a reliable solution that has helped grow our business and thousands of others.
For more details, see our complete Easy Digital Downloads review.
For instance, EscapeRoomGeeks uses EDD to sell printable Escape Room Kits, while SetSailStudios sells downloadable fonts through this platform.
We love EDD because it makes it so simple to set up an online store for digital products. The onboarding wizard guides you through the setup process step by step, so it’s hard to get lost.
Another great feature is its automation capabilities. These streamline our workflows by collecting recurring subscription payments, offering content upgrades, and managing renewals. This saves us a lot of time and effort in managing our digital products.
The only downside we can think of is that EDD doesn’t allow physical products. However, this focus on digital products means its features are optimized for selling downloads.
Pros of Easy Digital Downloads:
- Easy setup with guided onboarding
- Automatically creates eCommerce pages like checkout and receipt
- Unlimited file downloads with no bandwidth charges
- Powerful software licensing support
- Flexible discount options
- You can add a free trial to your products
Cons of Easy Digital Downloads:
- Limited to digital products only, which is not ideal if you plan to expand into physical products
Pricing: There’s a free version available with basic features like Stripe, PayPal, Apple/Google Pay integration, shopping cart, and basic eCommerce reporting.
Paid plans range from $89.55 to $349.65 per year for more advanced features, payment options, and unlimited products. To get the best deal out of your purchase, you can use our Easy Digital Downloads coupon code and claim a 50% discount.
Why we chose Easy Digital Downloads: As longtime users, we can vouch for EDD’s reliability and effectiveness in selling digital products. Its user-friendly setup and powerful features make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to start their digital download business.
We also recommend using SiteGround’s EDD Hosting to make sure your website is online at all times.
2. MemberPress (Memberships/Online Courses)
MemberPress stands out as a top choice for creating subscription-based content or online courses. We’ve personally used this plugin for our WPBeginner video membership site, which has significantly helped us grow our email list.
For more information, see our MemberPress review.
MemberPress makes setting up a membership site straightforward. It automatically creates essential pages for pricing, login, account, and a thank you message for your users. This saves you time and ensures a professional setup from the start.
What we love about MemberPress the most is its membership-specific features. It offers drip content, a client portal, group memberships, and add-ons for specific types of services like online coaching. This way, you don’t need to install another plugin to build your membership business.
With MemberPress, you can easily restrict access to specific content based on membership tiers, individual members, or a combination of both. This means you can create tailored experiences for different membership levels, ensuring your premium content stays exclusive.
One critique we have for MemberPress is it doesn’t have any free version. That being said, it’s a worthy investment, especially considering everything you’re getting in just one platform.
Pros of MemberPress:
- Flexible content protection rules for various scenarios
- Optimized for memberships with features like drip content (releasing lessons over time) and subscription billing
- Easy setup process with automatic page creation for a membership website
- Supports unlimited membership levels
- Compatible with major payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net
Cons of MemberPress:
- No free version available
Pricing: MemberPress offers annual plans starting from $179.50 and going up to $399.50 per year. The basic plan allows usage on one website and includes unlimited members, unlimited courses, and no transaction fees. A 14-day money-back guarantee is available.
Also, feel free to use our MemberPress coupon code to save up to 50% off of your plan.
Why we chose MemberPress: It’s an excellent all-in-one solution for anyone serious about creating a membership or online course platform. Our experience with the plugin has shown us that it can handle even complex membership structures with ease.
Alternative: Not a fan of MemberPress for online courses? Check out Thrive Apprentice, another powerful platform.
3. WooCommerce (Physical + Digital Products)
WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugin and is used by millions of online stores. We’ve used it ourselves and can see why it’s so widely loved.
First off, WooCommerce is free. You can start selling immediately without spending a dime, using payment options like bank transfer, cash on delivery, and PayPal.
We also like how it creates important store pages for you, such as checkout and product pages, which saves you hours of work.
Another great thing about WooCommerce is how flexible it is. There are tons of WooCommerce extensions you can add to make your store do more. This means you only pay for extra features you actually need.
Our personal favorite is FunnelKit, which is a plugin that helps boost sales by optimizing your checkout, adding order bumps, and more.
One downside is that there are so many WooCommerce extensions that it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. Plus, there is no direct support. That being said, the WooCommerce community is very large, so it’s easy to find resources to help with your issues.
Pros of WooCommerce:
- Free and easy to set up
- Works for both digital and physical products (great if you sell ebooks and printed books, for example)
- Lots of free and paid extensions to improve your store and sales
- Built-in analytics to track how your store is doing
Cons of WooCommerce:
- The huge number of extensions can be confusing
- No official support team (but the community is very helpful)
Pricing: WooCommerce itself is free, but plugins can cost anywhere from $1 to $299 per year.
Why we chose WooCommerce: We love how WooCommerce can handle both digital and physical products and that you can customize it with plugins to fit exactly what you need. It’s free to start with, and there’s a big community to help you out.
If you’re interested in using WoCoomerce, we recommend using the Bluehost WooCommerce hosting to get your online store up and running.
You can find out more about the platform in our WooCommerce review.
4. WP Simple Pay (Single-Product Online Store)
WP Simple Pay is an excellent choice for those looking to sell a single product or service without the complexity of a full eCommerce platform. We’ve found it to be one of the most straightforward Stripe payment plugins, making it perfect for small businesses just starting out.
For more details, see our WP Simple Pay review.
In our experience, Stripe’s ease of use for both merchants and customers is unparalleled. The setup for businesses is not as lengthy as other platforms, so long as your entity is legitimate. Plus, your customers can make payments directly on your site without needing their own Stripe account.
We’ve tested numerous Stripe plugins, and this one stands out for its simplicity. You only need to connect your website to Stripe and create a payment form, and that’s it. The 70+ form templates covering various business types save you time and ensure your payment form looks professional.
The drag-and-drop form builder also lets you customize the payment form using its built-in field options. This way, the form can be tailored to perfectly match your payment form needs.
Unfortunately, Stripe is not available in all countries. So, if you need an alternative, you might need to look at another payment form like WPForms.
Pros of WP Simple Pay:
- Free version available
- No transaction fees, which keeps more money in your pocket
- Easy setup and customization with form templates and drag-and-drop builder
- Accepts 14+ payment methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Automatic tax calculation setup for accurate pricing
Cons of WP Simple Pay:
- Some countries may not be able to use Stripe
Pricing: WP Simple Pay offers a free version for basic needs. Paid plans start from $49.50 and go up to $299.50 per year. The most affordable plan allows usage on one site, with unlimited payment forms/transactions and no transaction or monthly fees.
You can also use our WP Simple Pay coupon code to get 50% off of your first purchase.
Why we chose WP Simple Pay: We picked WP Simple Pay because it makes it incredibly easy to set up Stripe payments on WordPress. It’s simple to use, highly customizable, and has smart features like automatic tax calculation.
What Are the Best Platforms for Creating and Selling Digital Products?
In this list, we’ve reviewed a lot of different platforms for digital product creation, but the best one depends on your needs.
If you want to make free guides or eBooks to get more email subscribers, Beacon is our top pick. We use it ourselves and really like how easy it is.
You can quickly make eBooks, workbooks, and checklists without any design skills. It’s great for beginners and pros alike, with a free plan and cheap paid options if you need more features.
Next, we recommend Easy Digital Downloads for anyone starting to sell digital products. We’ve used it for years to sell our WordPress plugins, and it works really well.
EDD makes it simple to set up your store, automate sales, and offer discounts. Just remember, it’s only for digital items, not physical ones.
If you want to create a membership website or sell online courses, go with MemberPress. We used it for our WPBeginner video lessons, and it helped us get more email subscribers. It has everything you need, like drip content and ways to manage different membership levels.
Creating and Selling Digital Products FAQs
Now that we’ve gone through our list of the best tools for creating and selling digital products online, let’s answer some frequently asked questions:
Which is the easiest digital product to create and sell?
eBooks, printables, and templates are popular types of digital products that beginners can create and sell quickly. These digital product ideas require minimal technical skills and can be made using tools like Beacon, Canva, or Google Docs.
Just make sure to create these products based on your existing knowledge or skills. For more inspiration, check out our list of the most popular digital products you can sell online.
How and where do I create digital products as a beginner?
As a beginner, you can start creating digital products using free or low-cost tools like Beacon, Canva, or Google Docs. Choose a product type that aligns with your skills, and use platforms like Easy Digital Downloads to start selling digital products online.
Can you really make money selling digital products?
Yes, you can definitely make money selling digital products. In fact, our founder, Syed Balkhi, is a great example of this, as he’s been successfully selling digital products like freemium WordPress plugins for years.
The key is to create high-quality products that solve real problems for your audience. For more insights, check out this article on key lessons learned by Chris Klosowski (Easy Digital Downloads founder) after selling digital downloads for over a decade.
More Expert Tips to Start a Digital Product Business
If you’re looking for more tips about starting a digital product business, you may also be interested in these articles:
We hope this article has helped you discover the best tools for creating and selling digital products. You may also want to check out our expert picks of the best WordPress jQuery plugins and our list of excellent WordPress website examples you should check out.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
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