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Last updated: November 3, 2023
Reviews of 11 of the best WordPress themes for writers and authors; easy to use and flexible themes with a professional and clean user interface.
Writers can use a WordPress blog to not only write and publish their work online, but also to potentially sell their books. Choosing a good quality WordPress theme is essential when setting up your new website as a professional writer or author.
A theme used by writers and authors typically has a simplistic look and feel, without the unnecessary and distracting bells and whistles. You may also need a store attached to your blog, in which case you would need to search for a theme that is compatible with, for example, WooCommerce.
When looking for a suitable WordPress theme that fits your needs as a writer, it’s important to also consider the reputation of the developer and the history of theme updates.
Top 11 Writer WordPress Themes
The following 11 WordPress themes have been selected based on user reviews, design and user experience, developer reputation, revision history, and features.
While a Premium theme is always preferable, there are also free themes available that could potentially be a good fit for you as a writer.
1. GeneratePress Article
Let’s kick off this list of writer WordPress themes with my favorite theme. GeneratePress is a free theme that comes with a paid plugin called GP Premium.
The theme itself is bare bones, and the plugin allows you to activate the features you need. This setup will enable you to keep the theme and your site lightweight.
I do strongly recommend opting for the highly affordable Premium option, which you can purchase as a yearly recurring license fee or as a lifetime license. Either way, you won’t regret choosing GeneratePress + GP Premium because it is widely considered one of the WordPress solutions.
The premium plugin also gives you access to a library of website templates that you can import into your own WordPress blog. One of these templates is called Article, which is specifically designed for writers and authors because of its bold yet simplistic design.
Check out my review of GeneratePress to get a better understanding of why I recommend this theme to anyone starting a new WordPress blog.
When clicking on the below button, search for Article to see a demo of this particular GeneratePress WordPress theme template.
2. Thrive Themes Bookwise
Bookwise is a WordPress theme template developed by Thrive Themes. It runs on the well-established Thrive Theme Builder, a premium WordPress plugin that allows you to easily create and configure WordPress themes.
The Bookwise template is a conversion-focused theme for indie authors and writer-preneurs that will allow you to connect with your readers, showcase your proud work, and sell books. With this theme, you can choose between an author-focused homepage and a book-focused homepage. It also includes purpose-built pages for books, reviews, events, and more.
Check out my review of Thrive Themes if you’d like to learn more about this WordPress development company and why I value them.
When clicking on the below button, search for Bookwise to see more details about this particular theme template running on Thrive Themes Builder.
3. GeneratePress Wordsmith
Wordsmith is the second GeneratePress website template in this list that is perfectly suitable for writers and authors. Using GeneratePress means you will be running a high-quality and lightweight WordPress setup, which will only benefit you in the long term.
The Wordsmith template has a minimal yet great-looking design. It is built using the WordPress block editor complemented by GenerateBlocks, which means you will be able to get your blog up and running quickly and easily.
When clicking on the below button, search for Wordsmith to see a demo of this particular GeneratePress WordPress theme template.
4. Astra Author
The Astra theme is similar to GeneratePress in that it allows you to activate and disable features. This keeps your site as lightweight as possible, without all the bloat of unnecessary bells and whistles.
In addition, like GeneratePress, Astra offers a great library of templates you can use for your own site. These templates, plus so many more additional features, are available if you purchase the very affordable Pro version, which I would highly recommend.
As the name suggests, the Author template is great for writers and authors. It is particularly suitable for writers who want to promote and sell their books through their online presence.
When clicking on the below button, search for Author to see a demo of this particular Astra WordPress theme template.
5. Authority Pro
Authority Pro is powered by the popular Genesis Framework, and is a great theme if you want to position yourself as an authority figure, such as Brian Dean or Neil Patel. The theme lets you create beautiful pages to help establish your writing chops and credentials.
While not a dedicated writer or author theme, the Authority Pro template can work perfectly for an established author that wants to showcase their work online. The theme is pre-styled for WooCommerce to help you quickly set up an online store.
Leaning in on its compatibility with other plugins, you can turn visitors into subscribers by featuring a sign-up form on the sidebar. You can also sell info products like e-books and courses to help turn in a profit with the content you create.
6. Astra Bestselling Author
Bestselling Author is the second writer and author focussed website template that you can use for your own WordPress website when you purchase Astra Pro.
This template has a similar layout as Astra Author, and allows you to showcase all your books as a professional author.
The template is highly customizable with the Astra Pro plugin installed and is also super easy to use and configure. All you need to do is import the template, submit your own books and content, and you’re good to go.
When clicking on the below button, search for Bestselling Author to see a demo of this particular Astra WordPress theme template.
7. Auteur
Auteur is a WordPress theme for writers who wear many hats. It works well whether you’re an author, book distributor, reviewer, or any type of online publisher.
Choose from original pre-made layouts for your homepage, blog section, and shop, so you can go straight to making your ideas come to life.
The theme also plays well with premium plugins like WPBakery (so you can use its drag-and-drop builder to create beautiful pages) and Slider Revolution (to present your retina-ready images on compelling slides).
8. Astra e-Book Author
The third Astra website template on this list of WordPress themes for writers and authors is called e-Book Author.
As the name suggests, this template is suitable for writers who wish to sell their work in the form of e-books in addition to paperbacks and hardcovers.
When clicking on the below button, search for e-Book Author to see a demo of this particular Astra WordPress theme template.
9. Odrin
For writers who want to sell their books online, Odrin is arguably one of the better writer WordPress themes available. Using the theme, single book authors can create a stunning one-pager, while multiple book authors can set up a bookshop to feature their books for sale.
You can create beautiful and dynamic preview pages for your books containing teaser pages from your book. The theme also lets you create a coming soon book timer page to build anticipation and hype for your next bestseller.
If you have events where you’ll promote your book or hold your workshop, Odrin has got you covered too.
10. Writers and Journalists Blog
Writers want to present themselves in the most professional way possible to help shape their brand. With that in mind, the Writers and Journalists Blog theme possesses all the features you need to achieve that goal.
There are three homepage layouts to choose from and install on your site with just a click of a button. You can then edit the layout to fit your style using the Visual Composer WordPress page builder and shortcodes for further customization.
Also important to note, the theme works well with WooCommerce if you’re planning on selling products on your site.
11. Writee
Rounding out the list of best WordPress themes for writers and authors is a free but highly reliable WordPress theme.
Writee is also one of the most popular of the bunch, with several downloads a day. Perfect for bloggers in the lifestyle, art, photography, and even corporate niches, the theme lets you focus on creating content that your audience will love.
The Writee WordPress theme is as straightforward as a WordPress theme can get, and as a writer, that is often all you need. Writee does offer customization options to help you design your blog that speaks to your audience.
Writer Theme Buying Guide
With so many WordPress themes on the market, it’s incredibly challenging to find a theme that not only suits your needs, but is also easy to install, configure and customize.
For WordPress themes in general, and writer and author WordPress themes specifically, I would focus on the following criteria:
Speed
Site speed and Core Web Vitals are organic search ranking factors, which means that your new theme should be lightweight and not be overloaded with bells and whistles that you don’t need and that will only make your site load slow.
Simplicity
For writer and author specific sites, I would say that the look and feel of the website should be simplistic and to the point. All WordPress themes and site templates above are exactly that, so you can focus on writing and potentially sell your books.
Customization
Your new WordPress theme should allow you to easily adjust site settings, such as font size and weight, the width of the content and sidebar, colors, headers, etc.
E-Commerce Friendly
If you are planning to sell your books or e-books on your new WordPress website, the new theme needs to be able to play well with e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce.
Support
If you’re relatively new to WordPress, you might struggle a bit in the beginning. Therefore, it is important to find a WordPress theme developed by a company that offers ongoing support and detailed documentation.
Not only that, but the theme should also be continuously updated and improved so that your new website will be running without issues for many years to come.
With that in mind, I strongly recommend GeneratePress Premium or Astra Pro, and choose one of their ready-made website templates.
Both of these highly regarded WordPress developers offer top-notch support, and their themes, plugins, and templates get updated continuously.
Best WordPress themes for affiliate marketing.
