Hunting for WordPress themes can be a challenging task. Not only are there aesthetics and functionality to consider  – does my theme look good and work the way I want it to?  But there’s also the issue of reliability. How well is the theme supported, is it stable, have bugs been worked out, is it compatible with the latest version of WordPress? When it comes to free themes, sometimes you get what you pay for and you might install a theme that looks great, only to find out it’s buggy and doesn’t work correctly. Generally speaking, themes that you pay for are better supported and more reliable, but I have come across some good resources if you’re looking for free, reliable and good-looking themes. Give the following a whirl.

Speckyboy.com – An online web design magazine with all kind of articles on the topic. Click on the WordPress tabs for lists of themes, useful plugins, free icon sets and more.

Blogohblog.com – These guys provide both free and premium themes. They have some nice-looking themes with a clean design style.

Smashingmagazine.com – This site is a gold mine of information related to web design in general. If you are not a designer, you may find much of the info to be over your head, but in that case, skip straight to the right column and look for their WordPress categories. These guys continue to compile lists of great free WordPress themes and you’ll find some gems. Check out the Freebies section for other graphic eye-candy such as icons and blog headers.

Bestwpthemes.com – This site is a long-standing WP resource. I like that they make it easy to find themes based on the number of columns that you want. Browse around and you’ll find some worthy contenders.

And finally, here’s a couple of useful compilations of free WordPress themes:

ProBlogDesign’s List of 40 Free Premium Quality Themes

2 Experts Design – Free Themes With Textured Backgrounds

Happy hunting!

I hope you found this post useful. If you enjoyed it, consider signing up for updates via email (includes a free SEO ebook). I help entrepreneurs and businesses learn how to use WordPress - with patience and hand-holding, I turn technophobes into technopros. I also help businesses develop an effective online marketing strategy and compelling web presence.