Are you looking for the best WordPress news themes for your news-based site? Look no further!
Here, we present you with 25 fantastic WordPress news themes for your website.
With the internet becoming the go-to source for news, media companies and journalists need a robust online presence.
Thus, selecting a suitable theme can make all the difference in creating an impactful website.
We’ve picked these stunning themes to make your news site visually appealing, functional, and user-friendly.
In case you’re in a hurry, here are our top 6 picks for the best WordPress news themes (free and paid.)
Top Picks
1st
ColorMag
Features:
Free and Paid Demos
Unique Post System
AMP Ready
Optimized for Core Web Vitals
FREEMIUM
2nd
Newspaper
Features:
150+ Pre-built Sites
TagDiv Opt-in Builder
Pop-ups Builder
Modern Video Posts
$59 for a Regular License
3rd
Zakra
Features:
Modern Design
Lots of Customize Options
User-friendly Interface
High-quality Code
FREEMIUM
4th
Soledad
Features:
Exclusive Penci Blocks
Speed Optimizer Module
AI Content Creator
RSS Aggregator Plugin
$59 for a Regular License
5th
Astra
Features:
Live WordPress Editing
Open Source Development
WooCommerce Ready
Post Pagination
FREEMIUM
6th
ColorNews
Features:
Flexible Flex Blocks
GDPR Compliant
Popular Category Widget
Smart Ad System
FREEMIUM
How to Choose a Good WordPress News Theme?
Before going for the list, here are the crucial things to remember before selecting the news WordPress themes for your news website:
- Design and Layout: When choosing a theme, prioritize a professional and clean design. Look for themes that offer multiple layout options, such as widgets, grids, and blocks.
- Responsiveness: A responsive theme is a must. It adjusts well on any device, such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet, etc.
- Customizability: Make sure the theme is fully customizable. It should allow you to easily change colors, fonts, images, etc., per your brand requirements.
- Optimization for Speed and Search Engines: Pick a theme optimized for speed and search engines. Fast loading speed helps improve user experience and your site’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
- Customer Care: Always choose a theme with reliable customer care. The theme provider company should assist you with any issues or inconveniences.
25 Best WordPress News Themes for 2024 (Free + Paid)
Let’s introduce the list of the top 25 WordPress news themes. We selected them after thorough research and utilizing many years of hands-on experience.
These WordPress themes are visually attractive and functionally powerful. So, you can confidently build a newspaper website using them.
1. ColorMag
ColorMag is one of the most popular WordPress news themes for creating newspaper-style websites. Over 100,000 online news portals use it today. The theme offers more than 25 trendy starter news sites that you can import with just one click.
The theme is compatible with all major page builders and offers endless customization options. Above all, it’s optimized for SEO and speed, helping you build a fast-loading site that your audience will love.
Key Features:
- Multiple Heading designs
- Organized Layouts for Categories
- Advanced Typography and 600+ Fonts
- Multiple Advertisement Spaces
- Built-in Social Media Integration
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $55 per year)
2. Newspaper
Newspaper is one of the most popular WordPress news themes on ThemeForest, with 140,000 sales and counting. Whether you’re a well-established publishing house or a blogger just starting out, this theme has all the tools you need to succeed in the online space.
This theme is multilingual and supports Right-to-left (RTL) languages. Thus, it allows you to host an online magazine in the local language. Moreover, the theme has a membership and paywall feature to help you generate revenue without ads.
Key Features:
- RTL & Multilanguage Support
- Responsive Google Ads
- Multiple post formats
- Easy Plugin Integration
- Core Web Vitals Ready
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
3. Zakra
Zakra is a popular WordPress theme that is flexible enough for a wide range of websites. It offers 80+ import-ready demos, including Kantipur News, a magazine-style online news portal. It’s also built with the best SEO practices to get your site discovered more easily in search engines.
The theme is fully responsive and can be used to create Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). Thus, you won’t have to worry about your site’s appearance and performance on mobile screens. Moreover, this theme has a free version you can try before paying for the Pro plan.
Key Features:
- Built with Vanilla JavaScript
- Lightweight and Fast
- Optimized for SEO
- Compatible with Elementor
- Dedicated Customer Support
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $55 per year)
4. Soledad
Soledad offers 220+ starter sites and 6000+ homepage demos, making it one of the most versatile WordPress news themes. It also includes more than 1,000 sliders and blog/magazine layout combinations to create beautiful news sites.
The latest update has added ChatGPT to the theme. Thus, you can now streamline the publishing process by leveraging AI for post content, title, and image generation. There is also a dedicated dashboard to track writers’ performance.
Key Features:
- Text to Speech for all Post Types
- Real-time Article Updates during Events
- Audio Podcast Integration
- Support for Multiple Author
- AMP-ready
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
5. Astra
Astra is a multi-purpose WordPress theme trusted by over 2 million users for their websites. It’s a flexible theme with a lot of customization options. There are over 250 templates for different types of content, including news portals of different sectors.
Astra follows the best coding standards to optimize the code. It requires minimum resources to load — usually less than 50KB. In addition, the theme uses vanilla JavaScript and self-hosted Google fonts to improve Core Web Vitals.
Key Features:
- Fast Loading Speed
- Multiple Site Layouts
- Blog Structure Control
- Support of Web Stories
- Schema Integration
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $49 per year)
6. ColorNews
ColorNews is another excellent WordPress theme for newspapers and magazines. It has a modern layout and is designed to work on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. You can choose between free and paid templates.
You can tweak this theme with Elementor, Gutenberg, or any other popular page builder. Rich customization options mean you can shape your site however you like. You can even add functionality using custom widgets.
Key Features:
- Support for Hooks and Filters
- Sticky Posts Available
- Translation-ready Theme
- Threaded Comments Support
- WooCommerce Integration
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $55 per year)
7. NewsMag
NewsMag simplifies the process of writing and publishing with pre-defined news website templates. It’s one of the best WordPress news themes, offering nine different newspaper website templates to make your stories stand out. Videos can also be used as featured media instead of images.
It is powered by the tagDiv composer, the go-to page builder for newspaper, magazine, and blog websites. Using its drag and drop builder, you can easily create the website of your choice. Alternatively, it’s fully compatible with WPBakery.
Key Features:
- Integrated Newsletter Plugin
- Smart Lists for Listicles
- AJAX Login/Register System
- IOS and Android Bookmarks
- Rating System for Reviews
Price: Costs $49 for a Regular License
8. Extra
Extra is a beautiful WordPress news theme from Elegant Themes. The theme is supported by the Divi Builder framework, which has countless layouts and elements. You have to simply pick the ones you need and drag and drop them to their place.
Extra comes with multiple modules to enrich your category and individual post pages. It includes post carousels, tabbed posts, individual posts, sliders, and post feeds. You also get pre-made modules for your advertisements.
Key Features:
- 5+ Post Formats
- Social Follow Widget
- Supports Post Carousel
- Fully Responsive Theme
- Supports Smooth Scrolling
Price: Costs $89 for a Regular License
9. SmartMag
SmartMag is among the best options for WordPress newspaper themes due to its flexible design and functionality. The theme is super rich in features. To start, it comes with a bunch of post layouts designed with readability and shareability in mind.
You can use them or create one of your own. The theme is designed to enhance user engagement by dynamically loading relevant articles as soon as the user finishes reading one article. Moreover, it has a GDPR-compliant newsletter widget to add readers to your mailing list.
Key Features:
- Google Schema Support
- Custom Post Views Count Plugin
- Modern Card Style Blocks
- Lazyload Images for Performance
- Perfect Social Widgets and Social Sharing
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
10. JNews
JNews started as a WordPress theme for writers and publishers. However, it has now become an all-in-one tool for bloggers, marketers, and creators. Aside from the traditional blogs and articles, the theme has added support for web stories, videos, and podcasts.
JNews supports inline post ads, mobile ads, and marketing affiliates. There are over 30+ pre-defined ad spaces in the theme. You can generate more revenue by incorporating pay-to-submit and subscription paywalls into your websites.
Key Features:
- JegAI Assistant
- PayPal Integration
- Advanced Post Statistics
- Frontend Post Submission
- Unique Mega Menu Design
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
11. TheGem
TheGem is a multipurpose WordPress theme with an extensive design library. It has 400+ demo sites, out of which 12 are newspaper website templates purposefully built for different industries. All the templates work with Elementor and WPBakery page builders.
The theme includes both page builders and premium plugins like Revolution Slider and LayerSlider. It’s also compatible with all major WordPress plugins. Overall, TheGem is an excellent choice for building professional news-based sites.
Key Features:
- Child Theme Ready
- Built-in Speed Optimizations
- No-code Dynamic Content
- Powerful Theme Options
- Infinite Scrolling and Load More Pagination
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
12. Jannah
Jannah is an excellent option for those looking for a feature-rich WordPress news theme with minimal design. It has a decent collection of news website templates that you can use immediately with just a click. The theme option is rich and flexible, making it easy to customize to your liking.
Jannah lets you choose different post titles depending on where the post displays on the website. It even has dedicated space to show your ads. You can enable the Smart Detector that encourages users to watch ads while also reducing the bounce rate.
Key Features:
- Improved Post Views system
- Advanced Block Queries
- White Label Options
- Paginated widgets styles
- Review with Schema Markup
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
13. Newsup
Newsup comes with many prebuilt news sites, both free and premium. It is especially useful for a small publishing house and a freelance writer. The highlight is the multi-content layout, which uses combinations of sliders, columns, grids, and widgets.
Newsup is built with both Elementor and Gutenberg builders in mind. Hence, you can work with the tool you are most comfortable with. The theme lets you customize everything from the header and footer to the widget layout.
Key Features:
- Multiple Layout Options
- WooCommerce Ready
- Translation Ready
- View Related Post
- Banner Featured Posts Controls
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $59 per year)
14. HitMag
HitMag is a stylish WordPress theme for magazines and personal websites. The free version covers all the basics, while you can also unlock additional features with the Pro version features through a one-time payment. There are 4 basic blog layouts to choose from, which you can further tweak a bit.
The slider for the featured image on the homepage enhances both the design and the user experience as it comes with thumbnail navigation. Furthermore, HitMag offers you multiple post widgets to organize your posts better.
Key Features:
- Gutenberg Ready
- General Public License (GPL) Compatibility
- Live Customizer
- Jetpack Infinite Scroll Support
- Top Bar Social Menu
Price: Freemium (Premium version costs $39 per year)
15. NewsMatic
NewsMatic offers over 35 newspaper website templates, 10 of which are free. It also offers a plethora of features and benefits for users, all accessible without any cost. It offers 30+ professional layouts and design patterns to add to your site.
As a new theme, user experience is at the heart of NewsMatic. The lightweight design means sites load faster, cutting off user waiting time. Features like preloader and lazy loading enhance the experience further.
Key Features:
- 600+ Google Fonts
- AJAX Post Load
- Responsive Mobile Tab Bar
- Popular Opinion Block
- Widget Add Banner
Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $59 per year)
16. Gillion
Gillion brings a modular approach to modern website building. With a single click, it has over 50 modules you can integrate into your blog and news website. WP Bakery powers these blocks, and the theme also includes the page builder.
Also, part of the package is the premium Slider Revolution, which you can integrate into your website layout. This WordPress news theme even offers some pre-made options, while you can create custom ones based on your requirements.
Key Features:
- 15+ Pre-made Demos
- Advanced Bookmarking System
- Child Theme Support
- Social Share Functionality
- Google Analytics Integration
Price: Costs $55 for a Regular License
17. Pixwell
Pixwell is a multi-niche WordPress theme with a mobile-first design approach. Its visually striking design features a wide range of elements. You can customize it using the Elementor page builder. The theme also includes its own Ruby Composer for a more user-friendly approach.
Other than aesthetics, Pixwell does well in the SEO department. It brings support for microdata structure, open graph protocol, and Google SERP. Moreover, it has features that let users optimize the site for Core Web Vitals.
Key Features:
- Live AJAX Search
- Based on the Redux Framework
- Infinite Single Load Next
- Responsive Adsense Function
- Popup Newsletter
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
18. Foxiz
With over 115 premade demos, Foxiz has a stellar landing page for any use-case scenario imaginable. Each demo is tailor-made and features a unique style reflective of its niche. You can pick one and personalize it using the extensive theme options panel.
With the latest update, Foxiz now has a dedicated social counter, eliminating the need for third-party plugins. Moreover, it supports live reporting, adding to the already rich list of blogging features.
Key Features:
- Mobile-first Design
- Ruby Composer Integration
- Personalized System for User Engagement
- Horizontal Scroll for Mobile Devices
- Open Graph Integration
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
19. Zeen
Zeen is a futuristic WordPress news theme with full-fledged ecommerce support. One key feature of this theme is the Voice Search. This allows your articles to appear on Google’s voice search, expanding the horizon of an online presence.
Exclusive to Zeen is the new Tipi Builder, which powers the theme’s futuristic approach. It’s a flexible page builder that turns your ideas into reality with easy-to-learn tools. The interface is modern and intuitive, reducing the learning curve.
Key Features:
- GDPR and Cookies Compatible
- Light/Dark Reading Mode
- Clickable Background Ads
- Built-in Migration Theme
- Support for 10+ Languages
Price: Costs $69 for a Regular License
20. The Fox
The Fox is a theme for replicating a classic newspaper design with modern WordPress tools. It has over 30 newspaper website templates with a timeless look. Each template’s layout reflects its purpose.
The customization options are unlimited, from typography to colors. The built-in customizer allows you to change the look of the homepage, header, and pages. It even offers the option to add a light-to-dark mode switcher.
Key Features:
- Support for Live Post
- Smart Relates Post System
- Core Web Vitals Ready
- AMP Ready Theme
- SEO Friendly Code
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
21. PenNews
PenNews is a feature-loaded theme that can be utilized on a wide range of websites. Its features make it great for online newspapers and magazines. Over 50 news website templates are included to get you started.
PenciDesign has optimized the theme for speed and performance. It comes with a built-in image lazyload and query cache. Furthermore, the AMP allows posts to load faster on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Key Features:
- Front Page Post Submission
- Google Adsense Support
- Multiple Post Styles
- Supports White Labelling
- Built-in Quick Text Translation
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
22. NewsPlus
NewsPlus is a modern WordPress theme with a clean and trendy design. This theme is mainly targeted at food and travel bloggers. It even includes a recipe generator addon. That said, you can use this theme for any newspaper and magazine-style website.
The theme optional panel is based on the WordPress dashboard, giving users a sense of familiarity. It consists of 10 sections for customizations. From here, you can change the look and feel of the header, footer, category archive, and much more.
Key Features:
- Integrated with Elementor Page builder
- Fast loading and better page performance
- Options for header layouts
- jQuery scrolling news ticker
- Translation ready Theme
Price: Costs $59 for a Regular License
23. Gameleon
If you run a business based on esports, Gameleon is the perfect theme for you. There are two main game demos to choose from—Fantasy and Arcade. The latter even has a dark-mode version. There is also an additional Magazine demo if you want to run a typical news site.
The Gameleon homepage has a distinct look, all thanks to the widget-loaded layout. There are multiple variations of this, too. You can even add game reviews using custom criteria and aggregate ratings.
Key Features:
- Responsive Videos
- Unity 3D Games Ready
- Built-in Newsticker
- Premium Social Counter Plugin
- Interstitial Ads with Progress Bar
Price: Costs $39 for a Regular License
24. Neeon
Neeon is built from the ground up to power newspaper, magazine, and blog websites. This WordPress news theme focuses on creating a website that is more presentable and readable. As a result, it has features like infinite scroll, light/dark mode toggle, and reading progress to enhance user experience.
To help search engines understand your content better, Neeon comes with a review and structure data schema plugin. Moreover, the site is fully responsive. It’s even AMP-compatible, which enhances performance in mobile devices by only loading what’s necessary.
Key Features:
- Retina Ready Design
- Auto Load Next Post
- Google Map Integration
- W3C Validated Code
- Includes Font Awesome
Price: Costs $29 for a Regular License
25. Bloglo
Bloglo is a lightweight newspaper WordPress theme made with a collection of starter templates — both free and paid. They’re primarily made with Gutenberg in mind, but you can use Elementor or any other modern page builder of your choice.
Bloglo makes it easy to personalize your site through many customization options. You can change multi-blog layouts and individual blog cards, and you can experiment with header styles.
Key Features:
- RTL Compatibility
- Transparent Header
- Dark/Light Mode
- Live WordPress Customizer
- Advanced Post Features
Price: Freemium (Premium Plan Starts at $59 per year)
Wrapping Up the List of 25 Best WordPress News Themes!
Our curated list of the top 25 WordPress newspaper themes offers excellent looks and essential functionality to engage your audience.
With a customizable homepage and advanced layouts, these themes are perfect for creating a newspaper website.
Still in confusion? Look no further! We highly recommend ColorMag and Zakra themes. Not only do they have excellent features, but they also provide dedicated support to every customer.
Also, check out our ultimate list of the best web hosting themes for WordPress and job board WordPress themes if you’re looking for a theme for any other type of site.
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