Top 10 Best Free WordPress Themes for Educational Website in 2024
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If you’re looking for the best education theme for WordPress, then you are at the right place. Online learning is the present and the future of education. Khan Academy, Coursera, Udemy, edX, and many more e-learning websites are revolutionizing the way we learn.
If you are planning to start a WordPress education and learning website, the first thing you have to do is choose a theme. You need to know how to choose the best education theme for WordPress education and learning websites. The right education theme can completely transform your WordPress teaching website into a knowledge hub.
There are various of options for choosing the best education theme for a WordPress website. However, choosing the right theme requires some research and analysis. This article summarizes the key elements to look for when choosing a WordPress theme for your education website.
What is an Education and Learning Website
Educational websites can include content such as interactive lessons, videos, or topic-related resources that act as tools to improve learning and conduct classroom teaching. These websites help make the process of learning entertaining and attractive to students. A complete education website will have all the features to handle quizzes, assignments, and tests to assess students’ performance. For WordPress, the theme will set the style for your e-learning website. This makes it important to choose the best education theme for WordPress education websites that fulfill your needs.
Best Education Themes for WordPress to Design the Best Education Website
To help you get started, we have made a list of popular themes for you to choose the best education theme for WordPress. You can consider choosing some other free educational themes for WordPress as well.
These themes can be integrated with the most popular LMS plugins so you will find plenty of features to work with. The design as well as compatibility with page builders will simplify the process of designing your education and learning website.
Turitor
Turitor is a top choice for a WordPress education theme because of its flexibility which works well with LMS websites. Multiple niches are available for this theme as you can create Education Websites, Online Courses, LMS, Education Content Marketers, and more. Create clean-looking and functional websites for schools, universities, or kindergartens. You can also easily create and scale responsive online learning websites like Udemy with this theme because it supports plugins like LearnPress, LearnDash, and TutorLMS plugins.
There are 9+ stunning demos and templates for you to choose from and support for Elementor Builder and ElementsKit makes it easy to customize your site. The drag-and-drop user interface will let you take full control when building your site. Plenty of integration and compatibility with tools such as Zoom, WooCommerce, BuddyPress, MetForm, Ultimate Review and more gives you plenty of options to create a learning hub. These make it one of the best education themes for WordPress education websites.
Education WordPress Theme Eduma
Eduma is a popular WordPress education theme with plenty of pre-made designs to choose from for single instructors, language schools, kindergarten, etc. You can simply pick a design and start customizing it with page builders like the Elementor plugin. This theme has easy visual customization tools which means you don’t need any programming skills to edit your content.
This theme is mobile-friendly and SEO optimized ensuring that your website is available on all devices and is easier to access thanks to better ranking. The best part of this theme is that it comes with LearnPress, one of the most popular dedicated learning management systems for WordPress. Other premium plugins you can get with this theme are WPBakery Page Builder, Slider Revolution, and Isotope Commercial License.
MasterStudy
Masterstudy is a complete theme with great pre-built website demos to create your online education and learning platform. This theme has a clean design with plenty of functionalities. You can find a wide range of demos to start building your online course website. They are quite versatile since you can publish a single course online, build an online learning system, or create a course delivery platform where others can sign up and publish their learning content.
The best part about this theme is that they have their own plugin called Masterstudy LMS WordPress plugin. The integration of this theme with their own plugin provides a complete solution. One key feature of this LMS plugin is the course builder tool that simplifies the process of building an online learning website for WordPress. Additionally, the integration of other features and plugins like Elementor, WooCommerce, Zoom, Google Classroom, BuddyPress, and much more makes it a popular choice for many.
WPLMS
WPLMS has a bold look and with regular updates, you can expect this theme to be well-maintained for its users. This theme is an enterprise-grade learning management system for WordPress with great scalability. It is packed with plenty of useful features for Learning Management Systems, making it suitable for any type of online learning website. WPLMS lets you create and edit your online learning website through the front end of the website, which saves a lot of trouble editing from the WordPress admin back end.
The UI and UX are great for this theme as well. Learners get a personalized dashboard that shows them the content they have access to and their progress throughout the courses. Similarly, the instructor gets a dashboard to get a quick view of quizzes and course submissions as well as course stats. There is support for LearnDash, BuddyPress, bbPress, and WooCommerce built into the theme. This makes it easy to add learning content, discussion forums, social networking, and eCommerce functionality to your site with the WPLMS WordPress theme.
Eikra – Education WordPress Theme
Eikra is another educational and LMS theme made by RadiusTheme. It is a clean, modern theme that has been specially designed for educational facilities of all types. The theme has been designed for your School, College, University, or Training Center, this ultimate education WordPress theme includes everything you need for a complete online education center and LMS.
No matter whether you are an independent online tutor, educator, or even larger educational institution, Eikra’s combination of excellent design and a smart assortment of premium integrated plugins makes it a great choice for your website. The most popular WordPress LMS plugin, LearnPress, is used by Eikra because it’s loaded with fantastic features for your tutorial website, online course, or education center.
This extensive education WordPress theme comes with tens of single and multi-page homepage demos, all with sleek and contemporary designs. It makes it easy for users to navigate through your educational content. It’s powerful and flexible with a library of pre-designed layouts all compatible with the WordPress Editor. If you prefer to customize your website using a page builder, Eikra comes bundled with the Elementor plugin.
Tutor Starter
Tutor Starter by Themeum provides a clean design that is perfect for any language institution. The theme is specifically optimized for language learning and it can be used for professional education institutions like colleges, schools, and universities for any language courses. This niche-specific theme is carefully designed to best fit your needs for any language study. It is one of the best education themes for WordPress language websites.
This theme is powered by Tutor LMS which is an advanced WordPress plugin to design an LMS website. You will find features for eLearning, WordPress Quiz Plugin, Stats & Reports, Student Dashboard, Multiple Video Sources, Course Review, Certification, and more. It is compatible with Gutenberg and combined with Tutor LMS, WP Page Builder, and WooCommerce, this theme is a complete solution for any language.
Courselog
Courselog is a versatile WordPress education theme suitable for multiple niches. You can choose from beautiful designs which were carefully created for universities, kindergartens, or schools. This theme offers a modern, responsive design that guarantees a great learning experience. There are 15+ unique pages to choose from and cross-browser compatibility along with fully responsive designs will ensure that your learners can access your content from any device.
Apart from the design, this theme is compatible with Elementor Builder and ElementsKit lite which lets you design your website with drag-and-drop features. You can sell courses with WooCommerce and additional plugins like MetForm, Event Solution Plugin, and Ultimate Review only add to the reasons for selecting this theme. Moreover, WPML is compatible with this theme allowing you to translate your website into your preferred language. Its versatile features make it one of the best education themes for WordPress websites.
How to Find the Best Education Theme for WordPress
WordPress has thousands of themes for you to choose from. Trying out each theme one by one is not possible. So how do we know which theme is the best? There are some key elements for any education website which the theme should present. To find out free educational themes for WordPress, you need to look for the following components. This is just a list of necessary steps for you to decide on which theme is best suited for you.
Identify Your Target Audience to Create a Personalized Education Website
The first thing you need to consider is your audience. Education websites can be created for schools, colleges, universities, or even kindergarten students. Based on your audience, you will need to look for themes that suit them. Each theme has a unique design that needs to match your purpose. Additional features and plugins for designing your WordPress education website need to be compatible with your theme. This makes it really important to choose the best education theme for WordPress that fits your audience.
“The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom.” -Source World Economic Forum
Know Your Requirements Before Designing Your Site
Once you choose your audience, you need to list your requirements. An education and learning website contains lessons, courses, instructors, testing and assessment, certifications, progress reports, and much more. Based on your audience, you should narrow down the set of features that you think are essential for your WordPress website. This can help you narrow down your options to choose free educational themes for WordPress with good quality.
If you are planning to create an e-learning website for multiple audiences, then you can choose a theme with multiple niches. Themes with multiple niches can help you create content for each group of your audience. The customization features for each group will make your life easier when designing your website.
Focus on Important Features that Fulfill Your Objective
Once you have finalized your requirements, you are ready to start looking for themes. Make sure to look for important features to build a complete education website. Generally, a theme needs to be compatible with popular LMS plugins. The design must be compatible with all devices and your site should be scalable. A detailed explanation of essential features is provided below to help you choose the best education theme for WordPress.
Integration of Popular LMS Plugins
You need LMS plugins to build your online learning website. Make sure that the theme you choose is compatible with the plugins you want to use. LMS plugins are the key elements to designing a complete online education and learning website. Look for themes that are compatible with some of the best LMS plugins such as
- LearnPress
- TutorLMS
- LearnDash (PRO)
- MasterStudy
- Sensei
- Lifter LMS
Sell Courses with WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a must-have feature if you want to earn from your WordPress learning website. You probably already know by now how useful this plugin is for selling any product or service using WordPress. Make sure that you can use WooCommerce with your website when choosing your themes and LMS plugins.
According to Technavio “The online education market is expected to grow by USD 247.46 billion during 2020-2024”
Compatible with Popular Page Builders
The beauty of WordPress is in drag-and-drop page builders. Like many free educational themes for WordPress, this allows you to easily customize or build a complete WordPress website from scratch in minutes. Make sure that your theme is compatible with popular page builders. The best education theme for WordPress will give you more control over your website. A few of the popular page builders you can use for your online learning website are:
Cross Browser Compatibility for Better Reach
If you want your website to reach the maximum audience, then you must ensure cross-browser compatibility. Your visitors might be using different devices or browsers to access your website. You must make sure that browsers such as Mozilla, Opera, Safari, Chrome, and Explorer can be used to access your site. The content of your WordPress website should appear the same for each browser. The best education theme for WordPress should ensure cross-browser compatibility.
Responsive Designs that Attract Users on All Devices
Learners will want to access your site from various devices such as tablets and smartphones. A responsive theme will adjust its layout and designs across all screens and devices. Although most themes are mobile responsive, some free themes are still using fixed designs. As most learners may be on the go, it is very important to ensure responsive designs to provide your learners with a positive experience.
Moreover, Google also recommends creating responsive websites to increase your website ranking on Google. The best education theme for WordPress will always ensure a responsive design for your website. These factors make it crucial to select a theme with a responsive design.
Scalability to Grow Your WordPress Education Website
An educational website will have a lot of content. There will be lessons, courses, videos, and much more resources for both students and instructors. You need to keep in mind that the theme you choose must scale with your website. This is especially important if you have multiple niches such as universities, schools, and colleges. The best education theme for WordPress must scale seamlessly for each category if you want your website to flourish.
Is There a Perfect Theme for Me?
If you are not familiar with WordPress education themes, you may not be able to decide on the perfect theme. An educational website must have a great theme to match your content. Since students and teachers will spend long hours on your site, you should choose a theme that simplifies their site experience. This list should help you get a better understanding of all the themes mentioned here.
- Turitor – If you need a flexible theme with multiple niches for school, college, or university and multiple plugin support then get Turitor.
- Education WordPress Theme Eduma – Get this plugin if your target audience uses mobile a lot to access your site since this plugin is the best mobile-friendly plugin.
- MasterStudy – If you don’t want to look for compatible plugins then choose this theme since they have their own plugin which will give you a complete LMS solution.
- WPLMS – If you want to comfortably edit your site from the front end then use this plugin.
- Eikra – This is your best choice if your website is designed for teaching language subjects.
- Courselog – If you need video conferencing features like Zoom and a clean design for your site then use Courselog.
Choosing the Best Education Theme for WordPress
It is difficult to label the perfect theme since requirements for different websites may vary. When you are choosing the best education theme for WordPress, make sure that the essential elements are there. Among this list, you can look into Turitor. This theme offers a variety of features and you should be able to find what you need. Try out these themes and see which one suits your needs the best. You should also look into popular LMS Plugins to know which plugins will support your themes.