15 Fastest WordPress Themes to Improve Website SEO in 2024
There are many great WordPress themes available to help you create a beautiful and well-functioning website. From free simplistic themes to expensive advanced theme bundles, the amount of options can be almost overwhelming.
However, if the loading speed is your priority, you should focus on the fastest WordPress themes available on the market. This will help you narrow down the available options and choose a theme that will suit your needs.
This article will showcase the 17 fastest WordPress themes that can give a head start on improving a website’s loading time and search engine optimization (SEO).
We will also explain how you can measure a theme’s performance yourself and provide tips on how you can further improve your page speed.Top 8 Free Fastest WordPress Themes
1. Astra
2. Neve
3. Sydney
4. OceanWP
5. Writee
6. Twenty Twenty
7. Airi
8. Hello Elementor
2. Neve
3. Sydney
4. OceanWP
5. Writee
6. Twenty Twenty
7. Airi
8. Hello Elementor
Top 9 Premium Fastest WordPress Themes
1. GeneratePress
2. Bimber
3. Zakra
4. Divi
5. Page Builder Framework
6. Customify
7. Hestia ProAstra is one of the fastest WordPress themes you can get.
3. Zakra
4. Divi
5. Page Builder Framework
6. Customify
7. Hestia ProAstra is one of the fastest WordPress themes you can get.
It has over 1 million downloads and comes with a perfect 5 out of 5 rating.
When we tested Astra with GTMetrix, the test data showed that the site fully loaded in 1.4 seconds with a 98% performance score. The total page size is only 43.6KB with eight HTTP requests, explaining why the theme loads so fast.
This WordPress theme performed excellently on PageSpeed Insights for mobile pages, too, scoring 99 with a speed index of 2.8 seconds. This makes Astra a very fast-loading WordPress theme that is fully responsive to boot.
Astra offers lots of starter templates for all types of websites, such as online stores, freelance businesses, online courses, and more. This multipurpose WordPress theme is also WooCommerce-ready, so it’s a great option for building a fast-loading eCommerce site.
Customization-wise, Astra offers a significant number of typography options, including more than 700 Google Fonts. Plus, you get unlimited color options to choose from, making it easy to achieve the correct color and typography combination that will match your brand.
Neve is a lightweight and multipurpose theme for WordPress. Its score was 98% on the GTMetrix performance test, and it fully loaded the site in just one second. With a total page size of 32.4KB, this is a light theme.
On the PageSpeed test, this theme got a perfect mark of 100 with a speed index of 1.8 seconds, making it the fastest WordPress theme on this list.
Neve offers more than 30 ready-to-import starter templates to help you get started quickly. Customizing the theme is easy as it’s compatible with Gutenberg block editor and five popular page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
Sydney is a free WordPress theme for business sites. At just under 90KB, this theme is lightweight, and it only takes 1.1 seconds to load when tested on GTmetrix. Sydney works just as well on mobile platforms, with a score of 95 on PageSpeed Insights and a 3.4-second load time on the speed index. It may not be the fastest WordPress theme available, but it’s a strong contender.
The free version of this WordPress theme features three pre-made templates, a parallax background, and compatibility with page-builder plugins. There are more than 600 Google Fonts to choose from and options for having a static or slider header.
OceanWP is a fast-loading multipurpose free WordPress theme that’s optimized for speed and includes WooCommerce compatibility.
The GTMetrix test data displays a loading time of 1.6 seconds and a 95% overall performance score. It’s a good result, considering the total page size is over 200KB.
However, the mobile performance is a bit compromised, clocking at 4.2 seconds for the speed index and scoring 87 overall.
Still, OceanWP should definitely be considered when building an eCommerce store, even if it’s not the fastest WordPress theme on the market.
The theme comes with WooCommerce integration. Features like native cart pop-up and floating add-to-cart bar can help to increase the conversion rate. Plus, you get a quick view function, so users don’t have to go to a new page to access product information.
When we tested Astra with GTMetrix, the test data showed that the site fully loaded in 1.4 seconds with a 98% performance score. The total page size is only 43.6KB with eight HTTP requests, explaining why the theme loads so fast.
This WordPress theme performed excellently on PageSpeed Insights for mobile pages, too, scoring 99 with a speed index of 2.8 seconds. This makes Astra a very fast-loading WordPress theme that is fully responsive to boot.
Astra offers lots of starter templates for all types of websites, such as online stores, freelance businesses, online courses, and more. This multipurpose WordPress theme is also WooCommerce-ready, so it’s a great option for building a fast-loading eCommerce site.
Customization-wise, Astra offers a significant number of typography options, including more than 700 Google Fonts. Plus, you get unlimited color options to choose from, making it easy to achieve the correct color and typography combination that will match your brand.
Neve is a lightweight and multipurpose theme for WordPress. Its score was 98% on the GTMetrix performance test, and it fully loaded the site in just one second. With a total page size of 32.4KB, this is a light theme.
On the PageSpeed test, this theme got a perfect mark of 100 with a speed index of 1.8 seconds, making it the fastest WordPress theme on this list.
Neve offers more than 30 ready-to-import starter templates to help you get started quickly. Customizing the theme is easy as it’s compatible with Gutenberg block editor and five popular page builders such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi.
Sydney is a free WordPress theme for business sites. At just under 90KB, this theme is lightweight, and it only takes 1.1 seconds to load when tested on GTmetrix. Sydney works just as well on mobile platforms, with a score of 95 on PageSpeed Insights and a 3.4-second load time on the speed index. It may not be the fastest WordPress theme available, but it’s a strong contender.
The free version of this WordPress theme features three pre-made templates, a parallax background, and compatibility with page-builder plugins. There are more than 600 Google Fonts to choose from and options for having a static or slider header.
OceanWP is a fast-loading multipurpose free WordPress theme that’s optimized for speed and includes WooCommerce compatibility.
The GTMetrix test data displays a loading time of 1.6 seconds and a 95% overall performance score. It’s a good result, considering the total page size is over 200KB.
However, the mobile performance is a bit compromised, clocking at 4.2 seconds for the speed index and scoring 87 overall.
Still, OceanWP should definitely be considered when building an eCommerce store, even if it’s not the fastest WordPress theme on the market.
The theme comes with WooCommerce integration. Features like native cart pop-up and floating add-to-cart bar can help to increase the conversion rate. Plus, you get a quick view function, so users don’t have to go to a new page to access product information.
