If your site doesn’t have a good load time, your visitors may decide to leave instead of waiting to view your pages, regardless of the type of website. Whether your goal is to gain subscribers or sales, every second counts. Using one of the fastest WordPress themes could boost your efforts.
Page speed is a decisive factor in creating a smooth user experience and can have a massive impact on your conversions. A fast-loading website is also a must if you want to rank highly in Google.
There’s a ton of elements that have an influence on speed, including your page size, responsive design, good front-end features, parallax effects and scrolling time, the number of popups, the way you’re using Google Fonts, and WordPress plugins that you have installed. Luckily, there are many pro lightweight WordPress themes that can help you achieve your goals.
In this roundup, we’ll take you through ten of the fastest WordPress themes. We tested each of them ourselves using the same hosting provider and a standard set of demo content, including widgets, page templates, and typography. All of them have high-quality code and are easily adaptable to any niche with the help of block editors and WordPress Customizer. Let’s go!
The fastest WordPress themes (tested and compared)
Theme | PageSpeed Score | YSlow Score | Fully Loaded Time (s) | Total Page Size (KB) | Requests |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GeneratePress | 99% A | 94% A | 1.1 | 39.8 | 10 |
Neve | 99% A | 93% A | 0.9 | 57.6 | 12 |
Astra | 99% A | 92% A | 0.9 | 107 | 15 |
Zakra | 98% A | 87% B | 0.6 | 97.1 | 16 |
Customify | 98% A | 90% A | 1.5 | 381 | 19 |
Mesmerize | 98% A | 84% B | 1.1 | 415 | 24 |
X Theme | 98% A | 91% A | 1.2 | 122 | 12 |
Blocksy | 98% A | 86% B | 1.1 | 118 | 25 |
OceanWP | 97% A | 85% B | 1.9 | 356 | 29 |
Hestia | 97% A | 87% B | 0.9 | 201 | 21 |
1. GeneratePress
![GeneratePress on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:90/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/generatepress.png)
GeneratePress prides itself in being among the fastest WordPress themes – lightweight and accessible. Its high coding standards keep it stable and secure. It’s also search engine optimization (SEO) friendly, giving you a head start on improving your Google rankings before you even add your content.
This theme comes with advanced theme options as well. You’ll be able to tweak all layout elements, install demo sites, and more. It also offers compatibility with Elementor, a drag-and-drop page builder, which will enable you to modify both desktop and mobile versions of your website.
Total Page Size: 39.8KB
Requests: 10
Pagespeed:
A (99%)
YSlow:
A (94%)
Fully Loaded:
1.1s
2. Neve
![Neve on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/neve.png)
Our modern theme is ultra-fast and easy on your server resources. Neve is optimized for mobile devices, too, giving you an extra SEO boost. Best of all, you can start customizing it almost immediately without digging into the code by installing one of its pre-built designs.
Neve is compatible with all popular page builders. You can easily customize various elements of your website, like your homepage, and see real-time changes as you edit. Overall, this theme is super flexible and user-friendly, which makes it a perfect solution for beginners or advanced users who want to work more efficiently.
Total Page Size: 57.6KB
Requests: 12
Pagespeed:
A (99%)
YSlow:
A (93%)
Fully Loaded:
0.9s
3. Astra
![Astra is one of the fastest WordPress themes on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/astra.png)
Astra theme is one of the most popular WordPress themes. It’s optimized for performance by eliminating jQuery dependencies, which often causes delays. It also enables you to pick individual modules to include on your site, so you can edit your content more efficiently.
This fast WordPress theme comes with a real-time customizer, so you can see your creation unfold in front of your eyes. It’s integrated with popular page builders such as Elementor and Beaver Builder. It’s also packed with an expansive library of demos and numerous customizable elements, including header and sidebar design options.
Total Page Size: 107KB
Requests: 15
Pagespeed:
A (99%)
YSlow:
A (92%)
Fully Loaded:
0.9s
4. Zakra
![Zakra on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/zakra.png)
Zakra is a multipurpose theme that is well suited to online stores. It’s optimized for speed, thus maximizing your chances for conversions. It’s also fully responsive and AMP ready, so your website will look its best on any device.
The developer provides multiple demos for this theme, including several eCommerce starter sites. It integrates well with Elementor page builder, so you can fully customize your content as well. Moreover, Zakra works seamlessly with WooCommerce and is SEO-friendly, making it an excellent choice for online retailers.
Total Page Size: 97.1KB
Requests: 16
Pagespeed:
A (98%)
YSlow:
B (87%)
Fully Loaded:
0.6s
5. Customify
![Customify on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:1584/h:908/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Customify.jpg)
As the name suggests, this theme’s primary focus is advanced customization. You can begin with one of many starter sites or demos and tweak it to suit your needs. You can even make changes to the footer and header thanks to Customify’s dedicated builder. Last but not least, it’s compatible with Elementor.
Customify is a fast theme, lightweight, and super responsive. Its SEO-friendly design should help you secure high search engine rankings. Also, this theme is compatible with popular plugins such as WooCommerce or Mega Menu.
Total Page Size: 381KB
Requests: 19
Pagespeed:
A (98%)
YSlow:
A (90%)
Fully Loaded:
1.5s
6. Mesmerize
![Mesmerize on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:1584/h:908/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Mesmerize.jpg)
Mesmerize is another flexible theme, ranking among the best WordPress themes that are free. It lets you create a unique website with a drag-and-drop builder easily. It comes with various starter pages and header designs, as well as a wide selection of customizable content blocks. You can also add modern effects such as video backgrounds while maintaining your website’s fast loading speeds.
Mesmerize is responsive, so you can rest assured that your website will look fantastic even on mobile devices. It’s also compatible with WooCommerce and provides several eCommerce pages to kick-start an online store.
Total Page Size: 415KB
Requests: 24
Pagespeed:
A (98%)
YSlow:
B (84%)
Fully Loaded:
1.1s
7. X Theme
![Short name but still one of the fastest WordPress themes X](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:1024/h:587/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/X-Theme.png)
The X theme boasts a stunning design that attracts many users. Its drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to create your website without coding experience. It also comes with a template manager, a choice of content blocks, and complete demos to further customize your website.
This theme comes bundled with several premium plugins, including Slider Revolution. It’s also retina ready and fully responsive, which will make your content shine on any device. Last but not least, X supports WooCommerce, so it’s a robust theme for any type of business. Once you tweak some of its features, you can easily get the metrics you want and pass any speed test, getting the minimum page load time.
Total Page Size: 122KB
Requests: 12
Pagespeed:
A (98%)
YSlow:
A (91%)
Fully Loaded:
1.2s
8. Blocksy
![Blocksy on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:1584/h:908/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Blocksy.png)
Blocksy is another brilliant, fast, multipurpose WordPress theme. You’ll be able to design your pages easily with its drag-and-drop functionality. It’s compatible with popular page builders such as Elementor, too. You can also customize individual features of your website with numerous color and layout options.
Blocksy integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, making it an excellent theme for online stores. It’s also SEO-friendly and super responsive, which should positively impact your conversions. Read full Blocksy theme review here.
Total Page Size: 118KB
Requests: 25
Pagespeed:
A (98%)
YSlow:
B (86%)
Fully Loaded:
1.1s
9. OceanWP
![OceanWP learning starter site on desktop and mobile](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/oceanwp.png)
Like Astra, OceanWP lets you select individual modules to include on your site so you only have to edit the elements you need. It’s compatible with popular page builders, and comes with handy extensions to further boost the functionality of your site.
You can also start with one of many unique OceanWP demos and layouts to quickly build your perfect design. This theme includes WooCommerce integration, making it an exquisite, lightweight option for online retailers. It’s SEO-ready and fully responsive to boot.
Total Page Size: 356KB
Requests: 29
Pagespeed:
A (97%)
YSlow:
B (85%)
Fully Loaded:
1.9s
10. Hestia
![Hestia is still one of the fastest WordPress themes](https://mllj2j8xvfl0.i.optimole.com/cb:jC7e.37109/w:auto/h:auto/q:eco/f:avif/https://themeisle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/hestia.png)
Our final suggestion is Hestia, our slick one-page theme that uses Material Design principles. It boasts simplicity while being super flexible, and its live customizer makes it suitable for both beginners and advanced designers.
This fast WordPress theme works effortlessly with block editors such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, and Divi. Hestia’s lightweight structure is an exceptional match for popular plugins, such as WooCommerce. Also, it’s SEO-ready, so rest assured that search engines will love your site.
Total Page Size: 201KB
Requests: 21
Pagespeed:
A (97%)
YSlow:
B (87%)
Fully Loaded:
0.9s
Which is the fastest WordPress theme?
A theme that’s optimized for speed can help you secure high search engine rankings. It can also boost your efforts to generate traffic and, most importantly, convert your visitors into customers or subscribers. However, with thousands of free and premium themes, plus premium versions of free themes available on the market, choosing from the fastest WordPress themes can be overwhelming.
In this article, we gathered ten of the fastest WordPress themes and took them for test drives. GeneratePress and Neve are two of our top picks, but as you can see from the performance testing results above, any of these themes should serve you well.
You can check the loading time using such online tools as GTmetrix. However, there’s more to creating a quick-loading WordPress site than just a fast theme. You’ll also need to select high-performing WordPress hosting and implement performance best practices to make your site load as quickly as possible.
You should also check if your website is SEO optimized, regardless if it is an ecommerce store, a business page, or a simple landing page. If you still feel a bit lost, there are tons of online tutorials on how to build a proper WordPress website using free WordPress themes. If the free versions are not enough, you can always check out some premium ones, e.g., developed by Themeisle.
Do you have any questions about choosing from the fastest WordPress themes? Ask us in the comments!
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