If you’re shopping for Genesis child themes, your first stop is likely the StudioPress website. It makes sense to go straight to the source – after all, StudioPress offers over 50 child themes for the Genesis framework. But what happens when none of the available themes meet your needs?
The community behind Genesis is one of the main reasons we use it exclusively for development projects, as well as for our own websites. If you can think of something you want Genesis to do, chances are someone has already written a tutorial, created a plugin, or found a solution.
Genesis child themes are no exception. There are a ton of theme sellers, most of whom are very active in the community, creating third party Genesis child themes you can use for your websites or projects.
What should I know about buying third party themes?
Here are a couple of important considerations for anyone considering a third party Genesis theme:
1. StudioPress doesn’t support third party themes directly. If you have a license for Genesis, you receive lifetime support from StudioPress. However, community theme developers are asked to support their themes directly since they know them best. That doesn’t mean you can’t open a ticket if you need help, but you may be referred to the theme developer depending on what you need.
2. If a theme says it’s a Genesis child theme, it will work with Genesis. You can’t buy any old theme and use it with the Genesis framework. But if a theme is specifically sold as a Genesis child theme, it will work just fine. Keep in mind, child themes are basically just skins that change how Genesis looks.
3. All third party themes aren’t created equal. Anyone – literally anyone – can create a Genesis child theme and sell it online. There is no approval process or policing involved. This means you need to do research to be sure you are buying from a reputable theme shop that provides support.
4. You still need Genesis to use a third party theme. Buying from a third party seller doesn’t mean you don’t need a license for Genesis. You still need to buy the framework in order to use the theme you bought.
So where can I buy third party Genesis child themes?
I’ve put together a list of all the third party theme sellers I’m aware of (props to @bobwp for introducing me to Listly!), which you can view below. Some of the sellers listed haven’t launched yet, but they are awesome designers and devs who I know will knock your socks off once their stores open. Did I miss a good one? If so, let me know!
All Nuts and Bolts projects are built on the Genesis Framework because we believe it's the most stable and well-supported framework available. Our partners love it and so do we - once you try it, you'll never use another WordPress theme!
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Ginger Coolidge says
Thanks for this list, there are several I did not know about!
You’re welcome! I’m sure there are third party sellers I forgot to mention, so I’m hoping to see some additions to the list over time.
Great list! Good to have. And, not to toot my own horn, but I’m going to be launching a theme shop for Genesis child themes sometime this spring. You can see more here: http://www.timberbit.io
Thanks again for this list!
Added you, Calvin - I knew there was another one that hadn’t launched yet and totally blanked. Thanks for the reminder!
Andrea…thanks for putting this excellent list together. Even though I feel “safer” using StudioPress themes, I *have* bought a few Genesis themes made by other developers, and like them a lot.
I know you’re really busy, but I hope you will keep this list current as more theme sellers appear.
Thanks again.
I’m definitely hoping to keep it up to date. The great thing about Listly is that I can edit the list within their interface and it will automatically update the post. Other people can add items to the list as well, which is kind of cool.
Ehhhhhh…wouldn’t you know it? The first one I decide to check out (TimberBit) doesn’t have any themes actually finished yet, and want me to give them my e-mail address to find out more details. Hmmmmm.
There are a couple of up and comers on the list, but I’ll vouch for them - they’ll have great stuff available after launch. 🙂
As quoted by Andrea:
I am starting TimberBit, but there is many things to get lined up before I can launch the product.
Here’s one that might be of some interest…I think he’s only done two themes, and one of them is free (it’s a one-page theme) and I like it. Jan Hoek (http://janhoek.com/genesis-themes/)
He’s on the list already. 🙂
Hey Andrea, thanks for the shout on Lean Themes.
Great to see so much quality on this list, I think if I had to choose one out of them all to highlight (a tough job) Restored 316 deserves a shout, I’m consistently impressed not only with the themes but the whole business around it.
Great job pulling this together.
I agree with you - Lauren does a great job, and her business has grown tremendously in the last year or two. There is so much talent in this community and I’m always proud to be a part of it. Appreciate you stopping by! 🙂
Ren says
Hey, Andrea. Solid list you put together. You might be interested in the site I’m currently developing in hopes to serve as a centralized marketplace for many independent (non-SP) developers to sell their Genesis related products (i.e. Child themes, Dynamik skins, plugins, etc.)
If interested, I write up a post to explain it in more detail. http://www.engagewp.com/introducing-pxl-themes-genesis-framework-marketplace/
Best!
Hi Ren,
Thanks for stopping by! I just read your post earlier today and I’m very interested to see the launch of PXL Themes! Are you planning to sell any products of your own, or just provide the marketplace for others?
Ren says
I might put some of my current stuff on there to start out with (perhaps as free downloads) and I might even create some new things for launch. However, the main goal is to manage it as a channel for other developers to get their work out there. I don’t really want to have too much about myself on there because it’s something I’m doing to promote the Genesis community, not myself.
Joseph says
Hi Andrea,
I really wish to see video focused child theme available in Genesis community. I know only one theme focused for video, but stop developing.
Cheers!
Joseph
Frank Schrijvers says
Hi Andrea,
Great list. I’ve started recently WPStudio. My main focus is developing Genesis child themes. At the moment there are only two themes for sale, the third is a masonry blog and is on the way.
Maybe you can add https://www.wpstud.io as well?
Thanks!
Frank
Hi Frank,
Thanks for reaching out! I’m adding your site to the list now. 🙂
zach says
Love this list, I just purchased a theme for my wife’s website from Pretty Darn Cute Designs.
Thanks a bunch for putting this together! I am new to Genesis, looking forward to learning all about it.
Thanks for stopping by, Zach! Glad to hear you and your wife are getting started with Genesis. The community is awesome - you’ll always be glad you jumped in! 🙂
Hi Andrea,
thanks for putting this list together. I like the look of Zigzagpress’s Mindfulness theme and was wondering what you think of it and was there anything to be mindful of.
I tried to find some examples of the theme at themetix.com ( great for seeing what is possible with a theme ) but there aren’t many examples, which sort of concerns me. Should I be? Would greatly appreciate your thoughts and advice.
Kind regards
Rob
Hi Rob,
I’ve purchased a couple of themes from ZigZagPress and have never had a problem with them. That said, their themes do tend to include a lot of options (shortcodes, etc.) that aren’t typically part of Genesis themes. I’ve heard a few people say they’ve run into bugs, but that ZigZagPress support was very responsive and got the issue resolved.
Re: themetix.com, I wouldn’t worry too much - I’ve never heard of that site before now, but it looks like they look at sites with high Alexa rankings. Those sites will almost always use a custom theme or a renamed version of an existing theme, so it’s possible some of those are using Mindfulness but with a different name. Hopefully that makes sense.
Thanks for the quick and informative reply. Most helpful.
You’re very welcome! 🙂
Sakthi says
Hi Andrea,
You’ve done a good job in gathering the third-party Genesis Child Themes at one place.
I’ve checked some themes, they are amazing.
BTW, I am a Genesis theme developer as well. If you add my Genesis child themes in your list, it would be a great help.
Glad I found you in Google search, keep up your good work.
Hi Sakthi,
I generally only recommend themes when either (1) I’ve used them myself or (2) I know the developer personally (in the case of the theme shops that haven’t launched yet). Any chance you’d be willing to let me test drive one of your themes so I can endorse them with a clear conscience? If so, feel free to contact me via my form and we’ll talk more. 🙂