You don’t have to be the New York Times to provide quality news to the world. In fact, one could argue that the physical newspaper business is quickly disappearing to make room for digital and online newspapers. From the Huffington Post to TechCrunch, online newspapers are just as good, if not better than their predecessors, and that’s why it’s such as viable business. And you can build your own using WordPress newspaper themes.
The best part about it is you don’t need a fancy website design degree or the money to hire someone who can build the newspaper website for you. All you need is a WordPress theme.
What Should the Theme I Pick Include?
While the feature sets vary across the themes listed here, you should be certain to pick one that is responsive so it looks good on all devices, supports powerful menus for easier navigation, and a widgetized homepage so you can more readily customize the layout of your site and the stories you feature.
Designing Your Newspaper Website
When putting together a newspaper site, keep in mind your objective. What kind of site do you want to create? Straightforward local news? If so, you’ll want to make sure the theme you pick supports larger featured images to give your stories more color and life. Thinking of going the journalism route? A simpler layout more akin to a print newspaper is best. Will editorial or opinion be your focus? Look for themes with large featured sliders, and even parallax scrolling elements to give your long-form stories depth and added interest.
Best Newspaper Themes for News Sites
Starting a newspaper site? Hopefully, this roundup includes the WordPress theme you are looking for. If not, leave a comment with a link to any themes you think we missed.
Best
The Best WordPress theme comes from MyThemeShop and it’s a responsive, clean and engaging newspaper theme. The theme is Google Adsense optimized making it easy to monetize your website. The built-in review system keeps users informed about the most recent movies, music, products or any other topic your writers are going to cover.
Narrated video tutorials ensure that any beginner can use the theme and implement the features within just a few minutes. Shortcodes are included with the theme as well, allowing you to add a quick button or other design elements, without having to know anything about coding.
Compass
Compass, from WPZoom, is a responsive magazine and newspaper theme, with a dynamic homepage builder which allows you to customize the layout of your pages. The theme also includes WPZoom widgets which allow you to easily place different content on your homepage. Compass also has visual customizer which makes it easy to further customize your website.
The homepage touch slideshow works on all devices and it allows you to showcase your best content or even special promotions to subscribers. Along with a custom background and logo import, you really don’t have to do much in terms of setup with this theme. It even provides a translation feature in case you want to build a multilingual website.
SevenMag
If you enjoy scrolling tickers, lots of imagery, and want to include plenty of information on the homepage, the SevenMag theme may be for you. The premium newspaper theme is completely responsive and it integrates with the bbPress plugin for implementing a community forum. The theme is truly packed with features and integrations considering you can also add a BuddyPress plugin for social networking features.
The user star review system is great for adding interactivity and encouraging user interaction to your website. You can choose from unlimited color schemes which allow you to match your website to your brand. Finally, the 13 custom widgets allow you to easily add extra content to your website without knowing any code. All it requires is a little time and this theme.
Moment
Built with a truly unique layout, the Moment WordPress theme provides a masonry design which is sure to make you stand out compared to other newspaper websites online. The theme offers multiple article layouts to add variety to your website. Translation files are included with the theme and Jetpack support allows you to customize your website, set up a mobile theme and add your analytics and verification codes.
Although the Moment theme is simple and modern, it allows readers to focus on your content first and foremost. In fact, you also have the option to display only article thumbnails and remove everything else.
immunity
The Immunity theme is a multipurpose and responsive theme, using WooCommerce integration and custom widgets to help you create a website that stands out. As a newspaper WordPress theme, it looks great since it provides six completely different layouts, beautiful widgets, and plenty of space to display all your articles.
Try out shortcodes for creating buttons, columns, and more. Place widgets for recent stories, tweets, and featured categories. The theme even comes with clean social media buttons for building your following on places like Facebook and Twitter. It’s rather easy to place ads on this theme, so you can sell merchandise through your WooCommerce store and sell ad space at the same time.
News Pro
The News Pro theme is a great choice for anyone that wants the ultimate customization options for your newspaper website. Since it runs off of the Genesis Framework, you basically have all the power in the world to turn it into something special. Use any of the five color styles to customize the appearance or take advantage of the six layout options that ensure your site doesn’t look like any other website out there.
The mobile responsive design is suited for tablets and phones while the featured images look crisp and clean for your online newspapers. The custom menus and backgrounds are essential for adding creativity to your website and providing easy navigation. You can always customize your header as well.
MagXP
MagXP provides a responsive design, yet the most powerful element of the theme is its review system. If you plan on posting reviews, consider this theme since the stars and reviews interface is one of the best we’ve seen on the market. Not only that but the drag and drop homepage sections ensure a quick and easy homepage setup.
Place unlimited sidebars on your website and use two different single post layouts. You also get to choose from over 630 Google Fonts. Rich snippets are included with the theme which ensures your website will be easily indexed by the search engines.
Goliath
The Goliath theme is ideal for newspapers that want to focus on fashion, tech, and all the most popular topics. The responsive design includes areas for banner ads, providing opportunities for monetization.
The coolest part of this newspaper theme is that it comes bundled with three premium plugins, meaning you don’t have to pay for any of them. The plugins include Visual Composer, Slider Revolution, and Mega Menu. Also, the Goliath theme offers an integration with WooCommerce, so you can setup an online store in a matter of minutes. Finally, the entire backend has a drag-and-drop interface which makes it easy for complete beginners to customize the website.
Yosemite
Yosemite is actually a theme that was inspired by Mac’s Yosemite. The fluid responsive design is ideal for those who want to view your site on mobile devices and the mega menu is built to improve conversions and to include all your pages without overwhelming your visitors. Yosemite is compatible with the WP Review Pro plugin which helps you write reviews and share them on your blog. The design has been carefully crafted to look elegant and clean, just like an Apple computer. The theme has been tested against many other comparable options and it has been proven to receive higher conversion rates.
AdSense optimization is included for those who want to monetize their website while the WP Subscribe plugin works flawlessly with Yosemite to help you grow your email list. The parallax scrolling is sure to make your website stand out and social media buttons ensure that everyone can connect with you on different social media networks. Shortcodes are included with the Yosemite theme to easily create anything from buttons to columns and the author box is perfect if you run a multi-author website. Along with breadcrumbs, unlimited colors, and one-click updates, the Yosemite theme is a force to be reckoned with.
Schema
The Schema WordPress theme offers a fully responsive newspaper layout with an awesome review system for you and your writers to create reviews on products from the tech and consumer goods markets. The extremely fast and SEO ready theme has dummy content, which is always handy for those who don’t want to start their design process with a blank slate. The ad management module is ideal for newspaper companies that constantly rotate ads for more exposure. The review system isn’t only for the writers on your team. It also has a rating module in the comments section for readers to specify whether or not they like an article. Along with the comments, the Schema theme is focused on encouraging user interaction.
The easy import tool helps you import your existing content while the rich snippet support is known to boost your SEO rankings. Although the backend is pretty easy to play around with, a custom CSS field is provided for more experienced users to add advanced customization. The unlimited backgrounds are a great place to start customizing your website and the translation files help you expand your reach. Several shortcodes provide the functionality to quickly generate items like buttons and columns without the need for coding experience. Along with related post listings, Google Fonts, icons, and integrated social media buttons, the Schema WordPress theme is one of our favorites when it comes to newspaper solutions.
Mag Pro by AccessPress
The Mag Pro theme is a theme from AccessPress and it provides a beautiful setup for magazines and online publications. The one-time payment lets you use the theme on as many websites as you want and you don’t have to keep renewing to get support. Multiple layouts add variety to your website and the homepage layout is mainly constructed using widgets. Post and view comment counts to maintain your social credibility and use the social media buttons to grow your social media following. The beautiful article page is rather impressive considering you can utilize quotes, images and other post formats for a variety of content. The responsive ads ensure any ads you run on the website will look great on mobile devices and you can add Google AdWords to expedite the targeting process.
The built-in review system is a feature that’s not often found in magazine themes, so it’s worth checking out the Mag Pro theme if you’re really interested in posting reviews. The translation panel sits right inside the WordPress customizer allowing you to create articles that anyone can read. The theme lets you place an author box towards the end of each article which is handy if you have more than one writer on your site. Social media integration is also located towards the end of each post, allowing your readers to easily share your posts. Along with a complete blog, a cool slider, and a grid layout, the Mag Pro theme is a great choice for all magazine websites.
Newspaper
Newspaper is a clean and fast loading theme that features a beautiful grid layout on the homepage. It also has a beautiful slider at the top to promote your most popular articles along with a breaking news widget so your readers can easily stay up to date with the most recent news. The theme is also optimized for fast loading which means your visitors will be able to access the news instantly no matter which device they are using.
You can also post videos and add ratings to your post to see which type of stories are doing well. The theme integrates perfectly with BuddyPress and bbPress allowing you to create a true community around your site. 13 predefined ad spots are available to easily monetize your website and you can also customize your site with ease thanks to the advanced theme options panel. Finally, the theme features complete social media integration for easy sharing and boosting your online following.
MH Magazine - Newspaper Magazine Theme
The MH Magazine offers a completely widgetized homepage which means it’s easy to customize the layout without having to know any code. You simply drag and drop the desired widgets into place. A large ad spot is available both in the header and the footer and widgets are organized in a grid format which makes it easy to browse through the stories. You can also create completely custom menus and integrate social media icons to grow your magazine’s following with ease.
The theme is fully responsive and it includes unlimited color options as well as an intuitive theme options panel which makes it easy to upload your own logo, change colors, backgrounds, fonts, and much more. Along with endless homepage possibilities, SEO optimization, built-in author box, jQuery news ticker, and translation-ready files, the MH Magazine is packed with features so be sure to keep it in mind.
SociallyViral
SociallyViral features a beautiful design that is built to maximize engagement, load fast, and most importantly, boost viral traffic. It has features that will help increase social sharing such as full social media integration and trending stories widget. All of this will help you get more traffic from the top social media websites and also boost your search engine rankings. The theme also includes a beautiful newsletter signup box as well as full Google AdSense optimization so you can easily start monetizing your website.
SociallyViral also includes support for videos and a fully responsive design. The theme options panel has plenty of customization options, including the ability to upload your own logo, favicon, and much more. You can also enable a stunning homepage slider to promote your most popular stories in a more visually appealing way. On top of that, the theme is SEO optimized and includes plenty of shortcodes to add buttons, columns, lists, and more without touching a single line of code.
Gloria - WP Magazine & Blog Theme
Starting off the list, we have the Gloria WordPress theme, which is a responsive theme that looks absolutely wonderful on mobile devices. The theme provides a solid layout for magazines and newspapers, with a drag-and-drop builder on the backend. It’s particularly useful for branding because of the unlimited colors and layouts and the SEO optimization combines well with the responsiveness for moving up in the search engine rankings. An AJAX search bar sits towards the top of your site, allowing users to search for their favorite articles. The reviews system is one of the highlighting features of the Gloria WordPress theme since it allows you to write reviews on anything from technology to movies. It’s also nice because users can make reviews if they want. In addition to the AJAX search bar, the theme includes an AJAX login, getting folks logged into your site quickly and efficiently. The cool part about the theme is that it has a quick two-minute setup for the homepage. We like this because it caters to both beginners and advanced users who don’t want to spend too much time on setup.
The drag-and-drop page builder works with design elements that you place wherever you want on the backend. It keeps your hands out of the source code, essentially turning you into a master coder in no time. Social media buttons are included with the theme, which most developers praise, considering it means you don’t have to go find another third-party plugin for this functionality. Importable demo content is there for a fast launch, while six completely unique demos allow you to organize content in different ways on the homepage. The Google Rich Snippets support is not something you see in that many WordPress themes, but it improves your SEO quite a bit by generating more visual elements in search engines results. We talked about the demos a little bit already, but it’s worth mentioning that a few of them are for sports publications, while some are feared for technology and art. Overall, the Gloria WordPress theme is a promising choice, using a complex set of features that are fairly easy to use for a young reporter or blogger.
TheSource by ElegantThemes
TheSource theme from Elegant Themes has a magazine layout for presenting a wide range of article previews on your homepage. The whole point of this design is to present a significant amount of content without having it look cluttered and unsophisticated. The visual impact of the homepage slider is pretty stunning, considering it can grab attention and link to some of the most recent articles on your magazine or newspaper. Complete localization tools are included with the theme, meaning that all of your posts can be read by people from many parts of the world. Although the four unique colors may not seem like much, it’s a good start to creating your own brand and making your theme look unique. The theme options are managed on the backend where some handy shortcodes are situated.
If you haven’t had a chance to play around with shortcodes in the past, they are generally used to generate items like sliders, columns, and buttons. The catch is that they are simple little snippets of code, minimizing your need to get involved with more complex source code. In addition to that, the page templates included with TheSource WordPress theme are there to expedite the website creation process as well. Some of the page templates include options for galleries, login pages, contact forms, and search bars. This is a rather versatile set of features and we like it quite a bit for beginner developers who are trying to get the word out about certain stories or articles. One thing to keep in mind is that it’s a pretty modern looking theme and we like it for gaming websites and movies. Although you can use it for other topics, the default designs are more suitable for something in the entertainment industry. The final point we would like to mention is that a solid slider is located towards the top of the homepage. It has overlaying text and buttons, which is essential for getting people to look at your best articles.
Latte - Responsive Blog Theme
The Latte WordPress theme has an impeccable design with lightweight elements and a responsiveness that looks great on smaller devices. The theme has plenty of white space, allowing your content to get the attention it deserves. Four demos are provided: travel, food, classic, and fashion. Many of the features overlap in each of the demos, but they are all unique in their own ways, primarily with stock photos that suit each of those industries. The theme actually looks somewhat like Pinterest, with a grid-based layout on the homepage linking to all of your posts from the past. Each of the items has featured images, titles, and descriptions, and it almost seems like something that a standard portfolio website would look like. That said, several social media buttons come with the Latte theme, helping you out with building up followers, while also removing the need to go out and get a third-party plugin for this purpose. One interesting part of the theme is that several post formats are provided, letting you insert images, photos, galleries and more. The multiple header layouts are a nice bonus and the top bar with menu includes a beautiful search bar to guide people throughout your site.
The theme is rather easy to setup and translation files come with your purchase for expanding your reach to people who don’t speak your language. All of the Google fonts are provided and the unlimited colors allow you to integrate your website with the rest of your brand. Speaking of logos, yours will reside right in the middle of the header which is great for building brand recognition. The advertisement area is a must-have for reporters and bloggers since you need a way to bring in money that’s not going to distract people from the content that much. The theme supports an Instagram Gallery plugin and the Contact Form 7 plugin, both of which are handy for connecting with customers and sharing photos with your followers. A widget area is located in the sidebar and the related posts carousel is sure to keep people browsing your site for an extended period of time. Along with a custom sidebar, a mega menu, and a featured posts widget, the Latte WordPress theme is one of those themes that just about every blogger should take a look at. It’s also worth mentioning that several demo files are included with the theme, making it super easy to get launched in no time.
WorldPlus
WorldPlus is a responsive theme suitable for a variety of online publications and has the ability to showcase a ton of content on the homepage. The theme has a large banner area which is perfect for putting the focus on the most popular stories while the breaking news widget allows visitors to always stay up-to-date with the latest news. A few ad spots make it possible to monetize the website through ads and you can display your social media icons in the sidebar to grow your following on places like Facebook, Twitter, and more.
WorldPlus comes with a drag-and-drop page builder which makes it easy to tweak the layout of any page simply by dragging website elements and dropping them to where you’d like them to appear on the page. You don’t have to have coding knowledge and you can create completely unique layouts. The theme options panel has all the settings needed to customize the fonts, colors, logo, and more. Several page templates and demo layouts are included to ensure your news website stands out from the competition. A review system is also there so your visitors can vote and rate your stories to let you know what type of content they’d like to see more often. Finally, the theme comes with several custom widgets and custom pages which allow you to create galleries, contact pages, about pages, and much more.
tinos
The Tinos theme is a wonderful choice for online newspaper and magazine sites considering it has a unique design, beautiful typography, and the ability to showcase a lot of content on the homepage. The theme puts your content front and center, and supports post formats, allowing you to share a wide range of content types including video and audio. Besides, you’ll find a drag-and-drop page builder to easily create your own custom page layouts even if you have little design experience.
Translation tools are included with the theme, making it easy to reach an international audience. Your website will have no problem ranking in search engines since this template is SEO-friendly and optimized to load fast. Also, there’s an intuitive theme options panel where you can control your websites settings. You can upload your logo, change colors, fonts, layouts, and more.
NewsTimes
The NewsTimes theme comes from MythemeShop, so you’re guaranteed of a fast-loading, mobile responsive WordPress template along with reliable support and regular updates. The homepage is designed to hold lots of content, and there’s an advertisement spot right at the top to maximize your earnings. We enjoy the reviews and ratings feature as it allows readers to leave feedback on your stories and let you know the type of content they love consuming.
A stylish slider lets you highlight your best stories, and you can add different types of content – from videos and audio to image and link posts. Want to display your site in your local language? No problem; the NewsTimes theme comes with translation tools for easy localization. Besides, there’re unlimited color options for branding and social icons to help increase your reach.
Truemag
Want to make more revenue from your online magazine site? If yes, then you should consider the Truemag theme. This template is designed to help you make more money from your website as it includes optimally placed ad spots. The advertisements will blend in with your content and adapt nicely to mobile screens. Furthermore, the theme integrates with the WooCommerce plugin, allowing you to sell anything from your website.
The Truemag theme has lots of customization options to match your website with your style. It comes with a light and dark skin, unlimited colors and fonts to help with your branding, unlimited sidebars, and translation files that make it easy to reach an international audience. Along with social icons, search engine optimization, extensive documentation, and regular updates, the TrueMag theme is a wonderful option so check it out.
Voltov
The Voltov theme was designed for news blogs and magazine sites. It brings a unique design and lots of awesome features such as infinite scrolling with unique pagination as well as the ability for readers to vote on posts and comments. The theme is ad-friendly so you can generate revenue from Adsense and other advertisement programs. The awesome 3-level menu makes it easy for people to navigate your website even with lots of content.
This theme comes with unlimited color possibilities, which is essential if you’re trying to build a brand. Besides, post sharing options are included with the voltov theme for people to easily spread word about your site, and you’ll also find post formats, allowing you to share a wide variety of content with your readers.
univermag
Consider the Univermag theme if you aim to publish lots of content on your news or magazine site without making it look clattered. The theme provides a clean, elegant, and professional design with ample space for your content and well-thought-out ad spots to maximize your revenue. Your website will look elegant even on mobile devices and high resolution displays since this template is fully responsive and Retina-Ready.
Compatibility with WooCommerce allows you to sell anything from your website, while the translation tools make it easy to translate your website into your local language. Social icons sit at the top right where they’re easily noticeable, making it easy for people to connect with you on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Moreover, there’re over 30 customization options, allowing you to build a truly unique website.
Grimag
The Grimag theme is another one in our collection with an emphasis on monetization. The theme has plenty of advertisement spots in prominent areas and blends them nicely with your content, ensuring you make the most from your online magazine. The homepage can hold lots of content without looking cluttered, and there’s a subscription form for collecting emails from your readers.
In terms of customization options, you can configure almost every element of your website from the back-end to match your style. There’s an intuitive admin panel where you can change colors, fonts, layouts, and other elements. You can also make your website multilingual if you want to reach an international audience, and there’s helpful support if you ever get stuck along the way.
Open Times
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
NewsSetter
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
On Demand
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
Cards
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
Massive Press
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
Massive News
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
Clear News
We have removed this review becuase this theme is discontinued.
Jessica
July 13, 2015 at 11:18 pmAmazing collection of WordPress themes you have shared with us. I really like this collection and will surely use one or two themes from it for my new projects. I will try to design Grimag, Aqusito, Univermag themes using a templatetoaster. It is basically a web designing software that helps to create fully responsive themes for major CMSs.
Sarah Bishop
September 7, 2016 at 10:14 pmThanks Jessica! Can you share your experience with Templatetoaster? I am sure our readers would find it useful.