Best 20 Handpicked WordPress Themes for a Journalism Portfolio

journalism portfolio themes for wordpress

September 19, 2020 The Website Architect No Comments

Important: These themes have been hand-picked by a professional web developer/designer who knows their sh*t. These themes aren’t randomly pulled from Google search results – they are selectively picked and highlighted because they deserve to be!

Not just any WordPress theme will work when you’re trying to make your Journalism Portfolio stand out, As a journalist, you’ll want something that:

Highlights and focuses on your content
Fits your journalism brand whether you’re trying to come off as serious, informational, fun, or impactful.
Makes it easy for you to draft and publish as quickly as possible
Keep your users interested and browsing around

If you are on the quest to make your journalism portfolio stand out, I found a text-heavy article that can help you stand out.

Here are the 20 best WordPress Themes for a Journalism Portfolio:

MediaDesk – Magazine WordPress Theme
Marlow – Distinctive, Typography-First WordPress Blog Theme
NeoMag – News and Magazine WordPress Theme
Kutak – Minimal Blog WordPress Theme
The Newspaper – Magazine Editorial WordPress Theme
Starter – Optimized, fast & minimalist blog theme!
Carrino – An Exciting Gutenberg Blog Theme
Akea – Blog WordPress Theme
Gutentim – Modern Gutenberg WordPress Blog Theme
The Writer – Modern WordPress Blog Theme
Ofelia – Travel Personal WordPress Blog Theme
Narrator – A Fluent WordPress Blogging Theme
Aldo – Black and White Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme
Grafton – Blog & Magazine WordPress Theme
GutenTag – 100% Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme
Harborne – Magazine & Blog WordPress Theme
Signy – A Personal Blog WordPress Theme
Katelyn – Creative Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme
Xmazine – WordPress Personal Blog & Magazine Theme
Kimberly – WordPress Blog & Shop Theme

MediaDesk – Magazine WordPress Theme

The MediaDesk WordPress theme has a beautiful magazine-style that focuses on the content. I recommend this theme if your style of journalism has powerful images that go behind it because it does a great job of showing the imagery on the posts post itself and in the posts grid.

Key notes and features about MediaDesk

WPBakery page builder
Has WooCommerce already built-in
Speed Scores are 40 (Mobile) and 70 (Desktop) with Googles PageSpeed Insights with all plugins enabled – can be improved by deactivating unused plugins
Has many different homepage layouts and demo content setup
The theme is $75 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about MediaDesk

Beautiful theme with very professional-looking typography and use of colours.
Has powerful plugins made to be compatible and easy to set up immediately like WooCommerce and WPML for multi-language support.

The Bad about MediaDesk

The theme has too many plugins and features that you will have to go enable/disable to get the theme at a simplified level for a journalism portfolio.
To get the post pages looking as good as they are in the demo, you have to use WPBakery which takes more time. Though you can still use the simpler Gutenberg editor

Buy or learn more about the MediaDesk WordPress theme on ThemeForest.

Marlow – Distinctive, Typography-First WordPress Blog Theme

Admittedly this theme looks a bit outdated at this point, but it does a lot right. It highly focuses on the content of the articles, and the author who wrote them. When you have this theme, it’s clear that it’s built for journalism because of how it hights the content and the author who wrote them.

Key notes and features about Marlow

No page builder – just a basic content editor. Though columns can be made with the Advanced shortcode generator plugin that comes pre-installed.
The theme has excellent speed scores – 82 (mobile) and 97 (desktop) on Googles Page Speed Insights
The theme costs $30 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about Marlow

Very fast loading theme – built for speed and simplicity
A minimal amount of extra plugins and dependencies making setup easy for anyone
Has everything you need to start writing posts immediately without much of a learning curve.

The Bad about Marlow

There is no demo about page setup, so you’ll have to create your own from scratch.
The theme looks semi-outdated. May need some rebranding or styling to get it looking up-to-date.

Learn more or buy the Marlow WordPress theme on ThemeForest

NeoMag – News and Magazine WordPress Theme

NeoMag is a bold styled blog entry heavy WordPress theme. This theme’s homepage introduces a lot of different blog categories in a really organized way. I would recommend this theme if you do have a lot of articles that are powered by categorization.

Key notes and features about NeoMag

Gutenberg and Classic Editor for article editing
Article focused design
The theme has an 85 (mobile) and a 98 (desktop) speed score with Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $50 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about NeoMag

Monetization built-in and ready to be set up
Very fast loading speed and score
Beautiful use of colours to differentiate categories
Article-focused built with little to no unnecessary bloat or complexity
Easy font and colour editing in the theme options

The Bad about NeoMag

You might need a builder plugin like WPBakery or something like Advanced Gutenberg to create pages with more complex layouts and elements.

You can learn more or buy the NeoMag theme on ThemeForest

Kutak – Minimal Blog WordPress Theme

This theme is a simple article-focused WordPress theme that implements AJAX quite well – no need for pagination or loading different pages for the same content! The theme is super-fast (almost perfect speed scores) and still manages to look good and have a lot of imagery.

Key notes and features about Kutak

The theme uses the new WordPress Gutenberg editor
The theme has a 93 (Mobile) and a 98 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $40 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about Kutak

Infinity scroll – uses AJAX to avoid pagination to keep loading content without refreshing the page
Lazy loading and speed optimizations built-in. Overall, one of the best-optimized WordPress themes I have ever seen
Trending and Recommended posts

The Bad about Kutak

From a user experience standpoint – avoid the “modern header” style and use the “classic header” style instead

Learn more or buy the Kutak WordPress theme on ThemeForest

The Newspaper – Magazine Editorial WordPress Theme

A WordPress theme built for the nostalgic. The Newspaper is a black-white serif type theme that looks and feels like you’re reading straight from a newspaper.

Key notes and features about The Newspaper

Uses a custom page builder
The theme gets a 60 (mobile) and 85 (desktop) speed scores with Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $60 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about The Newspaper

Great looking and functioning theme
The default sidebar content is actually useful – ad space and top searches
Cookie Notice already set up and styled

The Bad about The Newspaper

Uses an unfamiliar custom page builder
Unnecessary plugins installed like Revolution Slider, Layer Slider, and MegaMenu
Auto-Rotating Content sliders set up by default

Learn more or buy The Newspaper theme on ThemeForest

Starter – Optimized, fast & minimalist blog theme!

I like this theme specifically for the above-the-fold section. Once you land on the page, you get your most recently published post in your journalist portfolio front and center. Underneath is where you can have your continued journalist portfolio in a paginated list.

Key notes and features about Starter

Is E-Commerce ready (Powered by WooCommerce of course)
The theme has 83 (mobile) and a 92 (desktop) speed scores on Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $50 USD on ThemeForest

The Good about Starter

It’s simple and uncomplicated. It just works. No unnecessary plugins too
Great speed scores

The Bad about Starter

Beyond some fonts and some colors, customization is limited. For the most part, what you see is what you get.

Learn more or buy Starter on ThemeForest

Carrino – An Exciting Gutenberg Blog Theme

This refreshing WordPress theme is perfect for a journalism portfolio going for a trendy and soft feel. The pink comes off strong, but it can come in any color you want by changing the color scheme in the theme settings.

Key notes and features about Carrino

Posts and pages are powered by the default Gutenberg WordPress builder
The theme gets a 77 (mobile) and 92 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights
E-Commerce ready powered by WooCommerce
The theme is $40 USD on ThemeForest
Comes with MailChimp, and Contact form plugins already installed and styled

The Good about Carrino

Trendy and smooth design
No unnecessary plugins that slow down the site
4 different (and good) homepage designs to choose from

The Bad about Carrino

Very limited static elements set up to create non-dynamic landing pages easily from the demo content

Learn more or buy the Carrino WordPress theme on ThemeForest

Akea – Blog WordPress Theme

Akea (Not to be confused with Ikea) is a clean WordPress blog theme. I like this theme in particular because of the individual blog post pages and how distraction-free and content-focused they are for your journalism portfolio.

Key notes and features about Akea

Pages powered by GoodLayers Page Builder and posts built with the Gutenberg editor
The theme has a 35 (mobile) and 53 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $54 on ThemeForest

The Good about Akea

Many different home and blog layouts to choose from
Made with the GoodLayers Page Builder which enables you to create more complex page layouts
Many different pre-styled elements like tabs, accordions, and call to actions.

The Bad about Akea

Not the most speed optimized theme. Might need some manual improvement

Learn more or buy Akea on ThemeForest

Gutentim – Modern Gutenberg WordPress Blog Theme

This theme has an above the fold perfect for a journalism portfolio. When you land on the page you are immediately shown 3 of the most recent posts and a brief description of who you are (Home v2).

Key notes and features

Gutenberg page builder based
The theme gets a 38 (mobile) and a 66 (desktop) speed scores on Googles PageSpeed Insights
The theme is $40 on ThemeForest

The Good about Gutentim

A minimal amount of theme-dependent plugins
6 significantly different homepages to choose from
Well-designed single posts page

The Bad about Gutentim

The design is nice, but it doesn’t have a wow factor.

Learn more or buy the Gutentim theme on ThemeForest

The Writer – Modern WordPress Blog Theme

Aside from the obnoxiously designed menu, this is a solid theme that is article-focused that has a focus on integration with your Twitter feed.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 42 (mobile) and a 74 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool.
The theme is $50 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by Visual Composer page builder

The Good about The Writer

Beautifully designed post grid
Simple looking, distraction-free theme

The Bad about The Writer

Obnoxious and poorly designed menu
Theme isn’t as fast as it should for the simplicity it brings to the front end
Many different plugins pre-installed

Learn more or buy The Writer theme on ThemeForest

Ofelia – Travel Personal WordPress Blog Theme

This theme is another great option if you have power phototherapy to go alongside your Journalism portfolio pieces. It’s a fast and simple theme that’s good for someone who doesn’t want to get too complex with the more technical side of WordPress.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 75 (mobile) and a 9 5 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool.
The theme is $39 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by Gutenberg page builder for posts (none for other pages)

The Good about Ofelia

Simple and fast loading speed
More affordable price than a lot of the other theme options

The Bad about Ofelia

Offers only basic customization of the theme in its options, not super-customizable
No builder pre-installed to make more complex page layouts

Learn more or buy the Ofelia theme on ThemeForest

Narrator – A Fluent WordPress Blogging Theme

This theme is perfect for a Journalist with a respective Instagram account. The Instagram feed is at the bottom of every page showing off more personality to your portfolio.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 53 (mobile) and a 88 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool.
The theme is $49 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by Gutenberg page builder

The Good about The Narrator

Simple and uncomplicated. It just works.
Beautiful typography. You can tell it’s been done by a real professional designer.

The Bad about The Narrator

No page builder to make more complex page layouts

Learn more or buy the The Narrator theme on ThemeForest

Aldo – Black and White Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme

This theme is perfect for any minimalist Journalist who sees the beauty in words, as this theme is very content-focused.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 41 (mobile) and an 81 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $59 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by Gutenberg page builder

The Good about Aldo

4 different styles of post pages to choose from
Supports both dark and light themes

The Bad about Aldo

Not the fastest speed on mobile, could be better

Learn more or buy the The Aldo theme on ThemeForest

Grafton – Blog & Magazine WordPress Theme

This theme has a very refreshing blog grid layout design that makes you want to read and look through.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 42 (mobile) and an 80 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $19 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by Elementor page builder

The Good about Grafton

Great value for money – only $20!
Refreshing layout and design
Uses Elementor page builder

The Bad about Grafton

Not the fastest speed on mobile, could be better

Learn more or buy the The Grafton theme on ThemeForest

GutenTag – 100% Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme

This theme has a very effective homepage layout to convey your personality and brand. Though used as a health blog in the demo, this theme can easily become an effect Journalism portfolio by populating it with your own content and images.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 42 (mobile) and an 82 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $49 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by The Gutenberg page builder

The Good about Gutentag

Includes seperate Porfolio post type rather than utilizing blog posts

The Bad about Gutentag

Could have better speed score on mobile
No reviews/ratings yet, as ThemeForest requires at least 3 to show.

Learn more or buy the The Gutentag theme on ThemeForest

Harborne – Magazine & Blog WordPress Theme

This theme’s best homepage for a journalism portfolio is Home v5. Aside from the really weird homepage slider, This homepage and theme overall does a lot right. It starts off showing you some highlighted articles, then the article categories, then a general list of some more articles.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 66 (mobile) and an 77 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $59 on ThemeForest
Theme powered by custom page blocks for building pages and layouts

The Good about Harborne

Custom layout blocks available to use without the need for a website builder
WooCommerce ready

The Bad about Harborne

With its font and styling, it looks a little outdated
Has some unnecessary plugins that slow down the site

Learn more or buy the The Harborne theme on ThemeForest

Signy – A Personal Blog WordPress Theme

This theme’s layout is unque amoung the other themes listed so far. It features a powerful author image on the left side consistent accross all pages.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 93 (mobile) and a 85 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $44 on ThemeForest
No theme page builder

The Good about Signy

Very fast loading speed
WooCommerce ready

The Bad about Signy

No page builder for more complex and custom page layouts
Bad menu design for user experience

Learn more or buy the The Signy theme on ThemeForest

Katelyn – Creative Gutenberg Blog WordPress Theme

In my opinion, Home 4 is the best – espeacially for a Journalism portfolio. This theme is very clean and easy on the eyes.

Key notes and features

The theme gets 32 (mobile) and a 52 (desktop) speed score on Googles PageSpeed Insights tool
The theme is $59 on ThemeForest
The theme is powered by Gutenberg for building pages

The Good about Katelyn

Clean and properly designed
WooCommerce ready

The Bad about Katelyn

Not a great speed score

Learn more or buy the The Katelyn theme on ThemeForest

Xmazine – WordPress Personal Blog & Magazine Theme

The Xmazine theme is a powerful theme if you have big plans for your journalism portfolio. It includes a lot of paid premium WordPress plugins that you get for free when you purchase the theme.