2014 Wordpress Template Shootout
 by John Heard

10 Fast Loading Wordpress Templates you can use today!
2014 Wordpress Template Shootout — by John Heard
Wordpress Template Shootout

One of the most frequent questions we've received after our Mobile Classes is "Where can I find a Fast Loading Wordpress Template to work with? That's a darn good question as speed hasn't been on the radar of Wordpress Theme developers yet, but that is already changing.

Just like the need for responsive design was answered, fast loading sites are in demand and the market is already scrambling to make them available. However, we know that, "We're working on it..." isn't the answer you're looking for, so we spent some time looking for fast loading themes that you can use Today.

Theme Comparison Factors

One of the most difficult tasks we could think for a responsive Web site to tackle is mobile load time, which is required for your Web site to shine. We tested over 50 different themes during this Shootout and all of these designs scored quite fast comparatively. However, on the flip side there were some popular themes that took up to 50 seconds to load! That's a huge difference compared to the speed demons we've listed below that were fast enough to make the cut.

Disclaimer: There is some variation in our testing due to server speed, which was beyond our control. There is also quite a variation in the theme designs themselves, which we attempted to minimize by testing a simple page on each theme - not the home page as it often includes huge slider images.

The important factors used in this test:

  • Mobile Load Time - The primary factor was the 1st pass mobile load time tested within Webpagetest.org with a Mobile 3G Fast connection and using the Chrome browser.
  • A S...

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