8 best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs — find your perfect fit

Whether you’re starting or redesigning your lifestyle blog, one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks is finding the best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs. The options to choose from are endless — but how do you know what’s right for your needs?

You put a lot of time and care into creating beautiful content, and your blog design should support it. The WordPress theme you choose can really make or break your entire blogging experience — and that of your readers as well!

Think about your favorite outfit. How does it make you feel? The right outfit can boost your confidence and make you feel like you can take on the world. And how you dress communicates a specific message to the world around you.

Similarly, the best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs can help you stay motivated to publish content and give you the confidence to share what you’ve created. Your WordPress theme also influences how people consume your content — a good user experience keeps visitors coming back!

That’s why it’s so important to choose the best WordPress theme for your lifestyle blogging needs and aesthetic. In this post, we’ll discuss what to look for in a WordPress theme and share the best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs.

What to look for in a WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

Just one online search for WordPress themes for blogs will produce an overwhelming amount of options to sort through — in one article alone! A more specific search for WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs doesn’t really narrow down the options for you.

It’s important to consider your options carefully and find the right fit. But it’s also important to remember that the time you spend searching for the perfect WordPress theme is time you’re not spending creating content. And content is what’s most important for growing your lifestyle blog.

So let’s talk about what you should look for in WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs, so you can quickly narrow down your options, find the right fit for your needs, and get back to creating content. Here are some questions to guide you in your search:

What kind of layout would best support your content?

First and foremost, the goal of your blog design is to support your content. It should highlight your photography and make it easy for readers to browse your topics and find the information they’re looking for.

Generally, the overall layout of a theme and its sections are not going to be super flexible without some coding knowledge. Some themes are more flexible than others, so make sure that the theme layout works for your needs out of the box, or that it’s flexible enough to achieve the layout you want.

What features are important to you?

WordPress themes simply can’t include every possible feature under the sun — that would make for a very slow-loading and difficult-to-use theme! Get clear on your must-have features, and review the theme description to ensure the features you need are either built-in or are compatible with a plugin providing those features.

Does the theme match your aesthetic, or is it customizable?

Generally, finding a WordPress theme that matches your lifestyle blog’s aesthetic is less important than finding the right layout and features. Many WordPress themes give you the option to change the fonts and colors, which can completely transform the out-of-the-box aesthetic.

However, if a WordPress theme does match your aesthetic, that means less setup work for you — which means more time for creating content. Also, if you don’t feel comfortable with your design choices or not confident working with WordPress, you’ll have a much easier time with a theme that has the right aesthetic without needing customization.

Not all themes offer font and color customization options. If you find a theme with the right layout and features but the wrong aesthetic, make sure you’re able to customize the fonts and colors to your needs.

What are the purchase policies?

Before you purchase a theme, review the entire product page and be sure that you understand all purchase policies, including additional purchase fees, recurring licenses, and refunds.

Some themes are child themes that run off popular parent themes, like Kadence or Genesis. Basically, the parent theme provides the functionality, while the child theme provides design customizations in a convenient package. Some parent themes are free, while others require an additional purchase. Other additional fees to look for include required premium plugins, or premium fonts if you want the exact fonts used in the demo.

A yearly license fee is common practice in the WordPress space, to support continued development for ongoing compatibility with WordPress updates. Generally, shops that sell child themes will charge a one-time fee, while the parent theme company provides updates and may charge their own yearly license fee. Shops that don’t require a separate parent theme (like us!) are responsible for their own product updates and may also charge a yearly license fee. Many shops also only offer ongoing support to customers with an active license.

Most shops don’t offer refunds, so review the theme demo and product page thoroughly, and be sure to ask any questions before purchasing. If the shop does offer refunds, make sure you have enough time in your schedule to test out the theme before the end of the refund period.

Does the shop offer documentation and support?

A good theme shop will offer thorough online documentation and set clear support policies up front. Be aware that most theme shops are small and have just one or two people handling support requests, so response times may not be immediate, and most do not offer phone support.

Review any online documentation that’s available before you purchase. This will give you a more behind-the-scenes look at how the theme works and if it’s easy to use and find answers to your questions.

The best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs

Here at EmPress Themes, we started out as lifestyle bloggers, then spent over a decade designing and coding custom WordPress sites for top style and lifestyle bloggers. The thing we love most about lifestyle blogging is its power to give anyone a voice and find their community.

Over the years we wondered — how could we make features of our custom designs available to anyone who wanted to share their voice? And that’s why EmPress Themes exists: To make custom design easily available to every lifestyle blogger.

Of course, we’re biased, but we can confidently say we offer the best WordPress themes for lifestyle bloggers, because we know from personal experience exactly what’s going to make your lifestyle blog stand out. And it’s not our WordPress themes — it’s your content. That’s why all of our themes have been carefully designed to put your content front and center.

And you don’t have to take our word for it — we’ve been called the ultimate website solution for fashion and lifestyle bloggers.

Here’s an overview of our collection of the best WordPress themes for lifestyle blogs:

Barton WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

Our most flexible theme, Barton’s Showcase feature gives you the option to build a one, two, or three-column layout on your Home Page. Feed in blog posts, or convert parts of your Showcase to widget areas. With three additional post feeds beneath, Barton is a powerhouse that will grow with all your content needs.

Stand out feature: Show off the content that matters with Barton’s unique and flexible Home Page Showcase.

Hayes WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

The modern magazine, Hayes features four dynamic feed layouts: Classic, Classic Large, Featured, and a multi-column grid. Mix and match the layouts across up to three Home Page post feeds, add in widget areas, and create a feature-rich blog perfect for all types of content.

Stand out feature: Hayes’s hallmark feature is an eye-catching Featured Post at the top of the Home Page.

Pearl WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

Stand out with a slider! With Pearl’s optional Home Page slider, feature your latest posts, posts pre-selected by category or tag, or individual posts hand-picked by you. Add on up to three beautifully designed post feed layouts, for a mix-and-match Home Page that feels custom designed.

Stand out feature: Unique to the Pearl Theme, display a slideshow at the top of your home page.

Rania WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

Flexible and content-rich, customers love Rania’s dual-featured post option atop the Home Page. Further down your blog feed, showcase posts in an editorial style grid layout, or customize it to feel like a traditional blog with a sidebar.

Stand out feature: Showcase what matters with Rania’s flexible featured posts and mid-feed post grid.

Presidio WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

A customer favorite! With the option to feature your latest post prominently at the top of the page, and a more traditional blog feed below, Presidio feels both editorial and classic. It’s familiar and modern, all at once.

Stand out feature: Classic meets flexibility. Display a classic blog feed with or without a sidebar, with a featured post at the top.

Miramar WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

Meet Miramar, a magazine-style WordPress theme perfect for fashion or lifestyle bloggers with a large mobile readership. Miramar features a Home Page feed without a sidebar, putting the focus squarely on your latest blog posts.

Stand out feature: Miramar features a striking no-sidebar layout that puts your photography first. Enhance it with photo-first featured posts.

Brevier WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

The classic. With an optional sidebar to feature your favorite widgets, this is a simple, chic WordPress theme perfect for beginners looking to dive into their first blog and learn the ins and outs of creating content.

Stand out feature: Our classic theme is perfect for lifestyle bloggers who want a simple and chic layout without the bells and whistles.

Archer WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs

The minimalist. This clean, minimal WordPress theme features a single-column design, with no sidebar or other content blocks. Archer puts the focus on your latest words and photography-writers and photographers love it!

Stand out feature: A clean single-column design puts your content front and center, perfect for writers and photographers.

Why choose EmPress Themes for your lifestyle blog

Because we started out as lifestyle bloggers ourselves, and we create specifically for lifestyle bloggers, we approach designing and coding WordPress themes a little differently. Each of our themes are carefully crafted to make the most commonly requested lifestyle blog design features easy to create for yourself.

We want to empower you to share your story in a way that stands out. Here’s how we create with lifestyle bloggers in mind:

Flexible, easy-to-use themes

Hang around long enough, and you’ll find out just how obsessed we are with your content. Because we know your content is what sets your blog apart and moves your goals forward. And the time you spend tweaking your blog design or struggling with your tech is time you’re not spending creating content.

That’s why we’re super passionate about simplifying the tech, so you can get back to blogging. As we create our themes, we’re always looking at things from your perspective, and working to make everything as easy as possible to set up and adjust.

Plus, we understand that your content is always growing and evolving, and your WordPress theme needs to adjust accordingly. So we’ve made our themes flexible for you to refresh your layout in just a few clicks, so you can always help readers discover the content that matters most.

Friendly support and thorough documentation

We’ve documented our themes thoroughly so you can always find detailed explanations on every aspect of your new theme from EmPress. But if you ever feel stuck, you don’t have to figure it out all on your own. We love answering your questions so you can feel empowered to create with ease. We’ve been told we have the best customer service!

Money-back guarantee

As you shop for the best WordPress theme for your lifestyle blog, you can spend hours researching and comparing options. But you won’t really know how well a WordPress theme works to support your content until you actually install and set it up on your blog.

That’s why we’re proud to offer a 14-day money-back guarantee. We want you to find the perfect fit, so if you purchase from EmPress and don’t absolutely love it, simply submit a support ticket within 14 days of your purchase for a full refund.

Ready to get started?

Ultimately, as you look for the best WordPress themes for your lifestyle blog, let your content guide you in the right direction. Your WordPress theme should help your readers discover the content that matters most. And it should make you excited to continue creating content. Keep these things in mind, and you can find the perfect fit for your lifestyle blog!