If you want to run a site that sells digital downloads, you’ll need a way to present them to visitors. Despite your downloads being the main focus of your WordPress website, the theme you choose will be vital. Without something that looks great and is customizable to taste, you won’t be able to best present your downloads for maximum engagement. Choosing the right digital download WordPress theme will be a crucial step.
In fact, there are a number of themes available to pick from, as you’d expect with WordPress. However, they’re not all equal. You’ll want to look for various theme elements, such as design options, an architecture that is optimised for search engines, and integration with your favorite WordPress download plugin.
For this post, we’re going to look at a number of digital download WordPress themes, and tell you why they deserve to be on this list. First though, let’s talk about what you should look for in a suitable theme.
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What to Look for In a Digital Download WordPress Theme
Before looking at each of the themes in our list, it’s important to understand what you might want them to offer. You’ll probably want something that can achieve the following:
Ecommerce functionality
The digital download WordPress theme you choose will need the functionality in place to help you set up an eCommerce store.
SEO functionality
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important, as this is one way to win traffic from those using Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others. Your theme should have a code base that’s optimal, and also support for extra SEO functionality.
Compatible with download plugin
Speaking of which, the theme you choose should be compatible with the plugins you want to install on your site. The most important is your choice of digital download management tool, such as Download Monitor.
Schema integration
If search is central to your traffic strategy, you’ll also want to consider Schema integration. This is a way to structure the information on your website so search engines can index the content and rank it as best it can.
Support
User support is also essential. This is because you’ll want to know that you can contact the theme’s developer if you need assistance. This is especially true if you want to make money from your downloads, or the downloads you serve have importance either to a team or your customers.
From here, you’ll get into subjective elements, such as the look of the theme, the number of demo templates it provides, and its overall usability. However, this is where you’ll want to take each theme for a spin if possible before you open your wallet.
8 Desirable Digital Download WordPress Themes
Next, we’re going to look at eight different digital download WordPress themes. There’s no particular order, so read up on each one and narrow down your options.
From there, try out the demo sites (where available) for the themes on your shortlist, and keep comparing them until you have your final choice.
1. Astra
First up is Astra. This theme has full scope to create any kind of site, but it’s as near-perfect a digital download WordPress theme as you can get.
While Astra offers a lot of functionality, it’s fantastic if you want to set up a digital store:
- Advanced Features for Product Presentation: You have a few ways to present your products on your site. For example, you can adopt grid layouts, listed galleries, infinite scrolling, and more.
- Sales Bubble: There’s a cool “sales bubble” addition, that lets you spotlight some of your products.
- Customization Features: You’re able to customize the theme to your exact liking using the plethora of tools in the box. You can develop custom headers, footers, and body content using Astra’s theme panel, the native Block Editor, or your favourite page builder plugin such as Elementor.
- Starter Templates: It offers probably the largest collection of starter templates within all WordPress themes. It even has dedicated starter template for Digital Download website.
While Astra offers a free version, it has some feature limitations, such as a lack of page styling options, full and max-width site layouts, and premium support. That’s why we’d recommend at least the premium Astra Pro. However, higher tiers give you more functionality, such as more starter templates, a selection of plugins to help boost your functionality, and much more.
2. OceanWP
Next, we have OceanWP. OceanWP is a multi-purpose WordPress theme that boasts a strong reputation for its ease of use, customizability, and seamless WooCommerce integration. This makes it a great choice for those creating digital download stores.
Here’s what makes OceanWP stand out:
- Built-in WooCommerce features: OceanWP comes pre-packed with a variety of features specifically designed for online stores. This includes functionalities like product quick view, sticky add-to-cart bars, off-canvas filters for browsing, and multiple mini-cart styles.
- Highly customizable: You can personalize the look and feel of your digital download store without needing to touch any code. OceanWP offers an array of customization options through its theme options panel, allowing you to tailor elements like typography, colours, layouts, and headers to perfectly match your brand identity.
- Starter Templates: OceanWP offers one of the largest collections of starter templates, which helps you build your digital downloads site easily with less effort and make it more professional.
- Lightweight and fast-loading: For optimal user experience, OceanWP is designed to be lightweight and load quickly. This is crucial for digital download stores, as fast loading times can improve conversion rates.
- Seamless plugin compatibility: OceanWP integrates smoothly with Download Monitor, ensuring a cohesive workflow for managing your digital products.
Overall, OceanWP is a versatile theme that caters well to the needs of digital download stores. It offers a user-friendly interface, a plethora of customization options, and seamless integration with essential eCommerce plugins.
OceanWP offers a free version with a good range of features to get you started. Upgrading to the premium version unlocks additional functionalities like advanced layouts, custom post types, and integration with popular page builder plugins like Elementor. The premium version is also comparatively affordable with prices starting from $35/year for a single site license.
3. Blocksy
Much like many other WordPress themes, Blocksy doesn’t fixate itself on digital downloads. However, its feature set means you can use it for this purpose, and it can handle everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat.
This theme is ready to host your e-commerce site, and it comes with a bunch of great key features:
- Block Editor Friendly: It offers compatibility with the native Block Editor at its core. This will be ideal if you want to use what WordPress offers, without installing an extra page builder plugin.
- High Performance: Blocksy offers several performance-based benefits, such as a fast live preview option, and the ability to load your JavaScript in a dynamic way. This will cut down on HTTP requests, which in turn makes your site faster.
- WooCommerce Support: There’s full support for WooCommerce out of the box, if you want to sell other items besides digital downloads.
- Page Builder Support: If you don’t want to use the Block Editor, you can integrate Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and others.
There’s so much more, such as full-featured design options, a header builder, and advanced typography options, that we can’t fit it all in here. However, you can take Blocksy for a test-drive, as it’s free to download. There’s also a premium version (starting from $49 per year for a single-site license) that includes enhancements to font support, custom code snippets, support for developer “hooks,” and other features.
4. Kadence
Kadence is a powerful and versatile option for creating digital download stores on WordPress. It prioritizes performance, customization, and ease of use, making it a strong contender for your website.
Here’s what makes Kadence well-suited for digital downloads:
- Focus on performance: Kadence is known for its clean code and focus on speed. This results in fast loading times, which are crucial for a smooth user experience and potentially improving conversions on your digital download store.
- Drag-and-drop builder for easy customization: Kadence integrates seamlessly with Kadence Blocks, a free drag-and-drop page builder plugin. This allows you to easily customize your store’s layout, including product pages, without needing coding knowledge.
- Built-in eCommerce functionalities: Kadence offers features specifically designed for online stores, such as product grids, carousels, and lightboxes for showcasing your digital downloads.
- Integration with popular plugins: Kadence plays nicely with Download Monitor, ensuring a smooth workflow for managing your digital products.
Overall, Kadence is a performance-focused option that empowers you to create a beautiful and user-friendly digital download store. It’s high customizability and built-in eCommerce features make it a strong choice for both beginners and experienced users.
Similar to some other themes in this list, Kadence Theme provides a free version with a solid feature set to get you started. Upgrading to the premium version unlocks additional functionalities including a large number of starter templates, custom fonts, and access to a library of pre-made sections for faster design. However, with $79 for annual license, it is by no means a cheap theme to start your digital download website.
5. Neve
Many online shoppers will use a mobile device as their primary web access. As such, you might want to consider a theme that caters to this crowd, such as Neve.
This theme uses a mobile-first approach, so it can be of value to site owners in a few ways:
- Neve is Fast: Neve is built to be as small in size as possible. As a result, you can expect that it will load fast, due to its lightweight infrastructure. And, as far as we tried, it delivered on the promise.
- Compatibility With Modern Technologies: You get compatibility with mobile-centric technologies such as Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
- Customization: You can customize a number of site elements, such as the header and footer, along with your overall layout.
- Page Builder Support: There is support for a huge number of page builder plugins, such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, the Divi Builder, and even Thrive Architect.
- Starter Templates: What’s more, Neve offers a plethora of starter templates, which makes it easy to choose one that suits your digital downloads site, integrate your choice of download management plugin, and develop further.
The Personal license will set you back around $75 per year, which seems like a lot when you compare this with the competition. However, you’ll get to use Neve on as many sites as you need. What’s more, the Personal license contains almost every feature available. It’s going to be enough to build your digital download site, and practically any other site you need too.
6. Mayosis
This next theme is an outlier, but one that impressed us enough to include. Mayosis focuses on digital marketplaces, and it could suit you down to the ground.
There are a number of standout elements that we think makes this digital download WordPress theme a real contender:
- Unique Starter Templates: You have a number of niche starter templates to choose from, all based on creative industries.
- Page Builder Support: There’s support for a few different page builder plugins, but you can also use the Block Editor and Mayosis’ header builder.
- Fancy a Multivendor? Mayosis Got You Covered: You’re able to set up multi-vendor marketplaces using the built-in tools.
- Small Bits that Helps You Stand Out: There are all sorts of additions that can make or break a digital downloads store. For example, you can play audio clips if you sell music, display galleries if you offer digital images or video, and get the option to customize your product templates in full.
You’ll even find two premium plugins in the box: WPBakery Page Builder and Advanced Custom Fields Pro. These will give you almost all the scope you need to create the perfect digital downloads website.
Mayosis is $67 for a single-site license from ThemeForest. This gives you six months of support and updates during the lifespan of that license.
7. GeneratePress
We’re back to popular WordPress themes again, this time with GeneratePress. It’s a perennial frontrunner when it comes to any niche. However as a digital download WordPress theme, it takes some beating.
The draw for this theme is that it has full compatibility with the Block Editor. So much so, it feels like that editor is part of GeneratePress, rather than the other way around. However, it’s got plenty in the box to get excited about:
- Performance-Focused: The theme is tiny. In its default state, it’s 7.4KB, which is practically nothing in comparison to the majority of websites. As such, you’ll nail your performance to the wall.
- Build with Accesibility in Mind: It offers lots of accessibility, which is important if you have customers with visual impairments. This might be the case if you sell music or audiobooks, or host podcasts, for example.
- Starter Templates: There are lots of templates available for all types of sites — even more so with a premium upgrade.
Speaking of which, you’ll pay $59 per year for a license that lets you use GeneratePress on up to 500 sites. If you couple this with Download Monitor and the GenerateBlocks option, you’ll have one of the most powerful systems around to help you build your site.
8. Digital Download Pro
It’s hard to mistake what Digital Download Pro’s focus is. It’s a theme that will help you set up, design, and run a digital downloads store. It offers a lot of relevant functionality.
The theme gives you seven different page layouts, which doesn’t seem like much, but each one will focus on a digital download site — so they will all suit your needs. What’s more, there are plenty of other aspects we like:
- Great Customizability: You get a bunch of design options at the ready, for all aspects of your site.
- Conversion Optimization: You’re able to include Call To Action (CTA) elements, such as banner headers, with ease.
- Featured Download: There’s a “featured download” section that slots into your existing design.
- Built With Downloadables in Mind: There’s a dedicated page that hosts your downloads. This lets you display recent downloads with links to product pages if desired.
- Advanced Digital Download Features: There are other implementations that will help you run a digital downloads store too, such as pricing tables, features sections, and more.
You’ll also find Digital Download Pro includes aspects such as Schema integration, that you won’t find in every option on this list. Regardless, you’ll pay $59 per year for a license, but that’s not the most valuable option. Instead, we recommend a lifetime license that starts from $99. This will also give you priority support when you need it.
9. Woostify
Let’s cover a slightly less popular, but fantastic digital download wordpress theme. Woostify is a feature-rich WordPress theme specifically designed for eCommerce stores, making it a perfect fit for digital download websites.
Here’s why it deserves a spot on your shortlist:
- Built for WooCommerce: The theme boasts seamless integration with WooCommerce, ensuring all the essential eCommerce functionalities are readily available for your digital download store. This includes features like product pages, shopping carts, and checkout processes tailored for digital products.
- Focus on conversions: It offers elements specifically designed to boost conversions on your store. This includes features like countdown timers to create a sense of urgency, sale notifications to highlight special offers, and Ajax search filters for a more streamlined browsing experience.
- Lightweight and fast-loading: Woostify prioritizes speed with a lightweight codebase. This translates to fast loading times, which can significantly improve user experience and potentially increase conversions.
- Extensive customization options: It empowers you to personalize your digital download store without touching any code. It offers a theme options panel with a variety of settings for customizing colors, typography, layouts, and headers to match your brand identity.
Woostify provides a free version with a good range of features to get you started. However, you can also get their premium version which starts at $49/year and offers additional functionalities like advanced product listing layouts, integration with popular page builder plugins like Elementor, and access to premium pre-made designs.
How to Choose the Right Digital Download WordPress Theme For You
At this point, you still might not know which theme is right for you. Consider the following questions and use them to pick from the list above:
- Does the theme let you integrate a download management tool such as Download Monitor?
- Can you sell downloads using the theme without further integration?
- Does the theme meet your requirements with regards to its core functionality?
- Will you be able to design the look of your site without fuss, using intuitive customization panels?
- Does the digital download WordPress theme suit your budget?
🔥 In our opinion, any of the themes on this list will let you set up a digital download platform. However, if you choose a well-known solution such as Astra, GeneratePress, or Neve, you’ll have a theme on hand that offers a good code base, longevity, and a quality support team — just like Download Monitor.
Download Monitor
Grow your audience, track download performance, and convert your traffic into email subscribers with an easy-to-use digital downloads solution for WordPress.
Wrapping Up
Choosing a theme is a tough gig regardless of the niche you work in. However, for a digital download WordPress theme, you have much more to consider. For instance, you’ll want to think about how internal team members and external end users can get the most out of your site. There’s definitely lots of boxes to tick and requirements to meet.
In our opinion, you’ll want a theme with design flexibility, good SEO, and compatibility with the plugins you need. However, you’ll also need full compatibility with your download management plugin of choice. From there, you can get to work and build a digital download site to be proud of.
