Welcome to my review of the best WordPress news themes. My aim here is to guide you toward creating an awesome-looking news website. 

When it comes to creating a news site, it’s all about finding the best design and layout. Your readers want to read the latest stories without being distracted by unnecessary features. Yet the website needs to be visually appealing and eye-catching.

Thankfully, there are some excellent WordPress news themes available. Here, I have chosen twelve that I believe are all good options for creating a professional-looking news site.

Table of Contents

• 12 Best WordPress News Themes
• Special Mention: TextTicker Widget
• FAQ
• Conclusion

12 Best WordPress News Themes

SmartMag

🏆 Best for any type of news site with lots of content.

SmartMag has been a popular WordPress theme for content-rich websites for several years now, and it’s easy to see why. Just looking at the wide range of demos, you can see how you can use this theme to create almost any news site. And some of these demos look wildly different from each other. For example, compare the trendy lifestyle demo to the dark gaming site. It’s like they are two completely different WordPress themes.

But it doesn’t stop there. Once you have found a demo site you like, you can easily customize it. You can import over 100 ready-made sections and layouts with a single click. There are also over 26 ready-made headers, or you can build your own. SmartMag has so much going for it, and it’s well worth a look for anyone thinking of starting any type of news website.

Key features:

• 27+ uniquely designed demo sites;
• Smart Studio: import 100+ ready-made sections and layouts with a single click;
• adaptive responsive images for desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones;
• custom layouts: create your own archives and footer layouts;
• unique dark mode;
• autoload the next post;
• 26+ ready-made headers;
• advanced typography customization;
• 6+ optimized post layouts;
• Elementor front end builder.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Demos cover a wide range of news sites that all look different.
• Demos are easy to customize to suit your site.
• Extensive library of content elements to choose from.
• Social sharing tools to help your content go viral.
• Autoloading of posts keep visitors engaged for longer.

Cons:

• No free version.

Powedris by Crocoblock

🏆 Best for great-looking news sites with lots of options.

Powedris has a lot going for it. More than you might realize. That’s because it’s more than just a WordPress template. Although it has a higher price tag than the other themes on this list, that’s because it comes with so much more than just the theme.

You see, when you buy Powedris, you are getting it as part of the Crocoblock JetPlugins package. This includes many additional plugins and features that take it far beyond what many WordPress themes offer. To find out more, see the full list of features.

Key features:

• hundreds of stylish page templates;
• 14 dynamic templates;
• 47 design templates;
• 50 interactive pop-ups;
• 20 plugins;
• various pre-design sections to choose from;
• change header and footer templates with one click;
• highly customizable modular structure.

Pricing:

• $199 per year for a single site with 1-year updates and support.
• $399 per year for unlimited sites with 1-year updates and support.
• $750 per year for 500 sites with lifetime updates and support.
• $999 per year for unlimited sites with lifetime updates and support.

Pros:

• Quick and easy to install.
• Professional support.
• 20k user community. 
• It’s much more than just a WordPress theme.

Cons:

• No free version.

Newspaper

🏆 Best for news and magazine sites that generate income.

Newspaper claims to be the number one selling news theme of all time. It has been designed for a specific purpose – for news and magazine websites – and it does that exceptionally well. It comes with many pre-built demo sites you can easily customize, making it great for beginners wanting to create a professional-looking news site quickly. 

This theme is particularly good if you want to monetize your website. For example, you could create a niche paid membership site for crypto news or military news. Alternatively, you could create a news-style online store, such as for watches or gadgets. Or you might just want to add Google AdSense adverts to a regular magazine site.

Key features:

• 120+ one-click unique, pre-built websites.;
• 1300+ one-click elements and templates;
• Ultimate page builder combines custom post types, custom taxonomies, and custom fields;
• Powerful and flexible header builder;
• Opt-in builder helps you monetize your web traffic;
• Unlimited pop-ups;
• Online store builder and WooCommerce pre-built stores;
• Unique drag and drop image gallery;
• Performance optimizer speeds up your website.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly yet packed with professional-level options.
• Loads of pre-designed templates you can easily customize.
• Optimized for Google AdSense or other advertising.
• Fast and mobile-optimized.
• Many news-oriented widgets, e.g., weather, exchange markets, and social media.
• Built-in rating system.
• Easy to embed videos.

Cons:

• No free version.

Neeon

🏆 Best for regular news sites.

If you’re looking to create an attractive news website that you can easily customize, you could do a lot worse than Neeon. While it doesn’t have as many features as other themes, such as SmartMag or Newspaper, it comes with some nice ready-made websites you can customize. For example, a regular newspaper website, a sports site, a fitness blog, or a food recipes site. But it also comes with WooCommerce if you want to create an online store.

Key features:

• 22+ ready-made websites;
• powered by Elementor page builder;
• fully responsive and mobile-friendly;
• built-in review rating and structured data schema plugin;
• WooCommerce online store;
• choose from 10 header styles with 30+ layout variations;
• autoload the next post;
• reading progress bar;
• image blend mode;
• optimized for fast loading times.

Pricing: $29.

Pros:

• Plenty of customization options.
• Clean and engaging layout.
• Very user-friendly.

Cons:

• No free version.

Zeen

🏆 Best for modern news sites or blogs.

If you want to quickly and easily create a modern-looking news website or blog, Zeen is an ideal choice. It comes with over 30 professional-looking websites that you can modify, and they vary tremendously in appearance and layout. For example, how about a newspaper website in dark mode, a food recipes site, a visually appealing travel blog, or an image-based influencer blog? 

Zeen also comes with several ways to monetize your site. For example, there are specific areas for sponsored posts and adverts, or you could use WooCommerce to create an online store.

Key features:

• 30+ ready-made websites;
• revolutionary website builder;
• various article layouts to choose from;
• front end theme options;
• easily create reviews and add affiliate links;
• timed pop-up;
• MailChimp email sign-up forms;
• WooCommerce;
• BuddyPress and bbPress forums;
• Disqus and Facebook comments.

Pricing: $64.

Pros:

• Beginner-friendly.
• Build-in ready-made demo sites make it easy to create a beautiful news website.
• WooCommerces makes it easy to build a shop for your news website.
• Includes areas for sponsored posts and adverts.
• Optimized for SEO and speed.

Cons:

• No free version.

The Issue

🏆 Best for a magazine site or blog.

As with other themes on this list, The Issue comes with a range of ready-made demo sites. However, they are all very much aimed at magazine-style news sites or blogs. So, if that’s what you are after, you could do a lot worse than The Issue. It is flexible and easy to use and has a lot of customization options to choose from, enabling a beginner to get a great-looking news website up and running in minimal time. 

Key features:

• 19 pre-built demos;
• dark and light mode – allow your visitors to decide;
• Fuel Studio – choose from an exclusive list of section templates;
• 9 article details to inspire your content;
• 50+ post layout elements;
• 10 header styles;
• 10+ custom widgets;
• Lightbox galleries;
• social integration.

Pricing: $69.

Pros:

• Flexible and easy to use.
• Wide range of layout options to choose from.
• Perfectly suited to a magazine site or blog.

Cons:

• No free version.

TheGem

🏆 Best for online stores or professional company websites.

Probably the best thing about TheGem is the large number of ready-made demo sites you can customize. There are over 400 of them, covering almost every type of website you could think of, and they all look so wildly different from each other. For example, compare this creative fashion store to this construction website or this new-generation media agency site.

Key features:

• 100% compatible with Elementor page builder;
• 400+ pre-built demo sites;
• 300+ pre-made sections;
• 30+ unique page elements;
• fully responsive and mobile-ready;
• 100% compatible with WooCommerce;
• premium sliders.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Stylish, modern feel.
• Loads of pre-built demo sites for almost every type of website.
• Lots of features and customization options.
• Easy to use.

Cons:

• No free version.

PenNews

🏆 Best for bold, visually striking news sites in specific niches.

PenNews comes with a wide range of ready-made demo sites for you to customize. So no matter your specific niche, this theme has got you covered. For example, maybe you want to create a gaming news site with an intense, dark look. Or perhaps a bright, breezy travel magazine is more your style. Or maybe a craft DIY blog. 

PenNews can do it all, but one thing you might notice is there is certain minimalism to these demo sites. Yes, they are bold and visually striking, but free from any unnecessary bells and whistles that might just get in the way. 

Key features:

• 150+ ready-made demo sites in a wide variety of styles;
• optimized for top performance for high-traffic websites;
• optimized for mobile;
• SEO optimized;
• many premium plugins, including Slider Revolution, Convert Plug, Meta Box Lifetime, Ninja Popup, and more;
• multiple post styles for different stories;
• drag and drop front end page builder;
• place adverts wherever you want.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Wide range of different ready-made demo sites to choose from.
• Great for visually striking news sites.
• Optimized for sites with a lot of regular content and lots of traffic.

Cons:

• No free version.

Qoxag

🏆 Best for great-looking magazine-style news sites.

Qoxag is an unusual name for a WordPress theme, but don’t let that put you off. If you want to quickly and easily get a good-looking magazine-style news site up and running with minimal fuss, this theme is worth considering. It is a simpler version of The Issue theme but has a lower price tag. Examples of ready-made demo sites include a regular-style news site, a sports news site, and an online gadget store. 

Key features:

• ready-made demo sites in a variety of niches;
• Elementor page builder;
• header builder;
• build your own Mega Menu;
• unlimited post block variations;
• multiple categories and post layouts;
• custom website width;
• infinity scroll with sticky content and reading progress bar;
• WooCommerce.

Pricing: $29.

Pros:

• Fast, lightweight, SEO-optimized theme.
• Variety of niche demo sites to choose from.
• You can have unlimited ads on your site.

Cons:

• No free version.

Jannah

🏆 Best for eye-catching niche-specific news sites.

One of the best things about the Jannah theme is the variety of niche-specific demo sites that come with it. All the main niches are covered, so you can easily pick one and modify it to suit your specific niche—for example, an automotive news site, a food recipe site, or a travel blog. 

Also, Jannah comes with some handy features, such as the day/night mode toggle, the Snapchat and Instagram integrations, and the ability to send desktop notifications to your regular readers. 

Key features:

• autoloads posts;
• Snapchat widget;
• Instagram plugin;
• day/night mode toggle;
• paginated widgets;
• auto video thumbnail downloader;
• compatible with Co-Authors Plus;
• variety of ready-made demo sites in different niches;
• fully responsive and retina ready.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Demo sites make it easy to quickly get a great-looking site up and running.
• Ability to automatically remove duplicate content – better for SEO.
• Desktop notifications enable you to keep regular readers updated.

Cons:

• No free version.

MagPlus

🏆 Best for news, magazines, or blogs.

MagPlus is an excellent theme for magazines, news sites, and blogs. It comes with a good range of templates and layouts you can use to get a good-looking site up and running easily. One handy feature is the ability to customize the appearance of specific posts and pages. This could be ideal for situations where you want to highlight a particularly important news story. Also, the fact that it loads fast and is optimized for mobile devices makes it a good choice for sites that people will want to check regularly when on the move.

Key features:

• 43+ ready-made templates;
• 270+ layouts;
• 300+ layers and sliders combinations;
• fully responsive;
• customizable the appearance of specific posts and pages;
• unlimited sidebars;
• unlimited colors using the color picker;
• social sharing.

Pricing: $59.

Pros:

• Optimized for mobile devices.
• Very fast load times.
• Lots of options to tweak your site’s appearance.

Cons:

• No free version.

Prime News

🏆 Best for general news sites.

Although many news themes come with demos and templates designed to be visually flashy and fit a particular niche; Prime News is not like that. Instead, it goes for a more minimalist appearance, with lots of white space. Yet it is packed with plenty of features, such as the horizontal scrolling Breaking News bar and the dedicated video section, making it ideal for a general news site.

Key features:

• fully responsive and retina ready;
• visual customizer for quickly modifying the theme;
• dedicated video section with a dark background;
• header bar widget area;
• horizontal scrolling breaking news bar;
• carousel slider widget.

Pricing: €69.

Pros:

• Plenty of features without being too cluttered.
• Great for a general news site.
• You can modify the theme using the visual customizer or the dedicated theme options panel.

Cons:

• No free version.

Special Mention: TextTicker Widget

Whichever news theme you go for, you might also want to consider getting our JetBlog Plugin. For an extra $23 per year, this gives you six additional widgets, including the Text Ticker. This adds a little bar at the top, which can display a trending news story with an animated title.

However, it’s worth noting that JetBlog, and therefore the Text Ticker, comes as part of the Crocoblock package you get if you buy the Powedris template.

FAQ

Conclusion

So, there you go. I hope you found this review of the best WordPress news themes helpful. If you pick any of the themes on this list, you will surely end up with a great-looking news site.