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Best WordPress Themes for Headers

12 themes compared · Updated August 2026 · Headers

All Free only 12 Premium only

Choosing a WordPress theme for headers comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 12 themes using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 12 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. Nextawards Best overall 76/100
  2. 2. fART 69/100
  3. 3. Bands 68/100
  4. 4. WriteMag 67/100
  5. 5. Startinger 67/100
  6. 6. GridLane 66/100
  7. 7. Cordero 62/100
  8. 8. GridMode 60/100
  9. 9. ListMode 60/100
  10. 10. CuteMag 58/100
  11. 11. GridPal 58/100
  12. 12. MagPal 56/100
1 Nextawards
Best overall Free by Marchetti Design

Nextawards

Responsive Starter WordPress Theme (WooCommerce Ready) with: Minimal Style, 4 Header Style, 2 Menus, 11 Amazing Block Patterns, Trasparent Header Template, WhatsApp Chat, Cool animations, Li...

5★
from 25 ratings
2k+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 fART
Free by tishonator

fART

WordPress Theme. fART is a perfect choice for a website or blog about art, mastery, artistic, art, artistical, etc. Features include Multi-Level Drop-Down Header Menu, W3C Markup Validated,...

1★
from 2 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
69

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Bands
Free by BandsWP

Bands

Dedicated theme for bands, musicians, or audio artists of any kind. FREE FEATURES: Responsive, SEO-friendly, Schema-ready, Translation-ready, Custom Logo, Custom Header Image, Custom Backgro...

5★
from 1 ratings
300+
active installs
Updated
Nov 2025
68

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 WriteMag
Free by themesdna

WriteMag

WriteMag is clean and elegant, responsive/mobile friendly, easy to use, 3 columns WordPress theme for news blogs or magazine websites. It has useful theme options, 2 navigation menus, header...

5★
from 1 ratings
200+
active installs
Updated
Dec 2025
67

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 Startinger
Free by seosbg

Startinger

Startinger is a Multipurpose and HTML5 WordPress Theme. Gutenberg Compatible, WooCommerce Compatible, Full Responsive, Content Options, Header Options, Back To Top Button, Microdata, Header...

5★
from 1 ratings
200+
active installs
Updated
Jan 2026
67

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
6 GridLane
Free by themesdna

GridLane

GridLane is a stunning, user-friendly, responsive grid-style WordPress theme for news blogs or portfolio sites. GridLane has Customizer theme options, header and footer navigation menus, sti...

5★
from 1 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Dec 2025
66

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 Cordero
Free by UXL Themes

Cordero

Cordero is a WordPress theme with customizable accent color, header layout options including side header, support for the Gutenberg visual block editor and WooCommerce, block patterns includ...

5★
from 1 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Apr 2025
62

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 GridMode
Free by themesdna

GridMode

GridMode is a free WordPress grid theme that includes a number of useful configuration options. It is great for bloggers and comes with a responsive design, header and footer menus, sticky s...

300+
active installs
Updated
Oct 2025
60

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 ListMode
Free by themesdna

ListMode

ListMode is a beautiful, responsive, minimalist WordPress theme for bloggers who want to keep their content clean. It has Customizer theme options, featured posts slider, sticky header and s...

200+
active installs
Updated
Sep 2025
60

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
10 CuteMag
Free by themesdna

CuteMag

CuteMag is simple and modern, fully responsive, user-friendly, black style WordPress theme for news magazine websites. It has Customizer theme options, 2 navigation menus, header image suppo...

100+
active installs
Updated
Dec 2025
58

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 GridPal
Free by themesdna

GridPal

GridPal is fresh and elegant, 3 columns masonry grid WordPress Theme for building responsive news magazine or gallery websites. GridPal has Customizer theme options, sticky header, primary a...

100+
active installs
Updated
Dec 2025
58

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 MagPal
Free by themesdna

MagPal

MagPal is a powerful and versatile WordPress theme designed for bloggers, news websites, magazines, and content creators. Featuring a Masonry posts grid, sticky header, two navigation menus,...

200+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2025
56

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org