I’ve Sourced 20 Versatile and Free Website Templates

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When figuring out how to design a website, a free premade template can be a lifesaver for businesses and individuals who don’t know much about web design and don’t have the inclination to create a website afresh, and also want to keep costs down. But with so many free templates that all look visually appealing, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your unique needs. That’s where I step in!

I’ve handpicked the 20 best free website templates that are all brilliant options for starting up your site, whether it’s an ecommerce empire or a personal travel blog!

Best Free Website Templates for Ecommerce Websites

When choosing a template for your online store, it’s important to prioritize simple, user-friendly navigation, as well as finding a responsive web design that performs well on every device – you don’t want to give your site visitors any reason not to make that purchase!

Boutique by WooCommerce

Boutique website template pages
Boutique’s simple website navigation points visitors exactly where they need to go. Source: Website Builder Expert

This free website template caught my attention for its simple and functional design. Important product information – such as pictures, prices, and reviews – is displayed clearly and the sales process is seamless from initial viewing to checkout. The dialed down style makes Boutique a strong universal theme for lots of ecommerce stores.

That said, the functionality and design could be elevated further by a modern revamp, so if sleek visuals are your priority, our next option may be better suited to you.

Key features:

  • Simple, user friendly navigation bar
  • Search bar
  • Filtering options on product page
  • Hover on image animations
  • Star review graphics on product page
  • Featured products on home page

Hello MCM by GoDaddy

Hello MCM website template home page
Hello MCM features a full screen hero image which effectively shows the website’s function. Source: Website Builder Expert

For a modern yet still functional design, Hello MCM is a great free website template option. I Iove the promotional banner and narrow, fixed navigation bar, which gives the site a clean and sophisticated look. This template would be particularly useful if you’ve already got a physical store; the quick inventory setup will mean you don’t have to set aside too much time to add your products, and customers will be able to locate your store easily with the map feature.

Key features:

  • Hover on zoom images
  • Social media icons on the footer
  • Facebook reviews
  • Product search
  • Contact us section with integrated map
Top Tip: Check out our favorite free ecommerce website templates if you want more inspiration for specific industries!

Best Free Website Templates for Portfolio Websites

When showcasing your work on a portfolio website, you need to make sure that its layout compliments your work and helps it to stand out from the competition! These websites are best left simple, with only the necessary pages that enhance your personal brand and projects.

Classic Minimal Modelling Portfolio by Canva

Classic Minimal Modelling Portfolio website template page
The colors and design of this template make the photos the center of attention. Source: Website Builder Expert

Canva designs are fantastic if style is a priority; they’re beautifully designed and highly customizable. The elegant, minimalistic color and font choices of Classic Minimal Modelling Portfolio makes it perfect for those trying to showcase visual work, like modeling or traditional art style portfolios. The understated colors and fonts are visually appealing, but work to draw attention to the images.

With lots of clear space, this free website template only gives you room to show the important details, so this design wouldn’t be suitable for a wordy or energetic portfolio.

Key features:

  • Neutral colors and font
  • Alternating image designs
  • Highly customizable
  • Work With Me page

Illustrator By Wix

Illustrator website template page
Full-screen visuals are the focus of Illustrator. Furhter information only emerges when you hover over pictures. Source: Website Builder Expert

This free website template by Wix is designed to let the visual work speak for itself. It has a simple design, allowing images of your work to occupy the width of the whole screen. My favorite part of Illustrator is that any graphic element can be interacted with, taking the site visitor to another page with more information about it.

Wix’s paid plans offer more customization options than its free plan, but for a fun visual portfolio that offers more interaction and textual detail than our previous Canva pick, this is a unique template that won’t need many complex tweaks.

Key features:

  • Social media buttons on the header and footer
  • Hover on zoom images
  • Dropdown menu with visual elements
  • Info page with contact form

OPTIMISM by Webflow

Optimism website template
Optimism gives you free rein of customization, making the template unique to every site. Source: Website Builder Expert

OPTIMISM is my top pick for graphic designers, architects, and any service that focuses on technical design and innovation – there are so many fun elements to play with, from moving banners and carousels to graphic components that track your cursor.

Just keep in mind that Webflow can be tricky for beginners, and you’ll need a good eye for design to use this particular template, otherwise it can start to look overcrowded.

Key features:

  • Sticky navigation bar
  • Dynamic promotional banner
  • Interactive buttons
  • Contact form
  • Calendar booking button
Top Tip: Our article on the best templates for photography websites has some more great offerings suitable for creative portfolios!

Illdy by ColorLib

Illdy website template
Illdy’s color themes are all vibrant and attractive. Source: Website Builder Expert

Illdy is a strong option for creative portfolios because of its playful use of color, text, graphics and effects. Its parallax scrolling encourages your visitors to actively engage in your work and the clear CTAs point them in the right direction to contact you.

Key features:

  • Live editing
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • Stunning graphic animations

Best Free Website Templates for Business Websites

Any company, from large tech firms to family-run coffee shops, could have a business website, and their purpose is often the same – to show off the key information and personality of the business.

 Shapely by ColorLib

Shapely website template
Shapely's navigation bar still stands out amongst the large hero image. Source: Website Builder Expert

Shapely is a brilliant free website template that works well to showcase your business in a structured, logical, yet beautiful design. It’s been SEO optimized and focuses on user experience, which will help guide potential customers through your site!

Key features:

  • Full screen hero image
  • Dropdown navigation menu
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • One-page layout
  • Highly customizable

Planet Earth by Astra

Planet Earth page template
Planet Earth’s page templates are all informative and easy to navigate. Source: Website Builder Expert

Planet Earth stood out to me because of its focus on visuals, which is unusual for a business website. Graphics can demonstrate just as much as words, especially If your business has a strong mission, like sustainability. While you have to pay to get all the customization options of this theme, Astra’s free plan will give you a choice of colors and fonts so you can tweak the already stunning template.

This said, Planet Earth might not be the right choice for you if you’re looking to focus more on statistics and figures because it doesn’t offer any engaging textual graphics or animations. If this is what you’re looking for, you should consider “Thrifty Theme” by HubSpot, which I talk about below.

Key features:

  • Engaging full screen hero image
  • Clean and clear color palette
  • Simple navigation
Top Tip: We have even more business website templates for those who are open to paid options.

Thrifty Theme by HubSpot

Thifty theme page template
Thrifty Theme has over 40 engaging visual and textual elements. Source: Website Builder Expert

Out of our four free business templates, Thrifty Theme’s strengths lie in its eye-catching graphics, which are the perfect way to show your company’s performance figures. Additional features like a live chat support box, ‘thank you’ page template, and a large, scrolling testimonials section on the homepage give this theme everything a small business could wish for. However, a modern style refresh could take this template to the next level, as it hasn’t had an update since 2022.

Key features:

  • Dropdown navigation
  • Over 40 elements to use and modify
  • 15 page temples
  • User friendly drag and drop editor

Helix Ultimate by Joomla

Helix Ultimate template
Helix Ultimate demonstrates its versatility by showing six example websites on its demo page. Source: Website Builder Expert

Helix Ultimate presents a nice balance of both visual and textual elements. This, combined with the customization options and prebuilt templates, makes it a universal theme that you could adapt to many different websites. I’d recommend it for business websites specifically because the navigation bar, mega menu (an expandable, drop-down menu), and engaging graphics allow you to convey heaps of information while remaining user friendly and without looking cluttered.

Key features:

  • Fixed navigation bar with mega menu
  • Social media banner
  • Blog pages
  • Mobile first design
  • Image and text animations

Best Free Website Templates for Blogging Websites

There are so many different types of blogs, ranging from business to educational to lifestyle. Blog websites can get crammed with articles, so you need to choose a template that has a clear layout and navigation style.

Neve by WordPress

Neve website template
Neve uses contrasting colors for backgrounds and text, which make information and CTAs unmistakable. Source: Website Builder Expert

WordPress’ Neve is a perfect universal theme because it uses white space and bold graphics to convey information in a digestible way. Although it has bold colors and graphics, it’s surprisingly minimalistic and simple to navigate. This is why I think it would be perfect for a personal blog, along with its detailed About Us page, which enables you to give your blog a personal touch.

Key features:

  • Bold hero image
  • Social media buttons on contact page
  • Hover over text animation
  • Blog posts organized by theme and category
  • Second navigation bar on the footer

Purity IV By Joomla

Purity IV website template
This theme uses engaging image animations when users move their cursor. Source: Website Builder Expert

Purity IV is a much more stylized choice than Neve. This free website theme comes with three different blog page templates, and its individual pages feature a sticky sidebar with the author’s bio and social media information. As well as all this, the author listing and individual author pages are attractive and easy to navigate, so I’d recommend this for anyone with a blog, newspaper, or magazine with multiple authors and lots of posts!

Key features:

  • Blog pages showing large featured images
  • Hover on zoom images
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • Sticky sidebar on blog pages
  • Five template styles

Fashion Blog by Wix

fashion blog website template
If you use attractive featured images for your blog posts, this theme will really show them off! Source: Website Builder Expert

This free template offers a unique blog design that introduces your posts image-first on the home screen. It’s simple, easy to navigate, and has a personal feel. Fashion Blog is the perfect template for fashion and lifestyle bloggers or influencers looking to get started on another platform. You’ll have access to all the basic editing you need to get this site up and running on Wix’s free plan.

Key features:

  • Fixed navigation bar
  • Search bar
  • Parallax scrolling

Best Free Website Templates for Professional Services

Professional services cover anything from dog grooming to personal training. A great site in this area will showcase your work, testimonials and results, as well as the key information about your service. Clear site navigation and compatibility with all devices will mean that your site visitors can easily learn about your services and be guided on the next steps.

Quest by HubSpot

Quest website template
Quest can present a large quantity of information without overwhelming your website visitors. Source: Website Builder Expert

Quest shines in its ability to present heaps of information in a logical and digestible way. It uses a clean color palette with lots of white space, as well as cards and images to break up text. There’s tons of elements and page templates to show off your product, qualifications, processes, and contact options, so I’d recommend it to anyone with a digital or educational product on offer.

Key features:

  • Fixed navigation bar with dropdown menu
  • Testimonials
  • Hover on image animations
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • Adjustable components

Serve by GoDaddy

Serve website template
The small navigation bar text adds to the elegance of the theme while still maintaining a bold font. Source: Website Builder Expert

Serve uses a bold and elegant design to highlight premium services. Its contrasting colors direct visitors to the key information, and I love that it points towards the booking page instantly when users visit. You’ll love this theme if you want a simple website that clearly shows your offerings and encourages visitors to get in contact without all the extra frills!

Key features:

  • Fixed navigation bar
  • Bold color scheme
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • Image animations
  • Contact Us form

Best Free Website Templates for Hospitality and Tourism

Booking a holiday is a big decision, so the most successful hospitality and tourism websites need to incite trust in their visitors. Your site should include multiple pages with available rooms, travel information, and easy to find support forms. And, of course, lots of visuals!

Hotel Company Website by Canva

hotel company website template
Hotel Company has unique image designs made to look like windows. Source: Website Builder Expert

Hotel Company Website by Canva has a wide range of page options to really show off your spaces. You have the space to highlight your unique selling points, special offers, and key features clearly to your visitors, which is a great way to show how you stand out from the competition!

While this free template is a perfect option hotel businesses, its design isn’t very versatile and won’t suit many other website needs.

Key features:

  • Full screen hero image
  • testimonials
  • Unique window image design
  • Luxurious color palette
  • Sections with alternating text and imagery positioning

Travel and Tourism by Astra

Travel & Tourism website template
The sleek navigation bar has no solid background. Source: Website Builder Expert

Travel and Tourism is particularly suitable for hospitality businesses because of its focus on visuals, displaying a hero image on every page, and offering the ability to display each amenity and room with a photo preview. Again, Astra doesn’t offer tons of customization beyond the basics on its free plan, but this theme is set up with every page template a hotel or B&B is likely to need.

Key features:

  • Contact Us page with Google Maps integration
  • Clear CTA buttons
  • Testimonials
  • Support and contact pages
  • Footer with social media icons on every page

Best Free Website Templates for Health and Wellness

A health and wellness businesses will want to use its website to highlight just how brilliant its services will make customers feel. That’s why a clean and sophisticated theme that clearly directs customers to the right information and booking pages is vital!

The Ark by HubSpot

The Ark website template
The Ark comes with lots of templates and elements specifically designed for beauty service providers. Source: Website Builder Expert

For a free website template that exudes class and sophistication, look no further than The Ark. The muted color palette of this design is likely to be a good fit for luxury beauty services or wellness retreats. The Ark also features card elements, which can display each of your services with clear CTA navigation to a bookings form.

Key features:

  • Promotional banners
  • testimonials
  • Detailed booking enquiry form
  • Contact Us page with Google Maps integration
  • Social media icons on the footer of each page

Trainer by HubSpot

Trainer website template
The bold CTAs of this free website template are an effective way to book clients! Source: Website Builder Expert

Trainer by HubSpot could be the design to take your personal services to the next level. The clean colors and bold fonts of this free web template make it suitable for fitness or personal development services such as personal training or lifestyle coaching. The homepage begins with a personal bio, followed by image carousels and bold testimonials, which I think makes the page motivating and inspirational from the get-go!

Key features:

  • Full screen hero image
  • Search bar
  • Carousel images
  • Social media icons on the header
  • Bold and crisp color palette
  • FAQ page
  • Clear membership options

How To Choose a Free Website Template

When choosing a template for your website, there are some key areas you need to consider to be sure you make the right choice:

Your goals

You need to spend some time identifying these first. Is it a business or personal site? What are the main priorities for your site? Who is your target audience and what do they want from your website? Answering these questions will help you to know what exactly you’re looking for, in terms of both style and functions.

Ease of use

Your site might contain all the information you want, but this won’t matter if your visitors can’t navigate it properly. The site you choose has to be able to display your important information in a visually appealing and logical way, with clear routes to the most important pages.

Functionality

This might seem obvious, but your chosen template should be dependable and able to perform its key functions without error. This is why testing out your free website template before going live is always a good idea. Choosing a template with good reviews from trusted sources will also help you with this.

Mobile responsiveness

This goes hand in hand with site functionality. Having a reactive website means that it can handle and adapt to being viewed on different devices like mobile phones and tablets. This is vital for ecommerce websites as it might make or break your sale! Most templates will have this included in their features, but test demo sites on your cell before downloading them.

Summary

Free website templates are a great way to test the waters before committing to purchasing a website theme, and for some, they can offer everything necessary without the need for an upgrade down the line!

In the list above, I’ve chosen a variety of free website templates with great features and attractive designs. But it’s important you keep in mind that not every free template will work for every business, so think about the purpose of your site and the priorities of your visitors when deciding.

Written by:
Annie Angus is a Writer for Website Builder Expert with a passion for shaping jargon-heavy research into digestible content. She has previously researched and written about industries ranging from tech to fashion, and now, after testing our top website builders such as Wix and Squarespace, she is enthusiastic to share her findings with our readers. With first-hand experience in utilizing social media and online marketplaces to grow a small handmade clothing business, Annie understands the priorities and concerns held by SME owners, and knows precisely what they look for in a website builder. She combines this unique perspective with her knowledge of website builders to produce engaging content spanning all areas of the small business journey, from creating a strong website to growing and maintaining an audience.

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