3 Top WordPress Magazine Themes for 2022: Tried and Tested

WordPress is a great choice for any type of website. Given its roots as a blogging and publishing platform, it’s especially great for magazine and news type websites. To make things even better, you don’t have to learn coding to create a stunning magazine website with WordPress. All you need is a high-quality, premium magazine WordPress theme. 

Luckily, there is no shortage of great magazine WordPress themes. They all feature modern and attractive designs, not to mention, they come packed with all the essential features a magazine theme should have. 

In this post, we’ll take a deeper look at the top three WordPress magazine themes and compare its features, ease of use, and pros and cons. 

What to Look For In A Magazine Theme

What features should your magazine theme have? Here are a few important features to look for in a magazine theme: 

• Multiple layout options so you can create interesting layouts for your online magazine
• Responsive design to ensure your stories and news look great no matter which device your visitors are using
• Extensive typography options so you can make sure that your stories are easy to read and visually appealing
• Plenty of customization options to reflect your unique style

3 WordPress Magazine Themes to Help You Reach Your Readership

With so many WordPress themes to choose from it can be difficult knowing which one will be best for your online publication. To help you narrow down the options, we’ve reviewed the top magazine themes to see how they stack up against each other. 

1. Kicker Versatile Magazine WordPress Theme

• ✅ Plenty of demos to choose from
• ✅ Modern and attractive designs
• ✅ Fast loading times
• ✅ AMP optimized
• ✅ Works with Elementor and Gutenberg

• 🚫 Customization options can be edited in two places which is confusing

First up on our list we have the Kicker magazine theme for WordPress. This theme is a multipurpose theme that can be used for any type of magazine or new website. It offers 55+ demos with modern and attractive designs. 

Main Features

One of the most notable features of the Kicker magazine WordPress theme is the fact that it has been optimized to load fast. On top of that, it was also optimized for core web vitals so you can rest assured your website will meet the core technical SEO requirements. 

Other notable features include: 

• Built with Elementor page builder 
• Support for Gutenberg
• Extensive customization options
• Integration with WooCommerce
• Mega menus and slide out panels for a more dynamic look
• Wide variety of article layout combinations
• One-click demo import process

On top of that, the theme integrates with Mailchimp so you can easily start growing your email list. The Kicker theme also comes with banner ads and sponsored posts so you can monetize your website. 

Ease Of Use

The Kicker theme has a simple, guided one-click demo import process. You can even choose between a full import or a partial import. Full import is recommended if this is a brand new website. Otherwise, choose the Partial import option which will only import the selected pages and slider layouts. 

Once the theme has been installed, you can easily customize the theme using the Live Customizer or the Theme Options panel. This can be a little confusing and seems unnecessary, especially since both options give you pretty much the same style settings to customize. 

Since the theme was built with Elementor, it’s easy to customize the layout of each page. This also means that you have even more customization options at your disposal since each widget in Elementor can be styled individually. 

Pros And Cons

As far as the pros and cons go, the Kicker theme is very easy to install and set up and loads fast. It’s extremely versatile so it’s suitable for any type of magazine website. The only downside to the theme is that the customization options somewhat redundantly appear in two places: the Live Customizer and the Theme Panel. 

2. Elipsa Creative Magazine WordPress Theme

• ✅ Very creative and modern design
• ✅ Minimal layouts
• ✅ Loads fast
• ✅ Integration with Elementor, WooCommerce, and other plugins

• 🚫 You won’t find as many demos as you would in other, more established themes

The Elipsa theme is a magazine WordPress theme with a gorgeous and creative layout. It offers six different demos that you can import with a single click. This theme would be a perfect fit for a home magazine, interior decorating magazine, fashion or beauty magazine websites. 

Main Features

If you’re looking for a magazine theme that offers beautiful and creative blog layouts, the Elipsa theme definitely fits the bill. On top of that, it integrates with popular plugins such as WooCommerce, Slider Revolution, Elementor, and more. 

Other key features include: 

• Responsive design
• Extensive typography options
• Custom newsletter popups
• Carousels and sliders for featured posts
• Built-in social sharing options
• Comes with several icon packs

In addition to that, the Elipsa theme comes with numerous pre-built inner pages so you can launch your website quickly. 

Ease Of Use

The Elipsa theme is easy to use. The installation process is straightforward and you can easily import the demo to speed up the design process. The customization options are all located in the Theme Dashboard. You can easily change colors, fonts, adjust typography, and more. 

Since the theme works with Elementor, you can let your creative juices flow and easily edit pre-built pages or create new pages from scratch. In addition to that, Elementor gives you additional customization options for individual elements. 

Given everything above, the Elipsa theme is beginner-friendly as it has a simple setup, plenty of customization options that aren’t overwhelming, and a decent number of demos to choose from. 

Pros And Cons

The Elipsa theme has a beautiful design and it’s easy to use. There are multiple layouts to choose from and it also integrates with WooCommerce so you can easily start selling online. As far as the cons go, the theme doesn’t offer as many demos as other themes on this list but this is to be expected given the theme is relatively new. 

3. Newspaper News And Magazine WordPress Theme

• ✅ Established and well-known theme
• ✅ Traditional magazine layout
• ✅ Packed with features
• ✅ Responsive design

• ⚠️ Given the amount of features the Newspaper theme has, it can be a little overwhelming for new users

The Newspaper theme is a popular and well-established magazine theme for WordPress. This theme has a traditional layout suitable for news, newspaper, magazine, publishing or review sites. 

Main Features

The Newspaper theme stands out from other themes on this list thanks to its extensive list of features. It integrates well with WooCommerce so you can easily monetize your site. In addition to that, it’s also mobile-friendly and GDPR-ready. 

Key features include: 

• Includes tagDiv builder designed to help you grow your list and monetize your website
• Optimized for core web vitals
• Pre-built demos for the shop pages
• Built-in performance optimized
• Front-end page builder to help you build custom pages without coding knowledge

In addition to that, the theme comes with a custom theme options panel where you can customize every aspect of your website.

Ease Of Use

Like the other themes on this list, the Newspaper theme has an easy and straightforward installation process. All you have to do is install and activate the theme, install necessary plugins, and then import a demo of your choosing. 

What’s even better, the Newspaper theme also makes it easy to uninstall a demo and install a different one — something not a lot of themes do. 

However, the customization options can be a little overwhelming as there’s plenty to customize in this theme. So if you’re a complete beginner and new to WordPress, this theme might not be the best first choice. 

Pros And Cons

As far as pros go, you can’t go wrong with the Newspaper theme as it’s well-established, has excellent ratings, and has been the #1 newspaper and magazine theme on ThemeForest for quite some time. On top of that, it has plenty of templates as well as different options to design your header and footer. 

The downside is that the theme can be a little overwhelming for complete beginners. So, if you want a simpler theme to start your website with, you might want to check out the other two themes on this list. 

Which Magazine WordPress Theme Is Right For You?

Now that you know what each of these top magazine WordPress themes has to offer, the only thing left to do is to decide which theme is right for you. 

If you’re looking for a simple but creative theme for a fashion or art magazine, the Elipsa theme is the perfect fit. It has just the right amount of options to make it easy to customize the theme without being overwhelming. 

Choose the Kicker theme if you want a versatile theme that would work well for any type of online magazine. Plus, don’t forget that the Kicker theme has been optimized to load fast so that’s something to keep in mind. 

Lastly, the Newspaper theme is a decent choice if you’re looking for a more traditional magazine layout and you plan on publishing content quite frequently. Like the Kicker theme, the Newspaper theme has been optimized for core web vitals and has a built-in optimizer. However, it can be a little overwhelming for new WordPress users so that’s important to note. 

Explore More WordPress Themes

Magazine WordPress themes are just one of many different categories of WordPress themes you can find on ThemeForest and Envato Elements. If you’re building a different type of WordPress website, or simply need more inspiration, check out these theme reviews: 

• 
  WordPress Themes
  3 Delicious WordPress Restaurant Themes: A Close Look
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• 
  WooCommerce
  3 WooCommerce Themes for Fashion and Clothing Stores: Test-Driven
  Brenda Barron

• 
  Minimalist
  3 Simple, Minimalist WordPress Themes: Compared
  Brenda Barron

Build A Stunning Magazine WordPress Site With A Premium Magazine WordPress Theme

If you’re looking to launch an online magazine, WordPress is the best choice. And thanks to numerous magazine WordPress themes, you can easily build a stunning magazine quickly. 

If you’re ready to launch your magazine, check out Envato Elements and take advantage of its compelling offer. Download unlimited magazine WordPress themes and other creative assets for one low monthly price. 

Or, if you just need a single WordPress theme, visit ThemeForest to browse and purchase individual magazine WordPress themes.