Retina-Ready WordPress Themes for a Visually Stunning UX

The whole concept of “retina-ready” themes has been around for a while now. But that doesn’t mean it’s an assumption.

Many themes are still not retina-ready and that means if you choose the wrong theme your photo-centric blog might not look good on newer and higher-end devices.

Thankfully, there are plenty of themes out there that have been built for retina displays and, at the very least, enable you to include retina-ready logos and header graphics.

Still, sussing out what theme with this feature is best can be a challenge if you’re not up to your ears in themes on the daily like yours truly, so I’ve put together a handy little list of themes that bring retina-readiness to the table while emphasizing an all-around gorgeous user experience for your visitors.

You’re certain to find a suitable theme in the bunch here.

What Does Retina-Ready Mean?

Before we delve into the list of themes, let’s first pause for a brief moment to talk about what retina-ready means. It’s likely a phrase you’ve seen tossed around quite a lot these days but unless you have a retina display yourself, it might be a concept you’re a bit sketchy on.

The term “retina-ready” was actually created by Apple when the iPhone 4 was released. It refers to devices that are capable of displaying more pixels per square inch. The result is sharper images with pixels that aren’t discernible by the human eye. So, for a WordPress theme to be retina-ready, it must allow for graphics and images that present at a higher resolution with a greater number of pixels per square inch.

Retina-Ready WordPress Themes

Without further ado, here’s our collection of eye-catching and visually impressive retina-ready WordPress themes:

• Diamond Photography WordPress Theme

  

  If you’re a photographer or anticipate needing to feature a lot of high quality photos, the Diamond Photography WordPress Theme is a great choice. It’s loaded with features that photographers want and need. It supports a fullscreen layout with retina-ready images, of course, plus a drag-and-drop page builder plugin for the quick creation of custom pages using modules and shortcodes.

  The layout is responsive and this theme comes with custom page templates, demo content, documentation, and support. It includes over 600 Google Fonts, SEO readiness, translation readiness, speed optimization, advanced theme settings, widget support, and plenty of customization options for colors and layout details. For instance, it comes with a fullscreen slider, video & image backgrounds, grid portfolio, masonry portfolio, and a Kenburns slider. It includes unlimited custom fields for portfolio items, auto load on scroll, one to four columns for the portfolio, multiple gallery types, password-protected galleries, a fullscreen blog, Contact Form 7 support, MailChimp support, a before and after module, PSD files, and more.

  Diamond Photography WordPress Theme is a full-featured theme available now for $49.

• Finale

  

  Need something a bit more corporate? Finale is a great option and better yet, it’s free. This theme is simple, elegant, and ideal for creating the layout your site needs. It can be used for portfolio, business, and service-based sites and includes a number of customization options.

  This theme can be used for just about any kind of business site or portfolio and offers an unlimited number of styles. Add a custom header image to each page, add your social icons, and basically create precisely the kind of site you want to create without having to spend a penny. Nice!

• Purpose

  

  With Purpose, you can create a site that’s driven and focused; one that supports any type of modern business without being boring. This theme is easy to set up and utilizes the built in customizer for making changes. It includes a header and navigation menu with auto resizing and changes color when you scroll.

  It also includes a featured slider and uses all post formats while relying on the Seed Framework to support responsive layouts, retina-readiness, page templates, shortcodes, WooCommerce, Gravity Forms, and featured videos. Other features include a portfolio and slideshow template, WPML support, Google Fonts, social media buttons, custom menus, headers, and backgrounds, custom colors, pagination, multiple sidebars, multiple column layouts, and more.

  You can get Purpose from Organic Themes for $69 per year or get all their themes for $249 per year.

• Stellar Theme

  

  The Stellar theme truly lives up to its name, offering a clean design that’s elegant and perfect for use for any kind of portfolio or visually-oriented website. It supports a responsive design that you can deactivated if need be, retina-ready graphics, vertical and horizontal navigation, and off-canvas navigation.

  This theme also includes 11 different gallery layouts, filterable portfolios, a fullscreen slideshow, and supports music files, and password protected galleries. This theme is all about the images, with gallery comments support, fullscreen video, multiple image uploads, unlimited portfolio and gallery pages, and so much more. Stellar also includes Google Fonts, page columns, shortcodes, a shortcode generator, custom post type support, custom menus, social media profile support, unlimited sidebars, documentation, customer support, and updates.

  Stellar is available for $59.

• Collective

  

  If you need a theme that’s ideal for collaborating with others while supporting high resolution images, Collective by Organic Themes is an awesome choice. This theme is beautiful and offers a wide layout and custom post types. It supports team member bios, position highlights, social media links, and individual Twitter feeds. It’s also highly customizable.

  Collective supports custom background patterns, features a responsive design and retina optimization, and includes shortcodes, page templates, featured videos, and more. It also supports WooCommerce and Gravity Forms. Other features include a portfolio template, custom colors, Google Fonts, social media buttons, multiple sidebars, pagination, and it includes a PSD file.

  Collective costs $69 per year or $249 with the full themes package.

• Zerif Lite

  

  Another selection from ThemeIsle is Zerif Lite. This theme is responsive and offers a one page layout that supports individuals and agencies across the spectrum of creative fields. It’s built on clean and validated code, is cross-browser compatible, and supports a theme options panel that allows for a variety of customizations.

  With this theme, you can add a custom logo, custom colors, choose from a variety of layout options, and add your own custom social media links. The theme is localization-ready and includes WooCommerce support and a variety of other features to build a custom site that looks great.

  And the best part? Zerif Lite is totally free.

• Profile

  

  Profile is another theme from Organic Themes that has this whole retina-ready thing down to a science. It’s the perfect theme for displaying you as a professional entity on the web. Whether you’re a photographer, designer, or model, this theme will serve you quite well. It supports prominently featured social media icons and you can easily display your Twitter feed beneath your profile picture, too.

  This theme is built on the Seed Framework so includes a responsive grid and retina optimization, page templates, featured videos, shortcodes, and compatibility with WooCommerce and Gravity Forms. It also includes a portfolio template, numerous customization options, compatibility with the WPML plugin, a slideshow page template, pagination, a PSD file, and more.

  Profile costs $69 per year or $249 per year as a part of the full themes package.

• Vega Theme

  

  If you’re looking for something a bit more minimal, the Vega theme is a great option. It’s clean and offers a framework for your best photography, artwork, or other creative work thanks to a responsive layout and retina-ready graphics. You can use it to display a portfolio or standard site depending on your needs.

  The included content builder, allows for multi gallery layouts using a drag-and-drop interface. It also comes with off-canvas navigation, 11 gallery layouts, a filterable portfolio, a fullscreen slideshow, Google Fonts, music support, a password protected gallery, gallery comments, social media profiles, and more. It’s even translation-ready with WPML support and includes shortcodes, column menu support, documentation, updates, and customer support.

  Vega is available for $59.

• Optimizer

  

  Optimizer is touted as a multi-purpose theme but it really shines as a means of displaying photography or graphics. This theme is easy to customize and comes loaded with features like 2 site layouts, an image slider, custom logo, and over 600 fonts.

  This theme is totally responsive, retina-ready, and built with SEO in mind. It’s also optimized for MailChimp, Contact Form 7, WooCommerce, and bbPress and is translation-ready, too. It’s been speed optimized, includes secure code, and includes a custom CSS field and plenty of custom color options to ensure the look of your site is uniquely yours.

  Optimizer is available from the WordPress Theme Directory for free.

• Photo Architecture WordPress Theme

  

  Whether you’re a photographer, architect, or simply someone who values imagery on websites, you ought to enjoy the Photo Architecture WordPress Theme. It includes two portfolio views, CSS3 animations, a responsive design, retina-ready images, and full-width slideshows for dramatic effect.

  It also comes with a gallery layout that creates a stylish project list with overlaid titles, dates, and authors. It also makes use of custom post fields, contact pages, and a full range of customizer settings for modifying site colors, layouts, animations, transitions, and typography.

  Photo Architecture WordPress Theme is available for about $42.

• Engrave Lite

  

  Another theme option is called Engrave Lite. This theme is multi-purpose and totally professional, offers a clean layout for businesses or even creative bloggers. The design is responsive and supports retina-ready images. It also makes use of the theme options panel, giving you the flexibility you need to modify colors, fonts, and graphics.

  Plus, it comes with a full-width slider and you can customize the site’s logo and homepage.

  Engrave Lite is free.

• Moesia

  

  Moesia is a great theme for businesses that allows you to create an online presence without having to hand code anything. It comes with several predefined content blocks that you can choose from to build a custom-looking homepage. Every block can be configured to feature custom colors, images, and even a parallax background if you want.

  The theme comes with Google Fonts, two blog layouts, animations, a parallax header, and a full theme options panel that lets you set the theme’s colors and more. It also comes with custom widgets, a custom header, social icons, and the theme is translation-ready.

  Moesia is free.

• Discovery

  

  If you’ve been on the lookout for a responsive and retina-ready theme that’s beautiful to look at and offers just enough customization options to give your site a unique appearance, you could do worse than Discovery. This theme can be customized in a number of ways but you don’t have to delve deep to make modifications. It’s all right there for you to use with just a couple of clicks.

  For instance, you can easily add a custom logo, custom header, establish featured areas, and configure social media profile links with minimal effort. It’s designed to look and feel like a premium theme, only it’s free.

• Travelogue

  

  As its name might suggest, Travelogue is a theme designed with bloggers in mind. If you want to jot down daily notes, your epic journey across Europe, or photographs you take on your daily morning walk, this theme is a great choice. It’s perfect for the personal blog but can be used for a photographer’s portfolio, too.

  One thing I particularly like is the use of interesting transition effects for each page. Your site will certainly stand out, that’s for sure. This theme supports image or video headers and includes numerous customization options to ensure your site has the unique look you want.

  Travelogue costs $44.

• Bleecker

  

  The last theme we’ll talk about here today is called Bleecker. It’s retina-ready, responsive, and uses a grid system for presenting your content. It’s optimized for mobile touch and allows for easy customization using built-in WordPress admin tools.

  It comes with page templates for the home, portfolio, about, blog, and contact pages, and is configured for multiple and one page layouts as you see fit. It comes with demo content, a custom print CSS stylesheet, cross-browser compatibility, and full documentation.

  Bleecker costs $44.