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The Genesis Framework by StudioThemes is the most popular WordPress framework out there. It’s a lightweight and designed with the end-user in mind. The best way to customize the look and feel is with child themes. So, we curated the best free options to help you get started.
Best Free Genesis Child Themes: Our Shortlist
To use any of the child themes listed below, you need to buy the Genesis Framework–it’s $360 per year. However, if you host your website with WP Engine, you get access to it and all StudioPress themes at no cost.
Our Top Picks
Made by StudioPress
Made by Rafal Tomal
Made by Restored 316
Made by Themedy
Made by Sridhar Katakam
Made by MagikPress
Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. Learn more about our review methodology.
The Top Free Genesis Child Themes of 2023
Made by StudioPress
Features
- Includes six page layouts
- Custom header, menu, and footer design
- WooCommerce ready
Price
Free with Genesis Pro
Sidebar
Yes, on the right
Great for
Multi-purpose
Support
Yes, via ticket
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The Genesis sample is a starter theme included for free when you buy the Genesis Framework. It features six page layouts; a custom background, header, and menus; footer widgets; threaded comments, and more.
Made by Rafal Tomal
Features
- Clean, minimal, lightweight design
- Made by former lead of Rainmaker Digital
- Great for simple, personal blogs
Price
Free, join email list
Sidebar
No
Great for:
Personal journal
Support
Email for bugs only
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Journal is a free Genesis child theme for WordPress from Rafal Tomal (the former lead designer at Rainmaker Digital). The very lightweight design is intended primarily for simple personal blog sites. Its home page has one content area above the recent posts.
The theme doesn’t have visible sidebars, but the primary sidebar is hidden behind the screen, which can be accessed by clicking the Menu button.
Note: you have to join Rafal’s newsletter to download the theme.
Made by Restored 316
Features
- Light, airy, feminine design
- Puts content and images front & center
- Very lightweight design
Price
Free, join email list
Sidebar
No
Great for
Blogs
Support
Email
Read More
Fresh is a free feminine Genesis child theme for WordPress made by Restored 316. The design is modern, fresh, and light — perfect for blogs.
Note: you have to join Restored316’s newsletter to download the theme.
Made by Themedy
Features
- Inspired by Tumblr
- Infinite scrolling, great for long articles
- Range of styles and features
Price
Free
Sidebar
Yes, on the left
Great for
Blogs, long posts
Support
No
Read More
Tote, a free Genesis child theme, is inspired by Tumblr and its infinite scrolling themes. The theme is perfect for showcasing your blog and comes with a range of styles, features, and clever backend options.
Made by Sridhar Katakam
Features
- Designed for single page websites
- Option to add additional pages if desired
- Built-in parallax, back to top button
Price
Free
Sidebar
No
Great for
Single-page sites
Support
Via GitHub
Read More
One Pager is a free parallax website child theme for Genesis. Created by Sridhar Katakam, this theme is primarily meant for single page websites that have several horizontal sections with the nav menu items scrolling smoothly to their corresponding sections.
Made by Kavya Gokul
Features
- Two color schemes: light and dark
- One header widget & two footer widgets
- One widget below the navigation menu
Price
Free
Sidebar
No
Great for
Simple blogs
Support
None
Read More
Center is a free blog child theme for the Genesis Framework. The theme comes with two color schemes, light and dark. It also has customizable footer text, two footer widget areas, one header widget area, and one widget area below primary navigation.
What Is the Genesis Framework?
Genesis is currently used on more than 6,000 of the top 1 million websites. It’s a powerful, secure, search engine optimization (SEO)-friendly, and mobile-responsive framework designed to be used with a child theme — one of the StudioPress premium child themes or a third-party premium or free child theme.
What Is a Genesis Child Theme?
The Genesis Framework is the parent WordPress theme, and the Genesis child theme is a WordPress one built on top of the framework; the child theme inherits the functionality from the parent theme.
Using a child theme lets you quickly and safely update the framework.
When a new upgraded version of the Genesis Framework comes out, you can safely update it because all your customizations are saved in the child theme, as it automatically inherits the parent theme’s features, styles, and templates. You don’t need to touch the core files in the parent theme (nor would you need to).