Run the theme through the PageSpeed Insights Test to evaluate mobile and desktop speed.

Run the theme through the Pingdom Speed Test.

Run the website with the theme through the GTmetrix Speed Test.

We also want to leave out any demo content and not assign a homepage for a level starting point.

Leave the theme as-is, with no added media, menus, pages, or posts.

This allows for standardization in WordPress hosting and no complications with other plugins or site files.

Install and activate the theme on a blank WordPress sandbox installation.

The speed testing process went like this: If the theme is not in our list below, be sure to let us know about it in the comments! If you come across a fast WordPress site, you can find out what theme it uses with our theme detector tool.

We added to our list of candidates from the WordPress Repository to identify hidden gems, newer themes, and highly-rated options that we may have missed from the previous collection. Our search began with themes we’ve encountered in the past, along with the best WordPress themes based on popularity, high numbers of downloads, and quality reviews. How We Tested the Fastest WordPress Theme Candidates Interested in Woocommerce themes, instead? Check out our curated list of the fastest WooCommerce themes (based on testing).

Make sure to check out our guide on how to run speed tests if you’d like to run some tests on your own as well. In addition, we compared the best of the best to show which of them perform well in different situations and which of them have the highest performance scores and fastest speeds. Using four different speed tests, a new installation for each theme, and the same server for each theme’s speed testing, we were able to narrow down the fastest WordPress themes to a shortlist. It’s tough to remove outside factors, and there are too many WordPress themes to consider. It’s unrealistic to think the average WordPress user will consistently test desired themes for performance. How do you account for changes in hosting speeds from the developers and their online demos? What if the testing tools produce conflicting results? Are you supposed to test every theme you’re interested in and compare the differences in millisecond load times to find the most lightweight WordPress theme? Finding the fastest WordPress theme may seem like a lost cause.

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