25 Inspiring WordPress Website Designs
Looking for web design inspiration? When you’re building or redesigning a website, sometimes you need a little spark to get you moving. No matter what kind of website you’re working on, there are brilliant (and successful) examples out there that can show you how to make WordPress beautiful!
What Makes an Inspiring Website Design?
Inspiring website design doesn’t just fall out of thin air, and good web design isn’t simply spun up by virtuoso designers—good design takes know-how, patience, and hard work. So what do you need to make a well-designed website? For starters, you need some knowledge of design principles, color theory, and basic visual art concepts, but inspiring examples of well-designed sites can go a long way too.
Below, we’ll take a look at some of the best examples of inspiring WordPress website designs, including:
- eCommerce WordPress Websites
- Inspiring WordPress Blogs
- WordPress Business Websites
- High-Traffic and Famous WordPress Websites
- WordPress Agency Websites
- Interactive WordPress Websites
eCommerce WordPress Websites
There are a ton of best practices when creating an ecommerce site on WordPress, but these examples take it to the next level by building a beautiful user experience and design on their sites:
1. Joco Cups
JOCO Cups proves eCommerce WordPress sites don’t need to look like clunky department store websites. This sleek and modern design mirrors the fresh look of their products—a great example of consistent branding and a well-designed website!
2. Solasie
This European fashion eCommerce site adds fun features to their design with vintage pieces and a matching style. Their eCommerce site is intuitive with how they use WooCommerce and other awesome plugins.
3. Mowellens
This beautiful eCommerce site is engaging and clean with its unique scrolling style. Mowellens’ simple, product-focused site shows just how creative you can get with WordPress and eCommerce.
4. Over Clothing
With a dynamic home page and minimalist design on their product pages, you’d almost think this Over Clothing is an agency or portfolio site with just a passing look. Plus, you might want to grab some swag from their clothing created by designers, for designers.
Inspiring WordPress Blogs
WordPress is traditionally known to be a great CMS for bloggers, and these awesome sites believe that, too. Not only do they have great content, but they also have a stunning design. You might find a new favorite blog to subscribe to as well!
5. 99U
If you love Adobe, you definitely need to check out their blog! They produce great content on trends, tutorials, and other fun inspiration. They also have a beautiful design, which is a no-brainer considering many people look to them as a thought leader in the field. But did you know their blog is on WordPress?
6. 99% Invisible
While 99% invisible is largely known for their podcasts, they also have a blog and other content on their website that developers and creatives love. To top it all off—you guessed it it’s all created and managed on WordPress!
7. The Small Things Blog
The Small Things Blog is a well-designed website and a great example of how WordPress is perfect for self-starters that don’t necessarily want to focus on the technical side of things. Kate, the owner, manages all the content through WordPress but worked with a designer and developer to create the site!
8. The Sartorialist
The Sartorialist is a brilliant example of how simplicity can really work for your blog. This blog has such a straightforward idea that sparks conversations about global fashion, and WordPress helps it beautifully and easily accomplish that mission.
9. The TED Blog
If you’ve ever been inspired by a TEDTalk, you’re bound to find some insight from their blog as well! They cover content from internal company content to pop culture to motivational interviews.
WordPress Business Websites
For businesses, it’s really easy to manage your website through a content management system, which is likely why so many businesses choose WordPress. It’s a great way to allow even the non-technical members of your team make changes and get work done.
10. Time
Time is one of the biggest news and entertainment companies in the world, and they run their business largely online (as well as in print) to keep up with the digital age. With so much content each and every day, it only makes sense to have a content management system. Plus, their site looks great—they’re the perfect place to start looking for your web design inspiration.
11. Eginstill
This interior design boutique has an elegant,one-page website on WordPress that complements their aesthetic. Click through their sidebar to see a smooth scroll of past projects!
12. Offset
While Offset might not be your traditional idea of a business, this team runs an outstanding creative conference! Their WordPress site features a colorful and vibrant card design that will keep you scrolling for more and more inspiration.
13. Proske
This German marketing company takes a traditionally styled WordPress site and brings it to life with their visuals, projects, and creative assets. It’s a shining example of how much your work can sell and make your website stand out.
High-Traffic and Famous WordPress Websites
You’ve probably heard of or visited a few of these popular sites, but did you know they were on WordPress? To keep a high-traffic site up and running, you need a reliable platform and host. These sites have it all figured out and know WordPress is a great solution to support high traffic.
14. The Guggenheim
The website expectations are perhaps a little higher for a modern art museum, but the Guggenheim doesn’t disappoint. The WordPress site is just as clean and modern and the museum itself.
15. The Walt Disney Company
Everyone knows and loves Disney, so with such a dynamic and famous brand, they built a reliable yet whimsical website. This site accomplishes a delicate balance between business and brand with its simple, informative design.
16. The New York Times
As one of the largest news sources in the world, The New York Times has certainly made a name for itself. And with so much content constantly going live, their WordPress site is dependable and fast. Not only that, it looks great too, and stands out as a great example of a well-designed website.
17. The Rolling Stones
As an iconic b(r)and, The Rolling Stones has an infamous repertoire with a website to match. Their website is a home-base for fans that’s filled to the brim with tour dates, music, merchandise, band insights, and so much more.
18. Mercedes-Benz
Another great business website is Mercedes-Benz. As a popular, worldwide vehicle brand, their site is versatile in order to service the wide range of customers looking for vehicles anywhere from small two-doors to tour buses.
WordPress Agency Websites
If you’re a digital agency that’s creating WordPress sites, hosting your own website on WordPress is a great example to add to your portfolio. These agencies, ranging from web design to event planning, have fun and engaging sites that are sure to draw in clients!
19. Iron to Iron
Like any digital agency, this designer and developer duo uses their own website to show off how effective a clean, to-the-point website can be without compromising a strong brand.
20. Pink Gorilla Events
Don’t let the name of this Nebraska-based agency fool you. You can’t rent a pink gorilla for your event, but you can find an awesome event agency with a stellar WordPress website.
21. Wedge and Lever
Even with the most literal interpretation of their brand, Wedge and Lever creates an engaging experience for their site visitors. If you’re looking for a new take on an agency site or a refreshing menu design, check them out!
Interactive WordPress Websites
The best way to increase conversions and reduce your bounce rate is to incorporate interactive, fun elements to your WordPress website. Ready to start clicking around these engaging sites?
22. Cultivated Wit
While this site seems like another stunning agency site, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the whimsical details thrown into the interactive elements like the “Care to enter?” section or “Whiskey Friday” callout.
23. Velvet Hammer
Velvet Hammer is a music and management business with a simple one-page WordPress site that comes to life as you click around and hover over content. You might also find your next favorite band while you’re there.
24. We Virtually Are
We Virtually Are, designed by Herdl, takes intentionality to a new level. If you really want to engage with their fluid site, be sure to scroll in the right directions and take in all their moving content.
25. Plane
The stunning interactive and illustrative designs on this WordPress site bring their story and mission to life. You’ll want to press play on their site all day.
Now that you’ve seen how all kinds of people and businesses are expressing their creativity with WordPress, you should feel motivated to redesign or create your own site. What other inspiring WordPress themes have you seen? Let us know in the comments below!
