10 dynamic Fast Loading Wordpress Templates you can use for your website Now!!

One of the most frequent questions I’ve received after our search engine classes is "Where can my company find a Fast Loading Wordpress Template to work with? That's a damn good question as speed hasn't been on the radar of Wordpress Theme developers yet, but that is already changing.
Just like the need for responsive design was answered, fast loading sites are really in demand and the market is already scrambling to make them available. However, we know that, "We're working on it..." isn't the answer you're looking for, so we spent some time looking for fast loading themes that you can use Today.
Theme Comparison Factors
One of the most difficult tasks we could think of for a responsive Web site to tackle is mobile load time, which is required for your Web site to shine. We tested over 50 different themes during this loading race and all of these designs scored quite fast comparatively. However, on the flip side there were some popular themes that took as much as 50 seconds to load! That's a huge difference compared to the speed demons we've listed below that were fast enough to make the cut.
Disclaimer: There is some variation in our testing due to server speed, which was beyond our control. There is also quite a variation in the theme designs themselves, which we attempted to minimize by testing a simple page on each theme - not the home page as it often includes huge slider images.
The important factors used in this test:
• Mobile Load Time - The primary factor was the 1st pass mobile load time tested within Webpagetest.org with a Mobile 3G Fast connection and using the Chrome browser.
• A Simple, Comparable Web Page - We used Pricing or Full Width page examples to minimize graphic impact during testing.
• Gzip Compression - All test sites used this as it has a big impact on 1st pass load time. Sites not using Gzip were not included as it threw the test scores off a lot.
• All themes tested are fully responsive.
• Pingdom and Google Page Speed test values - recorded for additional comparison.
• Google Page Speed Score - All of these themes could be improved upon in some way. How much speed improvement is possible is indicated by the Google Page Speed scores.

#1. 320 Press Bootstrap - 2.623s
Source: 320press.com/themes/wp-bootstrap/
The fastest template of the group was 320press.com's Wordpress BootStrap which loaded in 2.623 seconds despite a time to first byte (TTFB) of .911 seconds which is a bit slow. That means this template would likely load in around 2.2 to 2.3 seconds on an average server, further distancing it from the rest of the field. Of course the simplistic design was a deciding advantage with only 12 requests made during load time and a lack of "bloat" that occurs with fancier looking templates.
The Bootstrap foundation is an excellent base for further customization to generate the look and feel of your new site, however it will most likely require far more development time to arrive at what you're looking for. The theme will slow down with additional customization in most cases unless the developer is careful with what changes and how they are made. It's not really suitable for a site owner wanting an easy theme to upload and run but it is FAST. If you're comfortable with tweaking CSS and some of the PHP files in the template, Wordpress Bootstrap is a clear winner.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
97 11 .812 .099 79 92 2.623 .911 2400

#2. 320 Press Foundation - 3.028s
Source: 320press.com/themes/wp-foundation/
Another fast theme from the folks at 320press.com, the Zurb.com 3.0 Foundation Wordpress port is also quite fast despite requiring more resources to load than the Twitter Bootstrap version. Also in this test the 320press.com server was slow to respond with a 1.33 second time to first byte.
Like the Bootstrap theme, Foundation will require further work should you want to get more advanced with the styling this theme provides. The Foundation framework used for this theme is version 3.0, however the current version of Foundation is at version 5.0, so this port is a bit behind with no information on if or when 320Press.com will update their theme to the latest revision of Foundation.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
67 20 1.180 .599 76 89 3.028 1.330 2394

#3. GoodWork - 3.252s
Source: GoodWork - Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme
The Goodwork Template from Krown Themes Designer Ruben Bristian was the fastest full featured template we found, again despite a somewhat slow responding server. This template is WooCommerce capable and features 6 Home Page variations, advanced Page Builder features and plenty of theme customization options. It also carries a 4.43 buyer rating at Themeforest which is a strong endorsement as well.
Our only complaint about this theme is the mobile version of the menu, it's not "Fat Finger Friendly", but that is not a big deal. There are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to improve that functionality.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
88 39 .755 .318 78 91 3.252 .610 2815

#4. Fable - 3.255s
Source: Fable - Responsive Blog Theme
Fable from Elegant Themes was designed primarily as a blogging theme, and it's very fast with a 3.255 second Mobile load time. While not as versatile as GoodWork, it's a variation that may suit some projects better. Performance on this theme could be improved by getting rid of the Google Fonts used heavily throughout the theme and combining the 10 style sheets used.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
80 53 1.17 .513 76 91 3.255 .558 2315

#5. Lucid - 3.303s
Source: Lucid - Responsive Blog Theme
Elegant Themes Lucid also scored highly in our test with a mobile load time of 3.303 making it a very fast, and clean, Blog theme. Lucid has an improved mobile menu which is FFF (Fat Finger Friendly) however built in social icons are not FFF. The theme adapts well between Mobile, Tablet and Desktop but does not give you a lot of capability for design changes for background and system colors.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
85 35 .386 .196 76 84 3.303 .558 2580

#6. Pravda - 3.601s
Source: Pravda - Retina Ready Responsive Blog / Magazine Theme
Packed with features such as WooCommerce and Retina Ready graphics capability, Pravda is a solid performer for a Magazine style Blog that loads in 3.601 seconds on a 3g smartphone despite a slow server which dampened its TTFB time. The theme carries a 4.67 rating at Themeforest.com and interestingly enough, it has a very solid 98 performance grade via Pingdom, one of two themes tested that hit 98.
It gets a thumbs down for an anti-FFF mobile menu, but as we mentioned previously, there are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to improve that functionality.
This theme certainly gets some extra bonus points for including Schema.org Microdata, a Bootstrap base and Retina-Ready graphics capability.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
98 42 .682 ..331 75 93 3.601 .700 2904

#7. Enfold - 3.722s
Source: Enfold - Retina Ready Business Theme
Enfold is another full featured, fully responsive theme which scores quite well across the board. It features a very comprehensive layout builder making it easy to create just about any kind of page layout you desire, without having to remember shortcodes to make it work.
The mobile menu is FFF, which is a plus in our book, and it looks outstanding on a tablet and smartphone as well. Inside the designers give you a lot of ability to easily change the skin and includes 18 different variations within the admin panel.
Enfold carries a high 4.78 rating at Themeforest, so we're not the only ones that like this theme!
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
89 36 1.06 .345 76 90 3.722 .704 3504

#8. Meteor - 4.808s
Source: Meteor - Retina Ready Business Theme
Retina graphics ready and fully responsive Meteor is a feature packed theme that has a reasonable load time. It features a comprehensive layout editor giving you a lot of ability to arrange your pages as you want, 5 different sliders to choose from, plus a handful of custom widgets such as a Twitter Feed.
Meteor has a horrible looking mobile menu, thank goodness there are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to fix it - and this one does need fixing. While it's totally usable as it triggers tablet and smartphone popup menus, it just doesn't seem to match the rest of the design (and we don't like popup menus).
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
79 60 1.26 .739 72 86 4.808 .951 2896

#9. Lynx - 5.161s
Source: Lynx - 3 in 1 Business Theme
Lynx features 3 different main layout functions that let you use it as a Blog, Magazine, or a Shop with built in WooCommerce. It also has the ability to use custom backgrounds and is built on Bootstrap 3 which is a big plus. Personally, we didn't really care for the design, probably because of so much white space used up by the built in banner at the top of the page, but it may appeal to some. You can also certainly shut the banner off if you wish, which we feel would make it more attractive.
With a 98 Performance score from Pingdom, this is an optimized theme which certainly helps its 5.161 load time on 3g Mobile and it scores well on Google Page Speed, however the number of server requests drag down its mobile performance. Lynx utilizes a pop-up menu for mobile and tablets, not our favorite design choice as it just feels so "retro" compared to the newer mobile menu designs available.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
98 64 1.23 .542 79 92 5.161 .587 2272

#10. 3Clicks - 6.601s
Source: 3Clicks Business Theme
We really liked the fresh, colorful looks and versatility of the 3 Clicks theme, unfortunately a slow server TTFB hurt its load time substantially pushing it to the #10 position in our test. With a faster server and further optimization work it can certainly be as fast as many of the themes we tested in this shootout, so don't ignore it just because it's a bit slower.
3Clicks has 9 different skins to choose from along with unlimited color choices, many different menu choices including a new "Metro" style which is very tablet friendly. The Mobile menu lacks the ability to display multiple levels, which is a drawback but it's one of the few we have found with this theme. It's very likely the developer might be able to update that feature in the future as the theme support and enhancements appear to be good.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
89 48 1.86 .388 76 92 6.601 1.088 5365
Final Notes
Be aware that most of the top performing themes in this review have been optimized to a certain extent, they have minified CSS & Javascript, the servers are using Gzip compression, some go so far as to move the style sheets into the head section which really helps on mobile. Last but not least, we did test demo pages that were light on graphics to make the tests as even as possible, which of course helped the load times.
When you install one you'll want to make use of a plugin such as W3 Total Cache plus utilize progressive, compressed images when possible. Also keep in mind adding additional plugins typically will slow response time down significantly, especially social plugins that make many external requests.
If you don't find a design you like within the above themes be sure to test any theme you decide on using resources such as Pingdom, Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest.org to see how it compares. The themes chosen for our review are certainly some of the fastest we could find, but developers have already started focusing on page speed requirements, so keep your eyes open for new designs.
2014 will be a busy, exciting time for Web site designers, managers and search engine marketing professionals as all this new technology and ranking requirements forces us to improve user experiences — we hope this review gets you started down that road!

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