The WordPress Site Editor has introduced an easier way to customize themes and templates. However, if you want to access this feature, you’ll need to install a block-based theme on your site. Therefore, you might be looking for the best full site editing themes for WordPress.
To help you out, we’ve put together a list of free and highly-rated options. Whether you run an online store, a professional blog, or a portfolio, there’s bound to be a block-based theme that meets your needs.
In this post, we’ll look 🔎 at some of the best FSE themes, all available for free. We’ll go over each theme’s key features and discuss the types of sites it’s best suited for. Let’s get started!
📚 Table of contents:
1. Raft
First up, we have Raft. This is a lightweight theme that can be used for different types of sites, including blogs and shops. Its clean and professional layouts also make it an ideal option for businesses and agencies:
Key features ⚙️
- Offers block patterns for calls-to-action, frequently asked questions, image galleries, and more
- Integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce
- Includes a variety of global styles to help you find the perfect color combination for your site
- Works well with popular page builders, including Elementor and Beaver Builder
- Supports multilingual sites, including Right-To-Left (RTL) languages like Hebrew and Arabic
If your blog or business caters to an international audience, Raft may be the ideal theme for you. Plus, its selection of block patterns can eliminate the need to install additional plugins, helping you run a faster site.
2. Neve FSE
Neve FSE is a variant of our popular Neve theme, built with full site editing in mind. The theme has a minimalist design that is easy to customize and adapt to your website’s style. Neve FSE is not only flexible and good-looking but also lightweight and optimized to load fast.
Key features ⚙️
- Has style variations to create global color schemes and typography that matches your site’s brand
- Offers templates for all the main website pages, which you can easily customize via the Full Site Editor
- Displays beautiful on all-size devices (desktop, tablet, mobile)
- Is optimized for performance and SEO
- Allows you to view the changes you make to your site in real-time
- Provides built-in block patterns for all website sections
If you need a theme to launch a business website, Neve FSE looks great, is easy to customize, and meets or exceeds all of the current industry performance standards. It’s also SEO and multi-language ready, for both English-speaking and other language audiences.
3. Inspiro Blocks
Inspiro Blocks is the Full Site Editing version of the Inspiro theme. With comprehensive support for the Full Site Editor, it enables you to effortlessly customize every aspect of your website, from colors and fonts to layout and global sections. It comes with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality for easy page creation.
Key features ⚙️
- Unique page templates
- 20+ block patterns
- Color and font styles
- Customizable header and footer
- Portfolio integration via WPZOOM Portfolio plugin
- Optimized for speed
Inspiro Blocks is good for portfolios. It integrates video and portfolio features, letting you showcase your projects in cool grid or masonry layouts. It’s great for photographers, videographers, designers, and all creatives who want a stylish platform to show off their talents.
4. Jadro
Jadro is a simple and versatile theme that uses Full Site Editing. It’s designed to be speedy and makes the most of the WordPress blocks editor, letting you create special and attention-grabbing layouts for your website.
Key features ⚙️
- Collection of pre-designed patterns and layouts
- Lightweight and optimized for speed
- Advanced typography and color options
- Minimalist design
Jadro is a multipurpose theme – perfect for blogs, small businesses, startups, law firms, and other creative agencies who prefer simple websites.
5. Variations by Tyler Moore
This theme supports FSE, but it goes above and beyond even the standard full site editing that you get with other FSE themes. If you go on Tyler’s website, he provides a tool that significantly speeds up the website-building process thanks to an integration with ChatGPT.
Key features ⚙️
- Almost 40 different website templates designed for numerous niches
- AI-powered tool that uses ChatGPT to generate first-draft content for any of his templates
- Ability to piecemeal your customizations (download images, copy text, or use everything)
Variations is a one-of-a-kind theme that is adaptable to a wide variety of website types. All you have to do is pick your template, put in a description of your website, and Tyler’s tool will generate a first draft of it. You can then edit it from there. It’s the ultimate head start.
6. Minimalistix
Minimalistix was built using a clean, modern, and responsive design. As its name implies, it offers a sleek, minimalist look that’s perfect for blogs, news sites, review magazines, and personal portfolios. It works well for niches like food, fashion, movies, travel, and lifestyle.
Key features ⚙️
- Fully responsive and fast loading
- Optimized for accessibility, which is becoming increasingly more important
- Seamless integration with WooCommerce, Adsense, and other ecommerce tools
While this theme is good on its own, its real selling point comes from the fact that it integrates with the developer’s Superb Addons plugin, which gives you access to lots of patterns, blocks, widgets and sections to build your site.
7. Bjork
Bjork is another minimalist theme for blogs and personal websites that you might want to consider as an alternative to the previous one. It also has a clean layout, but with much simpler and bigger black text on a white background. In addition, it comes with a selection of style variations, so you can choose different colors for your background, text, and elements:
Key features ⚙️
- Over 15 block patterns for blog and post layouts
- A sticky sidebar menu for easier navigation
- Translation-ready and lightweight
If you’re looking for a full site editing theme with a clean look, you might want to give Bjork a try. Plus, its use of white space and neat sections can help make your blog posts more readable.
8. Lativ
Lativ was created by Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com) and features fresh, vibrant color palettes with sleek, modern templates. When you only have a few seconds to make an initial first impression, Lativ gets the job done.
Key features ⚙️
- Three main color schemes with unique gradient patterns
- Translation-ready with RTL support so you can easily offer your site in multiple languages
- Customize everything, including logos, fonts, colors, and navigation menu
The default template in Lativ is tailor-made for startups and modern businesses, with sections like “Product” and “Features” designed to highlight the offerings of your company. The color schemes are also fairly unique and really pop off the page to grab your readers’ attention.
9. Wabi
Next up, we have Wabi. This block-based theme features a simplistic design with bold typography. It’s specifically designed for bloggers and writers, or anyone with a text-heavy site:
Key features ⚙️
- Multiple style variations, including light, dark, and dynamic color schemes
- A variety of block patterns for headers, footers, blog layouts, and headlines
- Multilingual support
If you’re an avid writer, this may be the right theme for you. It can help you make an impact with bold headlines and clean layouts for your articles and stories.
10. Axton
Axton is another minimalist theme that comes with full site editing support. It has a clean design and simple typography, with a muted color scheme. This is one of those full site editing themes that will work well for creative portfolios, blogs, startups, and other small projects:
Key features ⚙️
- Dark and light color schemes
- A portfolio layout to help you showcase your work
- Over 15 block patterns, including layouts for featured content, contact page, blog posts, and more
- A selection of templates and template parts
If you’re looking for a simple, yet customizable theme, Axton may be the right one for you. It can help you create a portfolio that reflects your work and personality.
11. Ona
Ona is a simple yet beautiful full site editing theme. Designed for blogs, its homepage gives you an opportunity to introduce yourself, share your latest news, and promote your most popular topics:
Key features ⚙️
- 11 custom child themes, four of which are free
- A header and footer builder that enables you to easily customize these layouts
- Beautiful block patterns for page titles, featured posts and categories, latest updates, and more
As you may have noticed, Ona is ideal for travel bloggers. Its block patterns and layouts are designed to help you showcase the best images from your trips. However, it can also be used for other blog niches that rely on visual content, like food and fashion.
12. Bricksy
Let’s look at another option for travel-themed sites. Bricksy has a very modern look and feel, with elements designed to help you share eye-catching visuals:
Key features ⚙️
- A selection of style variations, including light and dark color schemes
- Ready-to-use blocks for promoting your travel posts, tours, or attractions
- Practical elements like pricing tables and booking forms
If you run a travel agency, Bricksy might be perfect for your website needs. It helps you introduce yourself and your team with beautiful profile sections, sell your tour packages or travel memberships, and more.
13. Xidea
Finally, let’s look at Xidea. This free full site editing theme is mainly built for blogs. It’s a bit basic and limited in terms of block patterns and style variations. However, it was designed with Bootstrap 5, so you can also use Bootstrap classes to edit the theme:
Key features ⚙️
- Block patterns for footers, headers, a hero section, and an art section
- Two different post layouts, one of them featuring a sidebar
- Social media share buttons to help you promote your blog
While this theme may seem a little too plain, it can be an ideal option if you want a no-frills block. Furthermore, if you’d rather create your own sections and elements with the Site Editor, you don’t need a theme that offers a large variety of block patterns.
Final thoughts 🎬
When you install a block-based theme, you’ll get access to the Full Site Editor. You’ll be able to customize your site’s appearance with easy-to-use blocks and create custom templates for your headers, footers, archive pages, and more.
💡 In this post, we looked at some of the best FSE in the WordPress directory. If you’re looking for a flexible option, both Raft and Neve FSE can be customized to suit your specific needs. They come with a variety of block patterns for different types of websites, including blogs, online shops, and professional portfolios. You can also upgrade them with the FSE design pack to get more than 40 additional ones.
Do you have any questions about the full site editing themes featured in this post? Let us know in the comments section below!
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!