The Genesis framework is one of the most popular and well-maintained theme frameworks available for WordPress.
Genesis framework was created by StudioPress, a company founded by Brian Gardener in 2007 and later sold to a WordPress hosting platform – WP Engine, in 2018. They offer several child theme options, including some of the third party themes.
Please note – you can get genesis child themes for free by becoming a WP Engine customer.
Best Genesis Child Themes for 2021
In this article, I am going to walk you through 25 best Genesis Child Themes to help you choose the one that fits you best.
1. KickStart Pro
Are you a startup planning to launch your website soon? Then Kickstart Pro can be something you might be looking for.
This bold and energetic theme stands out and helps you make an impact on the visitor in the very first interaction. The KickStart Pro child theme is a third party theme, developed and supported by Lean Themes.
The mobile responsive theme is fully customizable (color, background images, content, etc.), and allows you to see the changes in real-time.
The Kick Start Pro theme comes with 3 layout options for all the pages of your website, including the homepage. They are- the full-width and the sidebar (right and left) style. The three homepage layouts and 4 widgets areas and pre-built page templates provide you the complete flexibility to create a website of your choice and preferences.
This child theme comes with Google map support so that you can direct the visitors to trace and locate your office easily. The easy to customize price table, including its content button and features, etc enables you to promote your product packages easily. The full-screen background image option coupled with a captivating headline is a great feature to hook your audience and persuade them to read the rest of the page.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
2. Business Pro
If you are a creative agency, a service provider, or even a brick and mortar business, then this theme is apt for you.
Setting up an online store with this theme is a breeze. It comes with pre-built portfolio templates so that you can upload and showcase your projects and work. Along with the portfolio section, the theme also supports Woocommerce.
The hero section, that is above the fold section of the homepage, comes with a video background display to captivate the visitors in the very first few seconds they land on the website. The light overlay text allows you to describe your business, in brief. Finally, a CTA, that directs people to take the desired action.
Other important features of the theme include- custom page templates, pricing tables, FAQ sections, ability to put your products for sale, numerous icons that are responsive in nature, and customizable widgets.
The mobile responsive theme opens in every browser and device of different sizes perfectly well.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
3. Cafe Pro
Cafe Pro is a perfect theme option for a cafe business or a restaurant. The elegant theme with parallax effect helps you create a professional-looking website for your food business.
The theme comes with pre-built templates of the blog, archive and default, and landing pages. It allows full-screen background images so that you can feature tempting images of your popular cuisines on the website. The pricing table that comes with the site can also be used creatively to highlight popular dishes and deals on the homepage itself.
Like the rest of the Genesis child themes, cafe pro is also 100% mobile responsive, and there are 4 homepage widget areas that you can customize according to your brand. The home widget sections can be used to highlight all the important sections of the business.
With simple widgets, you can add contact information (address, phone, email, etc) on every page of the website.
Moreover, unlike many other themes, this theme comes with an after entry widget that allows you to add a CTA (such as newsletter signup box) at the end of every post or page without a single click.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
4. Academy Pro
If you are an online course creator, a membership site owner, a blogger, or an educational content marketer, then this theme is for you.
This theme is beautifully designed, and the homepage is divided into six sections. The hero section (above the fold) allows you to describe your business, add a video and CTA button along with the platforms you’ve been featured on.
The next section allows you to display multiple opt-ins to allow your visitors to subscribe to your list. The next section is for CTA, followed by testimonials. The 5th and 6th sections talk about the instructor and a footer section. This is the default structure. However, you can design your own.
The theme allows you to showcase your authority, convert more visitors into subscribers. If you want to sell digital products or services directly from your website, then the theme allows you to set up an online store as well. It supports woo commerce.
Academy Pro is fast loading, mobile responsive, and easy to navigate theme that allows you to build your authority online.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
5. Gallery Pro
Gallery Pro is a minimalist yet beautiful theme designed especially for businesses that need image-focused websites. Developed by a third party, Bloom Blog Shop, it is one of the most captivating themes on Studio Press.
You may feel it to be priced on a higher side as compared to the other themes in the same niche, but the features offered by the theme justifies the cost. Here’s what you get in this theme.
Its biggest value proposition lies in the design side. So, without flooding the page with widgets and other elements, it has what looks the best. Whether it is the hero image (that runs through the entire width of the screen) or the post that focuses on the image (so that you can share on Instagram, etc), all the features are so attractive.
The theme not just offers the winning combination of full-stretch gallery images, and outstanding typography but also numerous pages, layout, and customization options.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
6. Digital Pro
Digital Pro is another lightweight and fully responsive child theme by StudioPress. If you create digital products, then you need a website that supports your unique requirements and makes the process of selling online a cakewalk.
The layout of the theme is clean and simple. It is designed to get maximum conversions (in terms of email subscribers and sales). If that is what you’re looking for, then here’s your match.
As a digital product seller, you need several landing pages for a single product. The theme offers a custom landing page template to quickly design all the landing pages. The theme has dedicated support for WooCommerce so that you can sell your products easily.
The blog post page is also designed, keeping conversions in mind. The subhead below the title is provided to hook the reader and persuade him to read further. The page has a sidebar that features a subscription box and author profile to squeeze maximum subscribers.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
7. Hello! Pro
If you’re looking for a suitable platform to build your brand, start blogging, or even a business, then this is the theme.
This theme by a third party puts your name in the front and helps you create your brand. The subtle yet stylish theme is clean, modern, flexible, and beautiful.
Hello-Pro offers 6 custom page templates along with homepage and several widget areas. The homepage is designed to efficiently engage the website visitors and finally convert them into a subscriber with a suitable call-to-action button. You can feature your professional images, write bold statements, and smartly use content areas to make the best out of this theme.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
8. Mai Lifestyle Pro
If I was to recommend one theme for a blog irrespective of the niche, I would recommend this theme. Be it wellness, food, lifestyle, travel or any other niches, the theme goes with all.
The lean, clean and bright style of the theme is suitable for an audience of any demographics.
The theme comes with as many as 9 layouts for your pages. Apart from this, you can also create a custom page with the help of a customizer screen. The built-in banner option is available not only for the homepage but for all other pages of your site. The banner option allows you to create captivating headers with attractive images and intriguing headlines or call to action.
The section based homepage layout allows you to configure the homepage or any other page without having to bother about widgets. Simply insert a new section and manage it from within the page editor.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
9. Market Pro
Are you looking for a feminine theme that caters to moms or female entrepreneurs? It’s one of the best themes to sell jewelry, craft or artwork, or even clothes.
The homepage focuses on selling the products. It comprises of 9 widget areas that you can customize according to your requirements.
While the theme supports WooCommerce, the shop and products are featured throughout the website.
This Gutenberg optimized theme allows you to create content and make changes to block color pallets and fonts while using various blocks in the editor. With Gutenberg optimized themes, you can edit the pages in the editor, and at the same time check at the front-end how it looks.
The other important features of the theme include- responsive slider, email opt-in forms, and layout options.
The color and UI of the theme is perfect to allure the female audience and stand out as a brand.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
10. Fearless
As the name ‘Fearless’ suggests, it is a bold and modern theme primarily created for photography-related websites.
This stunning WordPress theme is powered by the Genesis Framework and has numerous tools and features to captivate the visitors in the first few seconds. The full-screen slide show tool in the theme allows you to feature your best images on the homepage, above the fold.
The theme supports the NextGEN gallery plugin so that you can choose from the different types and styles of gallery options. There are several layouts that you can choose from and decide how your images will be displayed on the screen. Some of the layouts are- the filmstrip, mosiac, lightbox, the masonry grid, etc.
The theme also supports the eCommerce functionality so that you can sell the photographs and receive payment through PayPal.
Price: $79.95
11. Magazine Pro
Are you a content-focused business like a blog or news or a magazine publication? If yes, then this is theme is the perfect match for your business. Other niches for which this theme can be suitable are affiliate marketing sites, review sites, content marketers, and online entrepreneurs.
The bog style homepage features your latest content in a glossy magazine look. The Magazine Pro theme is Gutenberg optimized, and this allows you to customize or combine the modules, having a single pallet of colors and font for the front and the backend, and launching landing pages in minutes.
It goes without saying that the theme is fully responsive, fast, and SEO-optimized. The short, clean, and latest HTML5 and CSS 3 codes make the theme suitable to work with any plugin or browser.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
12. Foodie
Foodie is another cuisine-focused theme, that can be used by restaurants, cafes, and food-blogging websites. Its minimalist and clean design, backed with powerful features, makes it one of the most flexible themes of Genesis.
The theme comes with the 3 homepage and 5 widget areas that give you the freedom of creating a site of your dreams. The multiple colors and typography options make the theme extremely flexible. The theme allows you to set up a shop section (supports WooCommerce) that allows you to sell your products or affiliate products.
The theme comes with a separate recipe archive page where your readers can go and find all the recipes in one place. Archiving a recipe is automatic and happens on its own every time you publish a new recipe post.
If Adsense is one of the ways of your earnings, then this theme is amongst the best Adsense-friendly themes out there.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
13. Monochrome Pro
If ease is your priority, then this is the theme for you. The theme focuses on monochromatic color, white spaces, and typography that helps you to turn the spotlight on your core message with clarity.
Monochrome is an open-source theme that allows you to import demo content and plugins and automatically create pages in no time.
This Gutenberg-friendly WordPress theme allows you to add multiple hero sections with featured images on the homepage. The homepage comprises of 4 widget areas- the hero section, services section, client logos, and the latest blog post area. You can customize the sections according to your needs.
Needless to say, the theme is mobile responsive, SEO-friendly, and works at lightning speed. It also supports eCommerce so that you can set up your shop and sell products and services from the website itself.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
14. Breakthrough Pro
This child theme is ideal for advertising and marketing agencies that need to demonstrate their creativity and work.
Its minimal and sleek design, coupled with breathtaking colors makes it stand out from the crowd. The theme comes with 9 widget areas and a widgetized sidebar to create a website of your choice. There are 3 layouts to choose from- Full-width, Content/Sidebars, and Sidebars/Content. For the posts, there is no sidebar option, and it is a one-pager only.
Its media and content focused layout, and bold heading makes the theme engaging and attractive. The eCommerce enabled theme allows you to add a shop to your website and sell products and services.
The Breakthrough Pro theme is Gutenberg optimized. That means you can integrate the pallets of beautiful colors and designs.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
15. Infinity Pro
If you are a digital business looking for a responsive and flexible theme, then your search ends here. The Infinity Pro is one of the most flexible StudioPress themes launched so far.
It comes with a whopping number of 13 widgets that you can customize to fit your business and brand. With the pre-built page templates, you can create your About, Contact, Blog, Post, and Category page without thinking what goes where. The lead generation page and landing page templates are sure to come in handy if you are planning to grow your email list.
The theme is WooComerce compatible for you to sell digital products and services easily. The theme is also Gutenberg compatible and lightweight, and therefore, loads quickly.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
16. Essence Pro
Essence Pro is yet another stunning and eye-catchy theme by StudioPress that can work well for health, wellness as well as lifestyle niches.
Catering to the rising demand in the magazine and lifestyle blogs, this theme was created, keeping in mind the requirement for multiple categories and opt-ins.
The theme allows you to select from the three layouts- full-width, sidebar/content, and content/sidebar. You can create your homepage with the 6 widget areas by customizing them according to your requirements. The bright, text-banner overlaying the dark image background highlights your message. The theme allows you to bring your categories, subscription box and featured post in the focus.
One more feature that comes in handy for bloggers and marketers is its footer opt-in section that you can place on the homepage and other pages to collect emails and grow your list.
The theme is Gutenberg and e-commerce compatible.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
17. Author Pro
Are you an author looking for a theme that allows you to display your published work in an organized manner? Then Author Pro could be the one. Its clean and intuitive design, enables its users to create a captivating website, without any hiccup.
The Author Pro child theme allows you to effortlessly showcase your published work, highlight your achievements, share your blog posts, and promote upcoming events like a book launch or signing. With its eCommerce support, your readers can easily browse through your books and buy from the website.
The theme comes with 5 widget areas that you can mix and match and create a homepage that fits your brand. The theme allows you to create a custom book page template where you can write the book’s description, price, and other important information.
This is also a Gutenberg-ready, SEO-optimized, and responsive theme.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
18. Studio Pro
Another feature-rich and slick portfolio WordPress theme that every creative agency must consider is the Studio Pro child theme. Studio Pro is an image-centric theme with colorful gradient overlay options.
The lightweight theme comes loaded with tons of features to showcase your work that stands out and looks attractive.
With a number of widget areas, you can create a homepage that caters to your creative needs. The theme allows you to upload an engaging video in the hero section with a colorful gradient overlay.
The Studio Pro child theme comes with a filterable masonry portfolio that is perfectly optimized for different screen sizes.
Other remarkable features of the theme are- several layout options, color schemes, widget pages, lightbox galleries, a masonry blog, eCommerce compatibility, and customizer options.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
19. Wellness Pro
Do you love talking about health, fitness, and wellbeing? If yes, then your thoughts can fuel your business. And for the website, there is no better option then the Wellness Pro child theme by Studio Press.
With simple typography and a clear layout, the theme looks great.
With 12 widget areas, you can choose the right ones at the right place and create your homepage. On the homepage, you can upload as many as three images coupled with the parallax effect. Apart from this, there are three layouts you can choose from- full-width, sidebar/content, content/sidebar.
The theme comes with two navigation menu options- after the header menu and the footer menu.
Light on features and functions, the theme is light in weight too and easy to load.
Needless to say, the theme is Gutenberg-ready and optimized for responsiveness and SEO.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
20. News Pro
Are you a publisher looking for a theme that can take the load of a content-heavy website? If yes, then the News Pro theme is built for you. The theme can support all your blog posts, as well as audio and video content. Its breathtaking design and simple navigation will make your website the go-to place for your visitors.
The theme comes with 5 color schemes and 6 layout options to choose from. To display your content beautifully, the homepage widget areas are created like- Home Top, Home Middle Right, Home Middle Left, and Home Bottom. With the detailed featured post widget of Genesis, you can add featured stories on the homepage.
To make it easier for the visitors to browse through a ton of content, there are two navigation bars- top and bottom.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
21. Executive Pro
Are you in service or skill-based business that needs a proper display of your work before anything else? Then the Executive Pro theme is the one that will best suit your purpose.
The key feature of this theme is its elegant layout and its ability to offer a premium experience to your clients and prospects to share your vision and objectives.
Executive Pro theme comes with four homepage widget areas to customize and make your own. On the homepage, you can add an image slider. You can choose a good image slider plugin to add image slider in any widget area.
Another striking feature of this theme is the After Entry widget. This feature is not available in all the themes and allows you to add a message or other useful content in all your posts or pages automatically, without any manual intervention.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
22. Workstation Pro
Some businesses need to show and not tell, right? Whether you are an independent designer, developer, marketer, or an agency providing such services, this theme is a great option.
The easy to set up theme gets you going in minutes. The theme uses large, dramatic images and elegant typography throughout the homepage making it attractive and engaging.
With the 4 widget areas, you can style your homepage according to your preferences. It also enables you to up-sell and cross-sell without any inconvenience.
The Workstation child theme is pre-styled for WoCommerce, which makes it easy for you to set up your store, add a product description, and track the purchase behavior of your customers.
This is another theme that comes with the after entry widget. Without this feature, you’d have to add the desired message (like a subscription box or CTA) after each post manually.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
23. Refined Pro
Are you an entrepreneur who wants to create a brand that stands out from the crowd, and at the same time, create an impactful online presence? If your audience resonates with feminine and pastel colors, then this could be the theme you had always been looking for.
The Refined Pro child theme is a third party theme created by the developer Lauren at Restored 316 Designs. This timeless classic theme has a luxury look and feel and comes at an affordable price.
With its 6 flexible widget areas, you can create a homepage that features everything your visitors should know in the first interaction. The theme is compatible with WooComerce and lets you create a full-fledged shop or simply add selected products to your blog. The theme comes with multiple options to add the menu to your site.
Another great thing about this theme is that it comes with its own Pinterest template and an email signup form that integrates well with your website.
Price: $129.95 (including Genesis Framework)
24. Parallax Pro
Do you know what is that one thing that the human mind is wired to get attracted to? It’s stories. This is exactly what the Parallax Pro child theme does. The different parts of the content are connected in a story like fashion persuading the audience to read further down the page and hear your story.
The parallax effect means the background image keeps moving as you scroll down. On the homepage, you can use your custom background image and use the 5 widget areas to create a customized page for yourself.
The inner pages of the theme have a clean layout and enough white space for the reader to easily focus on the main content. The theme is pre-styled for WoCommerce, which makes it easy for you to set up your store, add a product description, and track the purchase behavior of your customers.
It is a perfect theme for businesses, agencies, and freelancers who want a persuasive website that leads the visitors through a meaningful story to the desired call to action in the end.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
25. Aspire Pro
If you’re an entrepreneur or a business planning to up your game, then Aspire Pro is the best choice. Its high high-impact design turns the spotlight on your core offering and highlights it.
The Aspire Pro is a third party theme, created by Appfinite. Whether you are a freelancer or an entrepreneur, the theme comes with numerous functionalities so that you do not need any other plugin.
The customizable homepage comes with a number of widget areas for you to mix and match. The Aspire Pro theme allows you to create a separate portfolio section and linking it with the main navigation menu.
Another distinguishing feature of this theme is the custom image background in the header section. This feature comes handy when you are the face of your company and trying to make a connection with your audience in the first instance.
The Gutenberg ready theme is also light in weight and SEO optimized.
Price: $99.95 (including Genesis Framework)
Wrapping Up
There, you’ve got it, 25 best Genesis child themes. There are plenty of other Genesis child themes that are great, but these are my picks.
When you’re deciding the theme for your website I would suggest, spending some time before taking a final call. There are several child themes for every niche. Every theme has built-in colors and layout options. The more close the template is to the website of your dreams, the lesser are the number of customizations and efforts required.
If you wish to use the Genesis child theme on your website, then you can either go for the StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package or choose an individual theme. In the all-theme package, you get instant access and support for all the StudioPress themes for 1 year along with the framework. With the individual theme option, you get access to the child theme and also the framework.
Which one are you using right now? Are you considering changing your theme? If yes, did you like anyone from the list? Let us know in the comments section.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Genesis Framework?
When you create a website on WordPress, you need a theme. A theme is required to control various design aspects of a website like font, layout, and the overall look of the site. Not only does a theme allow you to create a beautiful website within minutes, but it also enables you to do so without having to write any code.
Genesis Framework is essentially a WordPress theme. You can think of it as the basic frame and body of a car. Unlike a regular WordPress theme that can be used independently, a genesis framework needs a child theme.
What is a child theme?
A child theme comes on the top of the Genesis Framework.
You can think of it as the fancy color sheet of your choice on the car and the WordPress as the engine of the car.
What are the benefits of having a child theme?
The child theme can override the style and functions of the parent theme (the Genesis Framework here).
Having a child theme above the parent allows you to make customizations and tweaks in the child theme so that when you upgrade the Genesis framework, all your customizations are safe.
With a child theme, you retain the CSS even after the theme is updated. So, it saves any code that you have added or the changes made to the functions.php file.
If you are a developer then having a child’s theme can speed up your process of creating websites for your clients by simply copying and pasting the child theme’s files.
Should I use the Genesis Framework?
The Genesis Framework allows you to update your theme easily. It is more secure especially if your site goes through a lot of customization.
Is a child theme necessary?
Having a child theme is always recommended and is the best practice when it comes to modifying or customizing a theme.
But in some cases, you may not need a child theme if you have no plans to-
- Edit the theme’s PHP templates
- Edit the theme’s function.php.file
- Edit the theme’s CSS stylesheet or
- Change or modify the theme’s assets in the theme folder, including images and javascript files.
Can I use the theme on multiple sites?
Absolutely.
After the purchase, you can use the theme on as many websites you want. There is no restriction on the number of websites for which you can use the theme or the time period.
Do I need to purchase the Genesis Framework also?
Yes.
Genesis Framework comes with the individual theme that you purchase from StudioPress. In case you decide to buy from a third-party website, then the framework needs to be purchased separately.
Is Genesis Framework fast and responsive?
Genesis powered themes are lightweight in code, so they load quickly.
Not just that, they are mobile responsive, supports schema.org (required for rich snippets) and have built-in SEO.
How much does the Genesis Framework costs?
The Genesis Framework along with one child theme costs somewhere around $99.95 to $129.95. However, if you’re planning to go for the framework alone then it costs $59.95. In that case, you can purchase the child theme separately.