OceanWP Review: The Ultimate WordPress Theme

If you’re in the process of building a WordPress website, one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make is selecting the right theme. The theme dictates not just the aesthetics of your site but also its functionality, speed, and user experience.

Among the many available WordPress themes, OceanWP has carved a niche for itself as one of the most popular and versatile options. With over 700,000 active installs, OceanWP is a feature-rich, highly customizable, and beginner-friendly theme that caters to various niches, from blogs and portfolios to eCommerce stores and business websites.

In this comprehensive review, we will dive deep into OceanWP key features, performance, pricing, and suitability for different types of users.

By the end of this review, you’ll know whether OceanWP is the right theme for your next WordPress project.

1. What is OceanWP?

OceanWP is a highly customizable, multipurpose WordPress theme created by Nicolas Lecocq. Released in 2016, it has grown into one of the most popular WordPress themes, thanks to its flexibility, extensive features, and performance.

OceanWP is designed to work seamlessly with page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, and others, making it an excellent choice for users who want total control over the appearance and functionality of their site without needing coding expertise.

Whether you’re building a simple blog, a portfolio website, or a full-fledged eCommerce store, OceanWP has you covered with its comprehensive suite of features and extensions.

2. Why Choose OceanWP?

OceanWP stands out from the crowd for several reasons, but the most compelling is its balance of ease of use, customizability, and performance.

Unlike some other themes that might be beginner-friendly but limited in features, or advanced but hard to navigate, OceanWP strikes the right balance. You get:

• Ease of use: Perfect for beginners.
• Customization: Ideal for developers and advanced users who want control over every aspect of their website.
• Speed: It’s designed with performance in mind, ensuring your website loads quickly.

Its combination of free and premium features, along with the ability to integrate with a wide range of WordPress plugins, ensures that it caters to a broad audience.

3. Key Features of OceanWP

Let’s dive into the standout features that make OceanWP one of the most powerful and flexible WordPress themes available today.

Lightweight and Fast

One of the primary selling points of OceanWP is its lightweight nature. The theme is optimized for performance right out of the box, meaning that it won’t bog down your website with unnecessary bloat. This makes it an excellent choice for users looking to improve their website speed and ensure a smooth user experience.

Full Responsiveness

In today mobile-first world, having a fully responsive website is a must. OceanWP is 100% responsive, meaning your website will look and function perfectly on any device, whether it’s a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. This responsiveness is critical for SEO and ensuring that mobile visitors have a great experience.

eCommerce Integration

If you’re running or planning to run an eCommerce website, OceanWP is fully compatible with WooCommerce, the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. OceanWP offers special WooCommerce-specific features, including:

• Customizable checkout pages.
• Shopping cart pop-ups.
• Product quick views.
• A floating add-to-cart bar.

These WooCommerce integrations make OceanWP an ideal theme for building a seamless online store that converts visitors into customers.

Advanced Theme Customization

OceanWP offers extensive customization options, even in its free version. The built-in WordPress customizer lets you tweak almost every aspect of your site, including:

• Layouts.
• Colors.
• Typography.
• Header and footer styles.
• Background images.

You can also control page-specific settings, allowing you to create custom layouts and designs for different pages on your website.

SEO-Friendly Features

OceanWP is built with SEO best practices in mind. The code is clean and well-optimized, ensuring fast loading times, which is crucial for search engine ranking. Additionally, OceanWP is compatible with popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack, making it easier to optimize your site for search engines.

Pre-Made Demos

One of the standout features of OceanWP is the availability of pre-made demo sites. These demos are fully customizable and cover a wide range of niches, from business websites and blogs to portfolios and online stores. With a single click, you can import a demo and have a fully functional website up and running in minutes.

Integration with Page Builders

OceanWP is compatible with all major WordPress page builders, including Elementor, Beaver Builder, WPBakery, and Divi. This integration gives users the freedom to create custom page layouts and designs without needing to write any code. The combination of OceanWP and a page builder like Elementor allows for virtually unlimited design possibilities.

4. OceanWP Extensions and Add-ons

OceanWP offers a range of free and premium extensions that extend the functionality of the theme. Some popular extensions include:

• Sticky Header: Allows you to keep the header visible as users scroll down the page.
• Ocean Extra: Adds custom meta boxes, extra widgets, and post/page customization options.
• White Label: Perfect for developers who want to rebrand the theme for client projects.
• Cookie Notice: A built-in feature to help you comply with GDPR by displaying cookie notices.

These extensions provide a modular approach to adding functionality, meaning you only need to activate the features you need, keeping your website lightweight and fast.

5. OceanWP Pricing: Free vs Premium

OceanWP offers a free version, which is packed with a generous range of features and customization options. However, to unlock its full potential, you may want to consider upgrading to one of the premium plans. Here is a breakdown of what each offers:

Free Version:

• Extensive theme customization.
• Integration with WooCommerce.
• Full responsiveness and SEO-ready.
• Compatibility with page builders.

Premium Version:

• Access to all premium extensions (e.g., sticky header, popup login, Instagram feed).
• Additional pre-made demo sites.
• Premium customer support.
• Priority updates.

OceanWP premium version starts at $54 per year for a single site, with plans available for up to 50 sites at $129 per year. The premium version is ideal for users who need advanced features or are building multiple websites.

6. Setting Up OceanWP: A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up OceanWP is straightforward and beginner-friendly. Here’s a basic step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Install and Activate the Theme: Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Appearance” > “Themes,” search for OceanWP, and click “Install” and then “Activate.”
2. Install Ocean Extra: After activating the theme, you’ll be prompted to install the Ocean Extra plugin. This plugin unlocks additional customization options and features.
3. Customize Your Site: Go to “Appearance” > “Customize” to access the WordPress Customizer. From here, you can adjust the layout, typography, colors, and more.
4. Import a Demo: If you want to use one of OceanWP pre-made demos, install the Ocean Demo Import plugin. Navigate to the Demo Importer and choose a demo to import.
5. Fine-Tune Your Design: Once the demo is imported, you can customize the pages, add content, and make design tweaks using the page builder of your choice.

7. OceanWP Performance and Speed

Website performance is a major factor in user experience and SEO. OceanWP is designed with performance in mind, ensuring that your website loads quickly. This is achieved through:

• Lightweight code: The theme is streamlined to avoid unnecessary bloat.
• Optimized for speed: Out-of-the-box performance is excellent, and it integrates seamlessly with caching and performance optimization plugins like WP Rocket and W3 Total Cache.
• Lazy loading: Helps to defer offscreen images, further enhancing loading times.

In tests, OceanWP consistently ranks among the fastest WordPress themes, making it a great choice for users who prioritize speed.

8. OceanWP Customization Options and User Experience

One of OceanWP strongest selling points is its customization capabilities. Even without touching a line of code, users can modify nearly every aspect of their site.

OceanWP is compatible with the WordPress Customizer, so all changes can be previewed live before being published.

Typography and Colors

You have full control over the typography and color scheme, with options for changing fonts, font sizes, line heights, and more. This flexibility allows you to create a unique look and feel that aligns with your brand.

Header and Footer Options

OceanWP allows you to create and customize headers and footers to suit your site design. You can choose between different header styles (e.g., transparent, sticky, top bar) and customize them with different widgets and menus.

Custom Layouts

OceanWP lets you set custom layouts for individual pages or posts. You can choose from a full-width layout, boxed layout, or one with a sidebar. This is perfect for creating landing pages or unique content layouts.

9. OceanWP for eCommerce and WooCommerce Stores

OceanWP shines when it comes to building WooCommerce websites. The theme offers a wide range of features designed specifically for online stores, including:

• Customizable checkout pages.
• Product quick views.
• Floating add-to-cart bars.
• Product filters and infinite scrolling for easy navigation.
• Sales countdown timers to create urgency.

With these eCommerce-focused features, OceanWP makes it easy to create a professional and conversion-optimized online store without hiring a developer.

10. SEO Benefits of OceanWP

OceanWP is designed with SEO best practices in mind. Here’s how it can help improve your site search engine rankings:

• Clean code: OceanWP code is well-organized, ensuring fast load times and better search engine indexing.
• Mobile-friendly design: With Google mobile-first indexing, having a responsive website is crucial for SEO. OceanWP ensures your site looks great and functions smoothly on mobile devices.
• SEO plugin compatibility: OceanWP works well with popular SEO plugins like SEOPRESS and Rank Math, making it easier to optimize your content for search engines.

11. How OceanWP Compares to Other WordPress Themes

OceanWP is not the only versatile WordPress theme out there. Let’s compare it with some other popular themes:

Astra

Astra is a lightweight, performance-optimized theme similar to OceanWP. While Astra is slightly faster, OceanWP offers more out-of-the-box customization options, making it better for users who want greater control over their site design.

GeneratePress

GeneratePress is known for its speed and simplicity. It’s ideal for developers who want to build a site from scratch. However, OceanWP offers more features and WooCommerce support, making it a better choice for eCommerce sites.

Neve

Neve is another fast and lightweight theme designed for page builders. While Neve is a strong competitor, OceanWP offers more WooCommerce-specific features and better customization options for advanced users.

12. Who Should Use OceanWP?

OceanWP is ideal for:

• Beginners who need a simple, intuitive theme with lots of customization options.
• Freelancers and agencies who build websites for clients and need flexibility.
• eCommerce store owners who want WooCommerce-specific features to enhance their online store.
• Developers looking for a lightweight, extendable theme that can be customized with code.

13. Customer Support and Documentation

OceanWP offers excellent customer support through multiple channels, including email support for premium users and a well-documented knowledge base. Free users have access to community forums, which are active and well-maintained.

In addition, there are extensive video tutorials and documentation available, making it easy for users to find answers to common questions.

14. Pros and Cons of OceanWP

Pros:

• Highly customizable with lots of theme options.
• Free version is feature-rich and suitable for most users.
• Great performance and speed out of the box.
• Extensive WooCommerce integration for online stores.
• Compatible with all major page builders.

Cons:

• Some premium extensions are needed for advanced customization.
• Can be overwhelming for beginners due to the vast number of options.
• The free version lacks priority support.

15. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is OceanWP free?

Yes, OceanWP offers a free version with many features. A premium version is available for advanced users and includes more extensions and premium support.

2. Is OceanWP good for WooCommerce?

Yes, OceanWP is one of the best themes for WooCommerce, offering specialized features for building a robust online store.

3. Can I use OceanWP with page builders like Elementor?

Yes, OceanWP integrates seamlessly with popular page builders, including Elementor, Beaver Builder, and WPBakery.

4. Does OceanWP support custom post types?

Yes, OceanWP supports custom post types, making it flexible for any kind of website, from blogs to portfolios and online stores.

5. Is OceanWP SEO-friendly?

Yes, OceanWP is designed with clean code, fast loading times, and full responsiveness, all of which contribute to better SEO performance.

6. How many websites can I use OceanWP on?

The free version can be used on unlimited sites, but the premium version has different plans based on the number of sites (1, 3, or 50).

16. Conclusion: Is OceanWP Worth It?

In conclusion, OceanWP is one of the best multipurpose WordPress themes available today. It offers a perfect balance of customization, performance, and ease of use, making it suitable for a wide variety of websites, from personal blogs and portfolios to large eCommerce stores.

The free version provides more than enough features for most users, while the premium extensions add even more power and flexibility for advanced users.

If you’re looking for a theme that’s fast, responsive, SEO-friendly, and integrates seamlessly with popular plugins like WooCommerce and Elementor, OceanWP is definitely worth considering for your next WordPress project.