With its unmatched flexibility and customization options, it’s no surprise that WordPress powers over 43% of the internet. Whether you’re crafting a personal blog, an ecommerce business, or a platform for your creative agency, WordPress offers the tools to bring your vision to life.
But let’s be real: the journey from a blank page to a jaw-dropping website can feel overwhelming. What theme should you use? What layout will wow your audience? How do you ensure your site runs like a well-oiled machine?
Sometimes, all you need is a spark of inspiration to set the wheels in motion. That’s why this post explores 10 inspiring WordPress websites from categories like ecommerce, blogs, news platforms, agencies, and more. Get ready to dive into the future of web design with WordPress!
Key points
- WordPress is one of the ultimate platforms for building websites that combine functionality, scalability, and aesthetic appeal. With thousands of themes, plugins, and customization options, it caters to everything from personal blogs to enterprise-level platforms.
- Exceptional examples like Nalgene, TechCrunch, and Sony Music demonstrate how WordPress enables stunning designs across industries – whether for ecommerce, news platforms, nonprofits, or agencies.
- Speed, mobile-first design, clear navigation, engaging visuals, and optimized CTAs are critical design elements that capture attention and drive user engagement. These features ensure a smooth, professional, and memorable user experience.
- Reliable hosting, such as Liquid Web’s managed hosting for WordPress, enhances site speed, uptime, and scalability, ensuring your site performs at its best even under high traffic loads.
10 inspiring WordPress websites in 2025
Ecommerce WordPress website examples
1. Nalgene
Nalgene uses WordPress to create a shopping experience that’s sleek and intuitive. With a focus on their iconic reusable water bottles, the site combines vibrant product imagery with easy navigation, making it easy to browse, customize, and purchase.
✨The site’s standout feature is the product customization tool, which allows users to personalize their bottles by choosing colors and cap designs. It’s responsive and visually engaging, enabling customers to see real-time previews of their custom bottles. A plugin like IconicWP can help power variations like this on your own website.
2. Stroopwafels
Stroopwafels’ website is a stellar example of how WordPress can elevate an ecommerce site to evoke emotions and tell a story. The homepage features high-quality images of their stroopwafels paired with cozy elements like steaming cups of coffee or scenic kitchen backdrops. This combination instantly transports visitors into a warm, inviting atmosphere, aligning perfectly with the comfort their product provides.
The color palette – dominated by brown, gold, and caramel hues – reflects the product itself, making the site feel cohesive and appetizing. And the navigation bar is minimalistic yet comprehensive. It directs users to essential areas like “Shop,” “Our Story,” and “Recipes.” This simplicity avoids overwhelming the user while ensuring all key touchpoints are easily accessible.
✨The site’s standout feature is its ability to balance visually rich content with high performance.
3. Porter & York
Porter & York make buying premium cuts of meat online feel personal, with detailed product descriptions and easy-to-use ordering features:
- The navigation and layout ensure that visitors can easily find, explore, and purchase products without friction.
- Products are grouped into intuitive categories (e.g., beef, poultry, seafood), making browsing simple for new customers.
- The “quick-add” feature enables shoppers to select products directly from category pages, reducing the steps to checkout.
- Users can easily select portion sizes and delivery frequency for bulk orders or subscriptions.
✨The site’s standout feature is its responsive design that’s optimized for both desktop and mobile users, providing an intuitive and enjoyable user experience.
News, magazine, and blog WordPress website examples
4. Microsoft News
Microsoft News uses WordPress to create a professional-grade news hub that balances corporate messaging with audience engagement. It takes on a minimalistic design ethos that places the focus squarely on content. This design philosophy is intentional, removing distractions and ensuring that the stories and messages take center stage.
The generous use of white space improves readability and lends a sense of calm professionalism to the site, reflecting Microsoft’s identity as an industry leader. Even the font choices are clean and legible, with subtle variations in size and weight to establish a clear hierarchy of information. Headlines are bold and authoritative, while body text is understated yet approachable.
✨The site’s standout feature is that it blends multimedia elements – like videos, infographics, and photography – into compelling narratives. By doing so, it transforms corporate news into an engaging, visually rich experience that appeals to both industry professionals and general audiences.
5. TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a powerhouse in tech journalism, and its website is a testament to how WordPress can handle large-scale, content-rich platforms with high traffic volumes. The site employs a design that prioritizes content without sacrificing visual appeal.
The homepage and article pages use a grid-based structure, ensuring that headlines, images, and text blocks are well-organized and easy to scan. This modular approach is particularly effective for platforms publishing high volumes of daily content. And despite the sheer density of content, the site’s strategic use of white (or green) space ensures that the design doesn’t feel cluttered. This enhances readability and creates a more pleasant user experience.
✨The site’s standout feature is its capability to handle immense traffic volumes without compromising user experience – a testament to the strength of WordPress when paired with advanced hosting and optimization techniques.
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Entertainment business WordPress website examples
6. Sony Music
Sony Music’s website is designed to highlight its extensive roster of artists while maintaining a clean, modern aesthetic. The homepage greets visitors with bold, full-screen visuals and videos that showcase featured artists, album releases, or events. It also incorporates subtle animations and hover effects to add a layer of interactivity to the design, keeping the user engaged without overwhelming them.
✨The site’s standout feature is showcasing how WordPress can be scaled and customized to serve a global entertainment giant.
Health and wellness WordPress website examples
7. Skinnytaste
As one of the top recipe blogs, Skinnytaste uses WordPress to create an inviting and highly functional site. With easy-to-search recipes and stunning food photography, it’s the perfect blend of inspiration and utility.
Recipes are presented with large, high-resolution images that immediately grab attention. Titles are bold and easy to read, while ingredient lists and instructions are formatted for quick scanning. Users can search for recipes based on dietary needs (e.g., gluten-free, vegetarian, keto), ingredients, or meal types (breakfast, lunch, dinner). These filters make it incredibly easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.
✨The site’s standout feature is its recipe cards with features like serving adjustments, calorie counters, and integrated timers to make the cooking process as smooth as possible. These cards are visually appealing and highly functional, catering to both novice and experienced cooks.
Educational institution WordPress website examples
8. Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School’s website demonstrates how WordPress can power an institutional site that balances tradition with modern functionality. Designed to serve students, faculty, alumni, and prospective applicants, the site is a hub for academic resources, event updates, and institutional information. It blends traditional typography with a contemporary layout. Serif fonts evoke the institution’s academic legacy, while clean lines and grids bring a modern feel.
✨The site’s standout feature is its proficiency in providing tailored dashboards, academic resources, and secure access to tools so that students, faculty, and alumni have everything they need at their fingertips.
Non-profit WordPress website examples
9. WithinReach
WithinReach is a nonprofit organization focused on connecting Washington residents with essential health and social services. Its website is a prime example of how WordPress can empower nonprofits to create a mission-driven, user-friendly, and resource-rich platform. Created with empathy and accessibility in mind, the site effectively communicates the organization’s purpose while guiding users to the support they need.
The design uses a palette of calming blues and greens, creating a sense of trust and approachability. Vibrant accent colors draw attention to key calls-to-action (CTAs) like “Find Resources” or “Donate Now”. The homepage prominently features a hero banner with short, action-driven phrases paired with direct links to core resources.
✨The site’s standout feature is its adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), incorporating features like high-contrast text and keyboard navigation.
Agency WordPress website examples
10. Omnicom Group
As a global marketing agency, Omnicom Group uses WordPress to maintain a sleek, corporate aesthetic that communicates professionalism and authority. Built on WordPress, the site serves as a hub for investors, clients, and employees with its sleek design, reliable functionality, and focus on storytelling.
✨The site’s standout feature is its ability to effortlessly handle the complexities of a multinational organization without compromising design or functionality.
These ten websites are proof that with WordPress, the possibilities are endless. Whether your goal is to sell products, share stories, or build community connections, WordPress has the tools to make it happen – and then some.
Design elements that capture attention
As you’ve seen in the examples above, the best WordPress websites prioritize speed, usability, and memorable design elements that keep users engaged and coming back. Here’s a breakdown of the key design elements that make these websites stand out:
Speed and performance
Because users expect websites to load almost instantly, speed is non-negotiable. A slow-loading website can lead to high bounce rates and diminished user satisfaction. Consider the following:
- Optimized hosting matters. Reliable hosting solutions, such as Liquid Web’s Managed WordPress Hosting, play an important role in delivering fast WordPress load times and near-perfect uptime.
- Plugins like WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache reduce page load times by caching content and compressing resources.
- By loading images only when they’re about to appear on-screen, websites can improve initial load times while maintaining visual richness.
💻 Pro tip: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to monitor and optimize your site’s performance regularly.
Mobile-first design
With mobile devices accounting for over half of global web traffic, a mobile-first approach is necessary. Websites must be fully responsive and offer a smooth experience on smaller screens by using:
- Responsive WordPress themes like Kadence and Astra, which adjust layouts dynamically for various screen sizes, ensuring content remains accessible and visually appealing.
- Touch-friendly navigation. Simplified menus and larger touch targets make navigation easy for mobile users.
Clear navigation
A website’s navigation is its roadmap. If users struggle to find what they need, they’ll leave – and likely won’t return. You can implement mega menus, which are particularly useful for ecommerce and large-scale websites, to organize categories and subcategories in a visually clear way.
Breadcrumb navigation also helps users understand their location within a website’s hierarchy, improving both usability and SEO. Along with this, sticky headers ensure that critical navigation tools are always within reach, improving user flow.
Engaging visuals
First impressions are critical. High-quality images, videos, and interactive elements draw users in and keep them interested. Consider incorporating:
- Bold hero banners with compelling imagery or video to immediately capture attention and set the tone for the site. Adding a strong call to action (CTA) within the hero section is a proven way to drive engagement.
- Parallax scrolling, which gives subtle depth effects as users scroll to create a dynamic, modern experience. Parallax features are particularly effective for storytelling or product showcase pages.
- Interactive infographics and animations to add engagement without overwhelming users.
Punchy text and optimized CTAs
Headlines should grab attention while communicating value quickly. Use language that is both approachable and impactful. Buttons like “Get Started”, “Shop Now”, or “Learn More” need to be placed prominently throughout the site and stand out with contrasting colors. Additionally, opt for modern, legible fonts with clear hierarchy between headings and body text.
Visual branding and color schemes
Consistency in branding fosters trust and memorability. A cohesive design identity reinforces your message and strengthens your audience’s connection with your brand. Select two to three main colors that reflect your brand’s identity and use them consistently across the site. You can also include accent colors to guide user attention.
Choose fonts that align with your brand’s personality, whether that’s professional, playful, or cutting-edge. Pair that with unique icons and visual elements to add personality and create a cohesive design language.
Start your WordPress journey with Liquid Web
The examples shared in this article highlight the power of WordPress to deliver creativity, functionality, and results. However, great design starts with a strong foundation. Without reliable WordPress hosting, even the most beautiful website can fall short.
That’s why choosing a provider like Liquid Web is a must. With plans for managed WordPress hosting designed for speed, security, and scalability, Liquid Web empowers you to build websites that captivate and perform.
“We just recently migrated around 35 websites to two dedicated servers at Liquid Web. The migration included a legacy WordPress multisite network. Our sites now run about 10X faster post-migration. Thanks!” – A Liquid Web verified customer.
Check out Liquid Web’s WordPress hosting plans and start your journey today – your site could be next on the list of inspiring designs!