If you searched "Total WordPress theme," you've probably run into WPExplorer's flagship multipurpose theme somewhere — an agency's site, a dental practice, a hotel booking page. It's a long-standing name in the premium theme market, and our data shows it's still one of the fifty most used themes we track. That's real staying power in a market where most themes fade within a couple of years.
What it actually is
Total is a premium multipurpose theme sold on the Envato marketplace rather than given away on WordPress.org, so there's no free version to test-drive beyond a demo. WPExplorer has maintained it since we started tracking it back in 2018, which makes it a long-established product rather than a fad. Under the hood it wraps WPBakery Page Builder — the plugin most developers know by its slug, js_composer — with its own layer of theme options: a visual header builder, dozens of pre-styled elements, and a large template library. The author bills it simply as a "Premium Multi-purpose WordPress Theme," which undersells how much of the experience actually runs through that builder rather than the native block editor.
Who's actually running it
Studying the sites running Total, the pattern is a mild lean rather than a hard niche. Agencies and marketing shops show up most, but nonprofits, medical and dental practices, schools, law firms, and hotels all appear in meaningful numbers too. It's a theme people reach for when they need one flexible tool for a services-type site, not a specialist for any one industry. English-language sites lead, with a strong showing of German and Dutch installs — a sign the theme has real traction with European freelancers and small agencies, not just US ones.
What it does well
The main draw is that WPBakery lets non-developers assemble page layouts row by row without touching code, and Total adds enough theme-level settings on top that agencies can reuse it across very different client briefs. Because so many small studios have standardized on it, there's a deep well of demo layouts to start from. WooCommerce shows up often enough among sites running Total to call it a genuine store option, not an afterthought. And being a one-time Envato purchase rather than a subscription still appeals to freelancers who'd rather not add another monthly line item.
Where it costs you
WPBakery is an older builder technology, and it shows. A number of sites running Total also run Elementor — a sign that owners are bolting on a newer builder rather than rebuilding from scratch. The plugin stack that tends to travel with Total (js_composer, Revolution Slider, its own total-theme-core plugin) adds up, and older installs we see carrying all three tend to run heavier than they need to; a caching plugin often becomes a workaround rather than a choice. There's also no free child-theme ecosystem to borrow from, and updates depend on keeping a valid Envato license active.
If Total isn't the fit
If you want the native block editor instead of a legacy builder, Twenty Twenty-Two is the free, WordPress-team-maintained default and a safer long-term bet for a content site. For a simple blog, older but lighter, Twenty Fifteen still does the job without the builder overhead. Building a store first and foremost? Storefront was built around WooCommerce from day one and skips the page-builder layer entirely. WPExplorer itself also sells smaller, lighter themes — Pytheas for portfolios and Adapt for blogging — if you like the shop but not the bulk.
Questions worth answering first
Is Total free?
No. It's sold on the Envato marketplace as a one-time purchase, with continued updates tied to a valid license — unlike free WordPress.org themes.
What page builder does Total use?
It's built around WPBakery Page Builder (js_composer) rather than the native block editor, though a fair number of site owners running Total have added Elementor on top.
Is Total good for a WooCommerce store?
It handles WooCommerce reasonably well and shows up alongside it often, but a store-specific theme like Storefront needs less setup if selling is the whole point of the site.
Where that leaves you
Total fits a freelancer or small agency that needs one flexible theme to cover very different client briefs without paying for a builder subscription on top. It's a poor choice if you want a fast, block-editor-native build, or if you'd rather avoid maintaining a WPBakery-plus-Revolution-Slider stack over the years. For a single content-focused blog or a store-only project, the free alternatives above will likely serve you better and age more gracefully.
Last updated 2026-11-04
