23+ Best Free WordPress Resume Themes (with Videos)

Business cards and standard CVs have evolved to resume websites. A website is currently the top-notch solution for being found and selected for projects.

What should a resume theme include?

I. What matters most is the layout. It needs to be adaptable to the CV format you want to display on the webpage:

• Chronological resume – it usually includes the information below, in this order:

Contact information

Objective or summary statement

Professional experience

Relevant skills

Education

Additional information (i.e., volunteer work and special interests—optional)

• Functional resume – this CV type focuses more on skills and abilities than work history. It includes this information, in the order below:

Contact information

Objective or summary statement

Summary of relevant skills

Work experience

Education

Additional information (i.e., volunteer work and special interests)

• Combination resume – this is a mix between chronological resume and functional resume. The information in such a resume is listed as below:

Contact information

Objective or summary statement

Work experience

Summary of most relevant skills

Education.

II. Second, you need multiple options for fonts and font size. It will be useful for making the important text stand out in the page.

III. You need to consider options for:

Content width – the variants are either for a full-width (more modern look) or a boxed width design (more traditional aspect of the website);

Home page header design – here, you have multiple options for the home page header (static header image with no content, static header image with content, slideshow header with content, video background header);

Menu bar design – the options are to choose among a fixed position menu bar, a top horizontal menu bar, side vertical menu bar, bottom horizontal menu bar

Custom sections – you should choose a theme where website sections can be customized from scratch. This way, you can give those sections exactly the appearance you want. However, you need an eye for design, to match that section design into the overall appearance of the website.

Some additional specificities for this niche:

• The theme should have an option for downloading the CV in .doc or .pdf format.
• You should have options for contact information, that needs to be placed above the fold (recommendable), for users to notice this information.

What makes the difference between a good resume website and a standard resume website?

To stand out, a resume website needs to include all the necessary information, plus bonus tips that get you noticed.

The design style should be proving skills and abilities through itself (e.g. for a web designer – a beautiful site presentation, for SEO specialists – an easy way to find website, etc.)

What is more, a resume website might also display testimonials, that approach the presentation to that of a business people really need.

We’ll walk you through 25 themes based on this type of selection:

1. Mesmerize

Mesmerize – Short Overview Video from Extend Themes on Vimeo.

Mesmerize is one of the most popular themes you can use for building a resume website. It’s flexible, and it has many options that help you give shape to a presentation that best describes you as a professional.

Besides the default options, it has features that turn a simple site into your own site and give it personality to the smallest detail.

Features to minutely customize your website:

• Customize page title, subtitle, motto, buttons, header;
• Typography, as an important element for a resume website, has more than 20 options in the Customizer (each concerning a particular text item in the website);
• A good first impression matters a lot. For the header, you have options to customize header logo, menu. All with the purpose to hook the readers and drive their attention to what’s most important: your professional excellence;
• A little bit unconventional, but noteworthy, the options for blog give a chance to constantly contributing to your online professional presentation. The blog adds new elements to your message, with every new post. So, it’s worth considering it.

2. Astra

Astra is another popular theme, with many active installations and a lot of 5-star reviews. Using this theme doesn’t require much technical knowledge; it allows you to build a beautiful site by following just a few simple steps:

• Choose the layout for your resume website. It might be a key differentiator in presenting information to readers. The layout can be adjusted independently for the Header, Blog, Sidebar, Footer and Container.
• The typography has multiple options, regarding text in the Header, the body of the pages, and blog.
• Especially valuable for SEO, the theme comes with Schema.org code integrated, so your resume has higher chances to ramp up in search engine results pages.
• An advantage of choosing Astra: the theme is Native AMP (AMP = Accelerated Mobile Pages), which makes the website pages load faster on mobile devices than they normally would.

3. OceanWP

OceanWP is a flexible theme that helps you create and customize your resume website as you want.

Here are some of the features:

• Customize page title, pagination, theme buttons, enable scroll to top and have a custom 404 error page;
• You have a whole subsection to customize theme buttons
• You can customize the 404 error page
• For longer pages, you have the option to enable scroll to top
• The theme allows for a good UX design, as its options concern optimal placement of items in a page, and a good user experience on the site.

4. One Page Express

One Page Express has a considerable number of active installs, and it’s appreciated by current users. As its name says, the theme is fit for one-page websites, which need all the features that turn a blank page into an unmissable online resume. And One Page Express has those features.

One Page Express options:

• You can apply one of the presets for the website Header. They are varied so as to help you start building your resume website from a design and color scheme that best match your presentation style.
• Regarding the body of the page, you can start by choosing predefined blocks, and customize them according to the preferred resume presentation.
• You have only one page to focus readers’ attention to your skills and abilities. And you have plenty of options to make that page unique and really memorable.

5. Orfeo

Orfeo ranks in the top themes suitable for resume websites, according to the quality criteria we took into account. It is a multipurpose theme valuable for multiple options that make it flexible and adaptable to any design of a resume website.

Options in the Orfeo theme:

• You can customize the frontpage sections to your liking. This means you can make changes to the big title section, the about section (which is of utmost importance in case of a resume website), the contact section (also, an essential section that makes it possible for clients and employers to get in touch with you), a blog section (if you want to add one, and take the resume website to a higher level);
• For the Header, you can choose one of the available layouts, and place content in the most effective way for your resume.

6. Materialis

Materialis – Short Overview Video from CloudPress on Vimeo.

Materialis is more professionally oriented, which makes it perfect for a resume website that “speaks” convincingly about your skills and abilities. You can take the flexibility of such a multi-purpose theme and benefit from the ready-made sections suited for a resume website, which will result in a good website that serves you well as your online resume.

Predefined sections for a good resume not started from zero:

• About sections – these are suited for a functional CV, where you start the presentation with a quick intro about yourself and what represents you as a professional;
• Content sections – these are to be filled with details about your skills and abilities, and any other relevant information describing your activity in the area you’re specialized for;
• Portfolio sections – to prove your experience and results for projects you’ve been working for, it’s a must to include a portfolio section. It’s your best chance to be persuasive and demonstrate with projects what you’re apt for;
• Testimonials sections – who can say it better than former employers/clients? Insert a testimonial section into your resume website and get credibility;
• Contact sections – this is vital for your website. Make the contact section as visible as possible in your resume, and you’ll have great chances to speak with your future employer/client soon.

7. Highlight

Highlight from CloudPress on Vimeo.

Highlight is an elegant theme you can successfully use for building your resume website. But it won’t be a simple resume, it will be your best asset that recommends you for the job or collaboration you need. It will create a business-like presentation, which drives you one step further to getting the job/project you want.

Highlight features to highlight resumes:

• Typography options for all types of text. You can select one of the available web fonts or add a new font that you like and find appropriate for your presentation.
• Customizations for the Hero, both in the homepage and inner pages. Background and content, customized title, subtitle, motto, and buttons will make a difference, if you appropriately make the selections.
• Overlappable sections are content sections indented into the Header. They’re good for unconventional display of your contact information, in a way that draws attention and maximizes chances for you to get the right job/project/collaboration.

8. Argent

Argent is especially created for portfolio and resume websites. Among theme options, there is one you’ll like most. It concerns settings for a portfolio section you’ll want to include in the front-page of your site.

Options for the portfolio section:

• You can give a catchy title to the section bringing to the front your successful projects
• You can select the number of projects you want to include in the portfolio section

The Argent theme has a small number of design options that can be configured, so it’s easy to build a resume website in no time, with few settings and great inspiration.

9. Ultra

Ultra is another theme we found fit for resume websites. To customize the website, you’ll only have to walk through all the different features in the left-hand menu of the Customizer, taking them one by one. At the end, you can go back to some settings and change them for an optimal final design of the website.

• Depending on the CV type you want to display, Ultra offers you options for both a full width and a boxed layout;
• It has a Retina logo option (a double sized version of your logo for use on high pixel density displays). It should be used in addition to a standard logo.
• It provides the option to create a Sticky Header, not only for desktop but also for mobile devices.

10. Author

This is a theme dedicated to resume websites for writers. They’ll be able to play with their messages and display them to their readers in catchy ways. Every word will count a lot for you to be noticed and find the collaboration you want as a writer.

• For building more than a resume website, that is a community around the author activity, you have options to provide links to all social networks where you’re present as an author. They will be links to live testimonials, constantly adding social proof for your work.
• As a writer, you might write a lot on the presentation page. To keep users on page and help them navigate through the information, you have the option to enable a scroll-to-top arrow.
• To bring the community on your site, you have options to display comments to posts and/or pages.

11. Idyllic

Idyllic is more than a resume theme. It is suited for an expanded presentation of your professional skills and abilities. A resume can be included in a portfolio website and all can be bookmarked by future collaborators/employers for immediate analysis.

Idyllic is a resume theme made to impress:

• You can place a video or an image as impressive intros for your resume website. They will give a modern look to an otherwise traditional aspect of a resume page;
• In terms of layout (major element to be considered for online resumes), there are plenty of options with Idyllic (layout options for the Header, layout for blog, overall design layout – with its variations: full width, boxed or small boxed layout);
• The theme comes with many options included in the page submitted to customization. That’s why you’ll also have specific Idyllic options to disable some of these default functionalities, in case you don’t need them (e.g. disable slider button, disable stick menu, disable go to top, disable WOW effect, etc.)
• The front-page (which is the most important page in the resume website), can be customized for each section independently.

12. Excellent

Excellent is an inspired choice for your resume website. It starts with a major advantage as compared to other themes: it is ultra-responsive, which Google bots appreciate. Hence, great chances that the website rises on top of search engine results pages and maximizes traffic for mobile.

Excellent by excelling in:

• Layout options (the main features refer to the design layout, which can be full width, boxed or small boxed). Besides these main features, i.e. the blog layout can be customized, as well;
• Features related specifically to these theme: stick menu, display of top social icons, WOW effect, page featured image, etc;
• The front-page receives special attention, as the main page where the resume should display: each section can be customized individually (about section, portfolio section, testimonial section, etc.);
• For a more stylish look, you can include a slider into the website. Settings for your slider will help you give it the appearance you want.

13. Libretto

Libretto is a simple theme you can use for building a resume website in no time.

It has a classic design and it’s perfect for showcasing longform writing interspersed with beautiful images and inspiring quotes. Libretto is for creatives who want to present their work in a way they cannot miss the job/collaboration they want.

14. Parallax

Parallax is a theme with many options helping you create a stylish resume website in an infinite number of design versions.

Multiple options for Parallax:

• Customizations for the layout, so it gets responsive on mobile devices (a key feature for websites). You can check to enable responsive design, responsive videos, and show a gallery lightbox;
• You can make adjustments to the text typography (another basic feature a resume website should benefit from);
• You can have a custom template for 404 error pages.

The long list of options in the left-hand menu of the Customizer helps you go from one item to another and give each of them the appearance you want.

15. Ryan

Ryan has a bundle of options that make it worthy of your consideration.

The theme options refer to:

• Layout (3 different layouts are possible for you to appropriately display your resume);
• Customizations for the Header (a slider can give a more stylish look and entice readers to browse through more content in the page; a call-to-action can shorten the steps needed to get in touch with future employers/collaborators);
• Social Media links (they help spreading the word about your expertise, and increase the chances you should be contacted by leads);
• If you want to also attach a blog to the website, you have options to select an appropriate layout for it, too.

16. Boss

Boss is a theme you should consider for building your resume website. It helps you customize your website in no time, with a few options you can use astutely. It’s a perfect fit for professional presentations, such as business and business-like resume websites.

We recommend the theme for its extended options related to social media promotion and post sharing. A website that’s not promoted as it deserves won’t reach its audience and cannot generate the optimal results. This theme helps you cover a wide range of social media promotion (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Digg, Delicious, Tumblr, StumbleUpon).

17. Eclipse

Eclipse has all the necessary features for building a complete resume website. Adequately adjusting the settings will result in a website that’s fully prepared to enter the competition.

Important options in Eclipse:

• Typography options (you can set dimensions for the font, select a typography style, choose a font, and separate normal text from that of heading, using a distinct font family for headings).
• Background image (for an elegant presentation, you can choose a stylish image as background for the resume page).
• Layout options (you can choose to have a responsive design, responsive videos, a wide sidebar, a gallery lightbox).

18. McLuhan

McLuhan is a simple theme you can use to easily create a resume website.

• You can customize the front-page title;
• You can choose to show or hide social buttons
• It supports Gutenberg
• It has a responsive design

The resume template created with McLuhan theme will give you an idea of how your resume website might look.

19. The Thinker Lite

The Thinker Lite is a theme addressed to all professionals wanting to build an online resume.

Theme options:

• Give personality to the website, by customizing options for site identity (logo, title and subtitle are key elements to catch readers’ attention)
• Colors can be selected to represent your professional style, and the values you appreciate and want to find at the company you’ll be collaborating with.

20. IThemer

Ithemer is a theme specialized for resume websites. Options perfectly suited for this area are integrated in the menu of the Customizer, in almost every homepage settings subcategory.

IThemer options for resume websites:

• Each section in the homepage can be customized individually (e.g. about, work, counters, experience, testimonials, contact). The sections that form a CV have dedicated settings subcategories, where you can adjust titles, icons, date for work experience, etc.
• The homepage options include almost everything you need to give your CV the appearance you want. A professional one, an outstanding and remarkable resume that cannot but get you noticed.
• The usual options for giving the site an identity, adjusting colors and applying background colors are available, as well.

IThemer gives you a good start to building an excellent resume website that represents you as a professional.

21. Profile

The Profile WordPress theme is addressed to those who want to build a resume website.

What’s special about it is the option to customize blocks on homepage. These blocks of content serve well to structuring content in a CV, so it is easy to read and showcases important information.

22. Marvel

Marvel has options for turning your online resume into a stylish and convincing professional presentation. It is a mobile-responsive theme that displays well on mobile devices, which maximizes chances you’ll be noticed by future employers/collaborators.

Here are some options that make Marvel a good choice:

• You can add a slider to the homepage, to give a pinch of elegance to the presentation;
• You can customize the header and title so as to catch the readers’ attention and focus it on what’s important regarding your professional competence;
• The homepage has a welcome section you can successfully use for a short intro of your resume, especially for functional resumes;
• A customizable About section lets you detail professional experience and previous work, as well as education;
• Integration of social media buttons helps you spread the word about you as an expert in your area, that employers/collaborators should consider working with.

23. Resumee

The Resumee theme is specially created for building resume websites. It is Gutenberg ready and mobile-friendly and integrates all needed options that make your resume stand out.

Some of its features:

• Typography settings help you customize the text you place in your resume;
• The Header and Navigation can have the design that best reflects your values as a professional, and make the online resume one of the best
• You can make customizations to the site identity, so the resume website bears the imprint of your professionalism.

24. CV Card

CV Card is another theme dedicated to building resume websites. It has custom page templates (About, Resume, Portfolio, Contact) you can adapt to your website and create the resume that gets you hired.

Some of CV Card features:

• Contact form and advanced custom fields
• Smooth scrolling
• Microformats
• Responsive video, etc.

Due to the quality criteria we used for putting together this collection, we hope it is a good start for your selection. Remember: if you start with the best theme, you’ll have the best resume!