What it is
Newspaper is a magazine and news theme with its own composer, designed for sites with many categories, many authors and advertising to place.
It is one of the best-selling themes of all time, and almost every site that looks like an online magazine is running it or something like it.
For a genuine publication it does things general themes do not. For a normal blog it is substantial overkill.
What it does
Category and archive layouts are the core strength: multiple presentations, featured blocks, and modules for arranging a homepage that surfaces dozens of articles.
Ad placement is handled natively across many positions, which for an ad-funded publication is the difference between a workable site and a plugin mess.
Multi-author support, post formats, review systems and newsletter integrations come built in.
The costs are heavy front-end output, dependence on their composer for all layouts, and a settings panel that takes real time to learn.
Who it's for
Features
Pros and cons
Pricing
| PLAN | WHAT YOU GET | WORTH IT FOR |
|---|---|---|
| Single site licence | One site, lifetime updates, six months support. | Publications. |
| Support extension | Extended support period. | Larger teams. |
| Additional licences | Per site. | Multi-title publishers. |
| Included plugins | Composer and companion plugins bundled. | Part of the licence. |
One-off per site with lifetime updates. Reasonable value for a publication, poor value for a blog that will never use the features.
A single-site licence, only for a genuine multi-author publication with advertising to place. For anything smaller, choose a light theme.
Alternatives
My verdict
Newspaper does something specific very well: presenting a large volume of articles with advertising, across many categories, without a stack of plugins. For an ad-funded publication that is genuine value.
Everybody else should stay away. On a single-author blog it is a heavy, complex theme delivering features you will never use, and the composer lock-in applies just the same.
If you are running a real publication, also look at Newspack and Ghost before committing. The theme is good; the platform question is worth asking first.
Try Newspaper →Who should use it
Who should avoid it
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Affiliate disclosure
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the price you pay. It also does not decide what appears on this page: I recommend tools with no affiliate programme just as readily, and leave off tools with generous ones when they do not deserve the space.