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Warning: This article begins with a short rant.
Last week I started off with an topic for this article that I really thought was going to be awesome; to find 10 of the best Free Joomla Templates out there and tell you why I think they're awesome. I searched high and low, from BestOfJoomla.com to the Joomla Resources Directory, and you know what? I could hardly even find five to make the list (see after the break for the list).
Obviously, I'm not counting the 8 free Joomla templates that we've built for you over the last few years (we have more free templates for Joomla 1.5 than any other club, dontcha know), but even with cutting our own massive collection out you'd think there would be plenty of other great free templates to choose from, right?
Unfortunately, such is not the case. While there are plenty of free templates, some of them are pretty shoddy, at best, others aren't standards compliant, some have malicious code built directly into them and still others just look strange (like a bad '90s movie). I'm not downing template designers and developers, we appreciate everyone's work, but it's tough to provide a resource to people to share some great stuff from other companies and groups when the great stuff isn't available (you know what I mean?).
I know how much it stings to hear a Joomla company admit to a fault in their beloved system, but that is (sadly) what I have to do right here. Do a quick search for free quality WordPress templates in Google, and you'll find resources from Smashing Magazine, ThemeShaper, the Wordpress.org Theme Browser and a few hundred other random development companies.
If you do the same search for free Joomla Templates, you'll first see results for Joomla24 and BestOfJoomla, and then you'll see some stuff for Joomla 1.0, and only after all of that on the first few pages will you see some directories of Joomla templates that list the same ones, over and over again. Where is the variety? Where is the quality? Where are the bonus resources for regular users to enjoy?
Why are Joomla developers hoarding everything cool to themselves (or charging a bunch of money when they release it)?
But, don't forget, Wordpress Theme clubs and developers don't just release good free themes, they also release plugins, iPhone backgrounds, case studies on re-designing a websites UI and a whole lot of other non-WordPress related stuff. Sure, the J community has some of that, but not much, by any means.
What even makes a good Joomla template, anyway, and what are some good examples that can provide inspiration to the rest of us? Here's what we think makes a great Joomla template:
First and Foremost - A Simple Design. With a crazy design you lose flexibility and originality. When people find a great free template, they can always bet that 3000 other people are using that same template. Make it simple and not so flashy/trendy/unique and you'll find that a lot more people will appreciate the hard work that you put into it.
Make it Flexible. If the template isn't built to easily change out the logos, font-styles, color schemes or module layouts, then people won't bother for very long with it. Yes, you're giving away the template for free, but that free template may also be your only chance to prove your worth to some people. Give that template some great backend parameters so that they can make the changes that they need to quickly.
Make it Generic, but Beautifully Unique. I know that it sucks to make a generic and not more niche-focused, but unless you're hitting group that absolutely need their website to look a specific way (which you aren't), then you'll want to design something that anyone can use for any kind of project. Your free template isn't supposed to one persons every need, it's supposed to fill a lot of peoples basic needs.
Make it Pretty. Simple, Generic and Flexible can still mean beautiful, but only if you make it that way. Don't make your template so that people are forced to change it, make it so that they can modify it easily, but can also just leave it the way it is for their quick fix.
With that said, here are some of our favorites (again, forgetting our own free templates which are available here):

Quasar, by RocketTheme, is a great template to get people started on their projects. It is very clean, is simple to use, and of course comes with a lot of very slick features that RocketTheme is known for (in this case, they are definitely desirable features). It has a ton of module positions for easily modifying it to work how you want, and also does a fine job at being flexible enough for most types of websites.
I wish that it came with another set of color themes (there are currently 6) that had a lighter header, but for what you're getting in this package, they've done a very good job.
More Info ~ Demo ~ Download

JoomlaShack has always been a leader in the Free Joomla 1.0 Template area, but their latest free template, Fresh, is a great example of what we hope to see more out of them in the future. It's very clean and simple to use (even more-so than Quasar) and the code/design is so quick to change that anyone can get in there without getting too dirty.
By not having a lot of images hard coded into the design, Fresh gives you the most breathing space when you want to make small and larger changes to it. I could see someone using this free template for anything from a personal blog, to a parenting site, to showcasing a city's music venue.
It's a great template worth checking out.
More Info ~ Demo ~ Download

You may remember JA Purity from your default Joomla 1.5 Template list in the backend. This free template, JA Purity II, is the second iteration of their award winner, and it certainly is a good one. They've kept the same basic style of Purity I and added in some really nice features to make any website using it feel really good to visitors.
This is a great free template, not just because it's got a simple design and is easy to customize, but also because JoomlArt has done a great job adding in some of their best features and making this feel like a premium template. All while still making it easy to use for many different kinds of websites (communities, e-commerce, magazines, etc...)
More Info ~ Demo ~ Download
There's a new kid on the block, and their name is JoomACE. With the launch of a new website they've also released a very good first (and free) Joomla template with Prime. Like the other templates on this list, Prime is very clean looking and is built to be powerful and easy to use. But the developers have also added in some key features that will attract a wide variety of users.
Customize the background image (or color), add your social media connections to the top bar, throw in a rotating banner with featured news from your organization and manage your content using K2 for a great user experience on a new website. If this is a sign of things to come from JoomACE, we look forward to the competition.
More Info and Download ~ Demo

Since our list of quality free templates ran short, feel free to checkout our free Joomla templates.
Did we miss any great free Joomla templates out there? We hope we did, let us know!
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