Highlights · computed from our daily tracking data
- Lightning currently ranks #27 and has stayed inside the top 50 in every daily snapshot since Sep 17, 2024 (687 snapshots).
- Its best position in our tracking is #24, first reached on May 27, 2026.
- Active installs have held steady at 100K+ since we began tracking it in September 2024.
- It accounts for roughly 0.9% of all active installs across the themes we track.
- It is averaging 477 downloads/day over the last 30 days, down 52% versus the month before (986/day).
- The latest release, v15.37.1, shipped on Jun 27, 2026 (45 days ago) — release #494 since the theme joined the directory in 2015.
Performance · Google Lighthouse, official wordpress.org demo
| Mobile | Desktop | |
| Largest Contentful Paint | 3.9 s | 0.9 s |
| First Contentful Paint | 2.7 s | 0.7 s |
| Total Blocking Time | 0 ms | 0 ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | 0.010 | 0.001 |
| Page weight | 468.0 KB | 467.3 KB |
Lab (Lighthouse) data measured on the official demo at wp-themes.com, where every theme serves identical content — so scores isolate the theme's own CSS/JS payload. Tested Aug 3, 2026. Scores vary ±5 between runs. Run a live test ↗
Ranking history
Active installs
Downloads per day
Details
| Author | Hidekazu Ishikawa |
|---|---|
| Current version | 15.37.1 |
| Versions released | 494 |
| Last updated | 2026-06-27 |
| Added to directory | 2015-07-24 |
| Requires WordPress | 6.5+ |
| Requires PHP | 7.4+ |
| Type | Classic theme |
| First tracked here | 2024-09-17 |
Description
Lightning is a very simple & easy to customize theme which is based on the Bootstrap. It is also very friendly with custom post types and custom taxonomies. When you add a new one, the breadcrumbs will be adjusted and posts will look beautifully without editing or adding a template files.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lightning a free theme?
Yes — Lightning is a free, open-source (GPL) theme distributed through the official WordPress.org directory.
Is Lightning a block theme or a classic theme?
Lightning is a classic theme: it uses the traditional Customizer/widgets workflow rather than WordPress Full Site Editing.
How many websites use Lightning?
WordPress.org reports 100K+ active installs.
How popular is Lightning?
As of August 11, 2026, Lightning ranks #27 in the WordPress.org popular themes list. Its best position in our tracking is #24.
When was Lightning last updated?
Lightning was last updated on June 27, 2026 (version 15.37.1). It has shipped 494 releases in total.
Who makes Lightning?
Lightning is developed by Hidekazu Ishikawa. It joined the WordPress.org theme directory in July 2015.
How fast is Lightning?
On the official WordPress.org demo, Lightning scores 84/100 for mobile performance in Google Lighthouse and 99/100 for desktop (tested August 2026).
