{"id":39417,"date":"2013-11-21T20:03:02","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T14:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=39417"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:55:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:25:42","slug":"default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty Fourteen Theme: Features and Is It Still Good? (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong>Twenty Fourteen theme<\/strong> was WordPress&#8217;s default theme for 2014, shipped with WordPress 3.8 in December 2013. We previewed it in November 2013 and loved its magazine-style featured content grid. More than a decade later it&#8217;s still maintained and used on tens of thousands of sites. Here&#8217;s what Twenty Fourteen offers, whether you should still use it and how it compares with newer default themes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Twenty Fourteen is a free, classic (non-block) WordPress theme with a featured-content grid or slider, a dark sidebar and full-width layouts. It&#8217;s still updated (version 4.6, August 2026) and has 50,000+ active installs, so it&#8217;s safe to keep. For new sites, a modern block theme like Twenty Twenty-Five offers full site editing, better performance and more design control.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af69d208bdb7\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af69d208bdb7\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#Twenty_Fourteen_features\" >Twenty Fourteen features<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#Is_Twenty_Fourteen_still_a_good_choice\" >Is Twenty Fourteen still a good choice?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#Newer_WordPress_default_themes\" >Newer WordPress default themes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#How_to_switch_themes_safely\" >How to switch themes safely<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#Is_Twenty_Fourteen_still_supported\" >Is Twenty Fourteen still supported?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#Is_Twenty_Fourteen_a_block_theme\" >Is Twenty Fourteen a block theme?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/11\/default-twenty-fourteen-wordpress-theme\/#How_do_I_set_featured_content_in_Twenty_Fourteen\" >How do I set featured content in Twenty Fourteen?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Twenty_Fourteen_features\"><\/span>Twenty Fourteen features<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Featured content<\/strong>: show featured posts in a grid or slider on the home page, chosen by a tag.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bold, dark design<\/strong> with a left sidebar and big featured images.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Responsive layout<\/strong> that works on phones and tablets.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Widget areas<\/strong> in the sidebar, content sidebar and footer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Post formats<\/strong> such as aside, image, video, quote and link.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39419\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/twenty-fourteen-theme.jpg\" alt=\"Twenty Fourteen theme home page\" width=\"500\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/twenty-fourteen-theme.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/twenty-fourteen-theme-150x78.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/twenty-fourteen-theme-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When it launched, we felt it borrowed the best ideas of premium frameworks like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/09\/genesis-wordpress-theme-framework-review\/\">Genesis<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/04\/thesis-wordpress-theme-review\/\">Thesis<\/a>. At the time we were testing the previous default, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/02\/twenty-thirteen-wordpress-theme\/\">Twenty Thirteen<\/a>, on our own site.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Twenty_Fourteen_still_a_good_choice\"><\/span>Is Twenty Fourteen still a good choice?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to its <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/themes\/twentyfourteen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress.org page<\/a>, Twenty Fourteen is still being updated, so it&#8217;s fine to keep on an existing site. But it&#8217;s a classic theme built before the block editor:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You customise it with the Customizer and widgets, not the Site Editor.<\/li>\n<li>Its design looks dated next to modern themes.<\/li>\n<li>Block themes give you more layout control without code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Newer_WordPress_default_themes\"><\/span>Newer WordPress default themes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Twenty Twenty-Two<\/strong> (WordPress 5.9) was the first default block theme with full site editing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Twenty Twenty-Three<\/strong> and <strong>Twenty Twenty-Four<\/strong> added style variations and patterns for many site types.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Twenty Twenty-Five<\/strong> (WordPress 6.7, November 2024) focuses on flexible patterns for blogs and portfolios.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_switch_themes_safely\"><\/span>How to switch themes safely<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Back up your site first.<\/li>\n<li>Preview the new theme with Live Preview in Appearance &gt; Themes.<\/li>\n<li>Check menus, widgets and featured images after switching; classic widgets don&#8217;t always carry over to block themes.<\/li>\n<li>Test on a staging site if your site earns money.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Twenty_Fourteen_still_supported\"><\/span>Is Twenty Fourteen still supported?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. It still receives updates on WordPress.org.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Twenty_Fourteen_a_block_theme\"><\/span>Is Twenty Fourteen a block theme?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No, it&#8217;s a classic theme. The first default block theme was Twenty Twenty-Two.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_set_featured_content_in_Twenty_Fourteen\"><\/span>How do I set featured content in Twenty Fourteen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Tag posts with &#8220;featured&#8221; (or the tag you choose in the Customizer) and they appear in the home page grid or slider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Twenty Fourteen theme was WordPress&#8217;s default theme for 2014, shipped with WordPress 3.8 in December 2013. We previewed it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":39418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-39417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64531,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39417\/revisions\/64531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}