Spectra One
Brainstorm Force · Free · 4.8/5
A modern block theme designed alongside the Spectra block library for editorial and business sites.
Ol
Ollie
by Mike McAlister
A polished block theme with a guided onboarding wizard that builds a starter site for you.
5.0Block themeFreemium
This link may earn us a commission. It never changes our rating.
What Ollie is
A polished block theme with a guided onboarding wizard that builds a starter site for you.
It sits in the block theme part of the theme market and is sold by Mike McAlister on a freemium basis. A theme decides your layout, your typography and a large slice of your page weight, so it is the hardest thing on a WordPress site to change later.
Before you commit, record a speed test of your current site, then run the same test after you switch, on the same page, so you can see exactly what the new theme costs you.
What Ollie looks like
The official screenshot from the WordPress.org theme directory, as published by the theme authors.
See it running on a live demo site at the WordPress.org preview.
Real user ratings
Score
5/5
Reviews
36
Active installs
6,000+
Downloads
147K
Latest version
1.6.5
Last updated
2026-10-08
Figures come straight from the public WordPress.org theme directory API for version 1.6.5. You can check them yourself on the WordPress.org listing.
Where Ollie ranks elsewhere
| Publisher | List | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Elegant Themes | Best WordPress Themes | #4 of 6 |
Positions are read from the published articles themselves, so they reflect that publisher's order rather than ours. Lists get re-ordered over time, so follow the link if you want the current version.
What changed in the latest version
v1.6.3Latest release
- Fix mobile menu submenus opening already expanded on WordPress 7.1 by restoring per-submenu toggle behavior
- Start the mobile menu overlay below the admin bar when it is present
v1.6.2
- Support making a single header row sticky - set Position to Sticky on a row inside the header and it stays put while rows above it scroll away
v1.6.1
- Move list item spacing into theme.json so Global Styles can control it
- Fix mobile menu overlay spacing when the admin bar is present
- Register mobile menu patterns for the navigation overlay template part
- Update blue and orange color palettes
- Remove redundant product button styles and placeholder font size
Release notes are the developer's own words, published on WordPress.org. Read the full changelog
How to install Ollie
Try the live demo first, then install from the official source. It takes about five minutes.
Live demo
Open previewWhere to download it
Ollie is in the free WordPress.org theme directory, so you can install it straight from your dashboard, or grab the zip from the listing.
The free version is enough to launch. The paid add-on from Mike McAlister unlocks the extra layouts and modules.
Install it
- 1In your WordPress admin, open Appearance then Themes and click Add New.
- 2Search for "Ollie", then click Install on the listing by Mike McAlister.
- 3Click Activate once the install finishes. Your live site now uses Ollie.
- 4Prefer to upload it? Download the zip from the WordPress.org listing, then use Appearance, Themes, Add New, Upload Theme.
Set it up after activating
- 1Run the theme's own setup wizard or starter site import if it offers one, on a fresh site only.
- 2Set your logo, colours, fonts and menus under Appearance then Customise or the site editor.
- 3Create a child theme or use the theme's own custom CSS panel so updates never overwrite your work.
- 4Set global colours, fonts and container width before you build any pages.
- 5Import a starter layout if one fits, then strip out demo sections you do not need.
- 6Take a speed test before and after the switch on the same page so you can see the real cost.
Always try a theme switch on a staging copy first if the site is already earning.
Pros and cons
- The setup wizard produces a usable site in minutes.
- Rated 5 out of 5 by 36 WordPress.org reviewers.
- There is a free version you can trial before paying.
- Works with the block editor and the mainstream page builders.
- The wizard and pattern packs push you toward the Pro plan.
- Switching themes later means rebuilding page layouts, so choose deliberately.
How to use it
- 1Install the theme from Appearance > Themes, then activate it on a staging copy first.
- 2Create a child theme or use the theme's own custom CSS panel so updates never overwrite your work.
- 3Set global colours, fonts and container width before you build any pages.
- 4Import a starter layout if one fits, then strip out demo sections you do not need.
- 5Replace demo images with compressed WebP versions sized for the slot they sit in.
- 6Run a before and after check on our speed test so you can see the real page cost.
How it compares
Other block theme themes we recommend, with their public WordPress.org score where one exists.
| Theme | Rating | Reviews | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollie | 5/5 | 36 | Freemium | The setup wizard produces a usable site in minutes. |
| Spectra One | 4.8/5 | 28 | Free | Well-judged typography and spacing defaults for block editing. |
| Frost | 5/5 | 6 | Free | Patterns cover most marketing sections out of the box. |
| Raft | 4.9/5 | 48 | Freemium | Very small asset footprint for a full site editing theme. |