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Moiraine Theme Now Available on WordPress.org

• By Jasper Frumau

We’re thrilled to announce that Moiraine, our production-ready Full Site Editing (FSE) block theme, is now officially available on WordPress.org. After six months of intensive development and a rigorous WordPress.org Theme Review process, Moiraine has been approved and published to the official WordPress Theme Directory.

What Makes This Milestone Significant

Getting a theme approved for WordPress.org isn’t just about uploading files—it’s about meeting the highest standards for code quality, accessibility, performance, and security that the WordPress community demands. The WordPress Theme Review Team conducts thorough audits covering:

  • Code Quality: WordPress Coding Standards compliance
  • Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA standards, keyboard navigation, screen reader support
  • Performance: Optimized assets, minimal JavaScript, efficient CSS
  • Security: Proper data escaping, sanitization, and nonce implementation
  • Licensing: GPL compliance, proper attribution for all resources
  • Documentation: Clear README files, inline code documentation

Moiraine passed all requirements and is now available to the global WordPress community.

Download Moiraine from WordPress.org

Official Theme Directory Page: wordpress.org/themes/moiraine

Three Ways to Install Moiraine

1. Install Directly from WordPress Dashboard

The easiest method for most users:

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel
  2. Navigate to Appearance → Themes
  3. Click Add New
  4. Search for “Moiraine”
  5. Click Install then Activate

2. Download from WordPress.org

For manual installation or local development:

  1. Visit wordpress.org/themes/moiraine
  2. Click Download
  3. Upload the ZIP file via Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme
  4. Activate the theme

3. Clone from GitHub

For developers who want to contribute or customize:

git clone https://github.com/imagewize/moiraine.git
cd moiraine
# Install in your WordPress themes directory

What’s Included in Moiraine

Moiraine is a comprehensive FSE theme designed for businesses, blogs, portfolios, and marketing sites. Here’s what you get out of the box:

108+ Block Patterns

Pre-designed, ready-to-use layouts for every page type:

  • Hero Sections: 8 patterns with call-to-action buttons, images, and large text variations
  • Card Layouts: 12 patterns for blog posts, pricing tables, contact cards, and CTAs
  • Testimonials: 6 patterns with social links, quotes, and logo grids
  • Features & Benefits: 8 patterns with icon boxes, statistics, and image columns
  • Pricing Tables: 4 patterns with 2-column and 3-column layouts
  • Full Page Templates: 7 complete page layouts (About, Contact, Pricing, 404, etc.)
  • Headers & Footers: 15 variations for dark, light, and mobile responsive designs

6 Complete Style Variations

Switch your entire site design with one click:

  • Default (Moiraine): Purple brand, modern sans-serif typography
  • Agency: Bold typography with high contrast
  • Consulting: Professional blue with Bodoni serif headings
  • Creator: Vibrant pink accent with wide headings
  • Publisher: Editorial style optimized for content-heavy sites
  • Startup: Energetic orange with condensed fonts

10 Color Schemes + 10 Typography Presets

Mix and match color palettes and font pairings to create your unique design without touching code.

Custom Blocks via Moiraine Blocks Plugin

Three powerful custom blocks available through the companion plugin:

  • Mega Menu Block: Advanced navigation with dropdown panels
  • Carousel Block: Responsive image and content sliders
  • Slide Block: Individual carousel slides with InnerBlocks support

Learn more about Moiraine Blocks

Performance Benchmarks

Moiraine was built with speed as a core feature. Here’s how it performs in the real world:

PageSpeed Insights (Mobile)

  • Performance Score: 95-98/100
  • First Contentful Paint: 0.8s
  • Largest Contentful Paint: 1.2s
  • Total Blocking Time: 0ms
  • Cumulative Layout Shift: 0.01

Lighthouse Scores

  • Performance: 98/100
  • Accessibility: 100/100
  • Best Practices: 100/100
  • SEO: 100/100

Why Moiraine is Fast

No Page Builder Bloat: Traditional page builders add 500KB-2MB of JavaScript and CSS. Moiraine uses WordPress native blocks, adding only ~25KB of CSS.

Variable Fonts: Self-hosted WOFF2 variable fonts load all font weights (300-900) in a single 68KB file instead of 10+ separate font files.

Minimal JavaScript: Only ~92KB of JavaScript for WordPress core blocks. No jQuery, no animation libraries, no unnecessary frameworks.

Optimized CSS: All styles come from theme.json, which WordPress converts to highly optimized inline CSS.

Read the complete performance analysis

Perfect for SMEs and Growing Businesses

Moiraine was designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses that need:

  • Professional design without expensive page builder subscriptions
  • Fast websites that rank well in search engines
  • Easy content editing for non-technical team members
  • Mobile-responsive layouts that work on all devices
  • Accessibility compliance for inclusive user experiences

Whether you’re a consultant, agency, freelancer, online store, or service business, Moiraine provides the foundation for a high-performing WordPress site.

Accessibility Built-In

Accessibility isn’t an afterthought in Moiraine—it’s a core feature:

Keyboard Navigation

  • Full keyboard support (Tab, Enter, Escape, Arrow keys)
  • ARIA attributes for screen readers
  • Visible focus states on all interactive elements
  • Skip-to-content links

Color Contrast

  • All color combinations tested for WCAG AA contrast ratios
  • Text on backgrounds: Minimum 4.5:1
  • Buttons and interactive elements: 4.5:1

Semantic HTML

  • Proper heading hierarchy (h1 → h6)
  • Landmark regions (header, nav, main, footer)
  • Form labels properly associated with inputs
  • Alt text support for all images

Open Source and Free Forever

Moiraine is released under the GPL v3 license, which means:

  • Free to use for personal or commercial projects
  • No premium upsells or hidden costs
  • Modify and customize as needed
  • Contribute back to the project on GitHub

We built Moiraine because we believe great WordPress themes should be accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford expensive premium themes.

WordPress.org vs GitHub: What’s the Difference?

Both versions are identical in functionality, but here’s when to use each:

Download from WordPress.org

  • Best for: End users and site builders
  • Advantages:
    • One-click installation from WordPress dashboard
    • Automatic update notifications
    • WordPress.org community support forums
    • Verified by WordPress Theme Review Team

Clone from GitHub

  • Best for: Developers and contributors
  • Advantages:
    • Access to development branches
    • Submit pull requests and feature contributions
    • Report bugs and feature requests via GitHub Issues
    • Fork and customize for client projects

View Moiraine on GitHub

What Users Are Saying

Since launching Moiraine in private beta, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback:

“Finally, a WordPress theme that’s fast, free, and doesn’t require a page builder. The patterns make building pages so much easier.”

“I love that I can switch between different styles with one click. Perfect for showing clients multiple design options.”

“As a developer, I appreciate how clean the code is. The theme.json architecture makes customization straightforward.”

Behind the Scenes: How Moiraine Was Built

Building Moiraine was a six-month journey through modern WordPress development. We:

  • Researched Full Site Editing best practices
  • Built 108+ block patterns from scratch
  • Implemented variable fonts for performance
  • Tested accessibility with keyboard navigation and screen readers
  • Submitted to WordPress.org Theme Review (5 rounds of feedback)
  • Achieved 100/100 accessibility score on Lighthouse

If you’re interested in the technical details, architecture decisions, and performance optimizations, read the full story:

Building a Production-Ready WordPress FSE Block Theme: The Moiraine Story

This 3,800-word deep dive covers:

  • FSE architecture and design decisions
  • theme.json configuration strategies
  • Block pattern development workflow
  • Custom block development with Interactivity API
  • Performance optimization techniques
  • Accessibility implementation
  • WordPress.org submission process

Roadmap: What’s Coming Next

We’re committed to actively maintaining and improving Moiraine. Here’s what’s planned:

Q1 2026

  • Additional mega menu layout variations
  • WooCommerce integration patterns
  • E-commerce product showcase blocks

Q2 2026

  • Animation controls (scroll reveals, fade-ins)
  • Advanced grid layout patterns
  • Form styling variations

Q3 2026

  • Additional style variations
  • Dark mode toggle option
  • Extended typography presets

Get Involved: Contribute to Moiraine

Moiraine is an open-source project, and we welcome community contributions:

  • Submit Pattern Ideas: Have a pattern design you’d like to see? Open a GitHub issue
  • Report Bugs: Found an issue? Let us know on GitHub
  • Translate Moiraine: Help make Moiraine available in your language
  • Contribute Code: Submit pull requests on GitHub

GitHub Repository: github.com/imagewize/moiraine

Resources and Documentation

Getting Started

Learn More About FSE

Moiraine Blocks Plugin

Need Help Implementing Moiraine?

While Moiraine is designed for easy setup and customization, we understand that some businesses need professional assistance with:

  • Custom design implementations
  • Performance optimization for existing sites
  • Migration from legacy themes to FSE
  • WooCommerce integration
  • Custom block development

At Imagewize, we specialize in WordPress development, speed optimization, and Trellis hosting for SMEs across the US and Europe.

Contact us to discuss your WordPress project.

Download Moiraine Today

Ready to build a fast, beautiful WordPress site?

Download Moiraine from WordPress.org →

Or explore our other free WordPress resources and tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Moiraine really free?
Yes, completely free with no premium upsells. It’s licensed under GPL v3, so you can use it for personal or commercial projects.

Do I need coding knowledge to use Moiraine?
No. Moiraine is designed for visual editing with WordPress Full Site Editing. You can build entire sites using the block editor without writing code.

Does Moiraine work with page builders like Elementor?
Moiraine doesn’t require page builders—it uses WordPress native blocks. However, it’s compatible with most page builders if you prefer to use them.

Can I use Moiraine for WooCommerce sites?
Yes, Moiraine is compatible with WooCommerce. We’re adding dedicated WooCommerce patterns in Q1 2026.

How do I customize colors and fonts?
Go to Appearance → Editor → Styles. You can choose from 6 style variations, 10 color schemes, and 10 typography presets, or customize everything manually.

Where can I get support?

Can I contribute to Moiraine development?
Absolutely! Moiraine is open source. Submit pull requests, report bugs, or suggest features on GitHub.

Published: December 5, 2025
Category: WordPress, News
Tags: WordPress.org, Moiraine, FSE Theme, Block Theme, Free WordPress Theme

About Imagewize:
Imagewize specializes in performance-optimized WordPress development for SMEs across the US and Europe. We build fast, accessible websites using modern tools like Full Site Editing, Trellis hosting, and WooCommerce. Learn more

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