There is a never-ending battle on the thought of using free WordPress themes or premium WordPress themes. Yet there is a mix opinion about when to use free and when to use paid one.
As per the current estimates, there are around 200 million websites that are making use of WordPress to create an exceptional website. No wonder businesses all across the globe are using WordPress themes to create their online presence and get huge traffic to their sites.
Everyone is obsessed with change and that too for good. With the introduction of WordPress themes, it has become easier for people to create an outstanding website without the need of knowing any coding. Pointless to say, WordPress themes in the blogs enrich its visual appeal and undoubtedly allure more visitors than a simple web page. It is a well-known fact that humans are attracted more towards the visual change than any other thing.
But question still lies the same which theme to opt for. Can premium WordPress theme be more beneficial for the official website or free WordPress theme can do the job? This is one of the most hot topics of discussions nowadays for every developer. The overall simplicity that the WordPress themes offer in coding is simply awesome. The website designed efficiently using WordPress themes performs all the jobs and has better loading speed in comparison to others.
This situation has left the developers in dilemma. The advent of premium WordPress themes has put the developers in a difficult position as to which theme to pick. On one hand, free themes appeared highly budget saving and easy to use. And on the other hand, premium WordPress themes are all about monetary investment and the functionality availed. Though the results of both the themes are satisfactory, still the usefulness totally depends on the user’s demand.
Let’s go through the pros and cons of using free and premium WordPress themes:
Pros of Using Free WordPress Themes
1. They Are Totally Free
The best part of free themes is that they are not chargeable. All you need to do is to download the theme you like and start using it. If you have a low budget, then these themes are the perfect option as you do not require a designer or developer for creating a site.
2. Community Support
Though there are free themes that come without support, but there are numerous resources that assist you in getting started with a free theme that you have just downloaded. The first port of call is definitely the WordPress Support Forums.
3. Experimentation
Another beneficial part of free WordPress themes is that they can be downloaded multifarious times without compromising on the budget as they come for free. You can do number of trials with as many themes as you wish till you find the right one that meets your requirements.
Cons of Free WordPress Themes
1. Not Exclusive
These days, there are numerous blogs that publish list of the best free themes on a regular basis. Thus, the best themes are quickly picked up and advertised. The major drawback of free themes is that they can be downloaded by anyone for designing their site which means that it is not necessary that your website will be having unique appeal.
2. Inadequate Features
Free WordPress themes generally come with some very basic features and functionalities. These days, it is vital that the themes offer responsive design and numerous customization benefit in order to go ahead from their competitors. Free themes come equipped with limited number of features.
3. Hardly Updated
WordPress comes with continuous updates. Thus, it becomes necessary to choose such themes that are fully compatible with the latest version of WordPress. When you use free WordPress themes, you may require to wait for months for any update or never see one at all.
4. Poor Coding
There are several free WordPress themes that are brought together by amateurs who possess poor coding skills and leave your site open to security vulnerabilities if you plan to use the theme. Poorly coded free themes might be less localization-ready if you plan to translate your site into any other language, you might face issue.
Pros of Premium WordPress Themes
1. Stand Out in the Crowd
When you plan to sell or promote your products and services online, you would like to ensure that it is presentable, functional and highly attractive. Only then you will be able to grab the attention of huge customer base. The premium WordPress themes are designed in a way that they possess all these qualities and are the ultimate option in the run of website themes available for users. Unlike free WordPress themes that need a go signal from the official review program for the launch, premium WordPress themes do not need any such confirmation. Once you have selected your desired theme, you will get top-quality standards and create it to make your brand identity different from others. There are many businesses that are making use of Premium WordPress themes and are quite delighted with the results.
2. Updated on Regular Basis
The major benefit of premium WordPress themes is that they are updated on continuous basis which simply means that their features and functionalities are enhanced. The forums of the website building platform provide a huge support to the users of the theme. Only those people who have purchased the theme can talk with each other on the forum while other people can just go through their conversations.
3. Customization Benefit
If the WordPress theme that you have purchased has built-in features, you can customize it without any hassle. The complicated coding is done beforehand so you do not need to mess with it. Just play with text, colors, or pictures and modify the design depending on your requirements. Almost everyone will agree with the fact that customizing a template is simpler and quicker than creating a custom theme from scratch.
3. Advanced Features
Even a single unique feature on the website that differentiates it from others motivates the viewers to continue surfing the platform. With the help of Premium WordPress themes, you can easily drive huge traffic and enhance the return on investment of your company. The modern plugin suites or the admin panels are utilized to customize and configure the site depending on the advertisement needs and brand’s marketing. There are several themes that come with portfolio variations, sidebar layouts or multifarious article layouts. All you need to do is to go through the available options and choose the one that you love the most.
Cons of Using Premium WordPress Themes
1. Author Has the Facility to Discontinue the Product
One of the major drawbacks of premium WordPress themes is that the author who has designed the themes has the facility to discontinue the product whenever he/she wish to. This will definitely cost you both money and effort.
2. Needs Immense Learning
With every modern themes come learning and new technique to master. There are some passionate developers who are interested in learning but those who have work loads and have to complete the work in the given time frame may not survive the learning tenure. Thus, whichever theme you choose, ensure to go through its distinct features in detail and determine whether you can utilize it or not.
In a Nutshell
These days, people crave to use internet as the perfect mean to their success. Yes! It is completely true but you need to keep in mind that internet can also break the good image of any business. Thus, you need to pay extra attention while choosing WordPress themes. Go through the offers before jumping into any solution. Ensure to choose the right provider and check its previous records. The exceptional features of premium WordPress themes definitely outweigh its cons but it all depends on what the users want. Whether utilizing premium themes over free themes will be beneficial or not, it all depends on the specified website developer who can take a valuable decision. So, go ahead and purchase themes depending on your needs and requirements.
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