If it’s free, it’s cost-effective; if it’s paid, it will certainly have features worth paying for. Selecting the right WordPress theme, and that too whether from Free or Paid themes, is a time-consuming process.
If we define both–
Free WordPress Themes are WP themes with basic design templates for websites, and users can download them without paying any money.
On the contrary, paid WordPress themes are premium themes with advanced features, dedicated support, and customization options. Users have to purchase them to use them to create their business sites.
In this article, we will discuss Free vs. Paid WordPress Themes, their pros and cons, how to choose free vs. premium WordPress templates, and more. Let’s dive in and explore more.
Why use Premium WordPress Themes?
Though you have to pay a specific amount to buy premium WordPress templates and use them for your business, here are the primary reasons why to buy premium WordPress themes:
- Premium themes update themselves and overcome security loopholes, so there are fewer chances of malicious attacks.
- The support team is always ready to help you if you’re stuck somewhere in the theme.
- These themes have premium and more professional designs.
- When you buy WordPress premium themes, you get an SEO-friendly template that saves you time from optimizing each time you use it.
- Extensive customization alternatives are available with these templates.
Why use Free WordPress Themes?
Free WP themes help with cost savings. If you are a beginner or freelancer who wants to make a primary prototype of a project for your client, free themes are the cherry on the cake for you.
- The primary benefit of using a free WP template is it’s a cost-effective option for developing a project for clients with tight budgets.
- These themes provide primary features for developing a small website providing basic functionalities.
Now, let’s understand the key differences between free and paid WP themes.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes: Key Differences
Other than cost, there are key differences to remember when choosing between free WordPress templates and premium WordPress templates. Let’s explore them:
Support
Generally, users of free WP themes do not receive personalized support. The only support that free theme users can get is from a public forum like a WordPress theme repository. The quality of support and the time taken to respond depend on the community.
Meanwhile, premium themes provide personalized support. This makes sense because numerous experts work behind the scenes on that theme. So, whenever a user has any doubts, the support team works on them and provides accurate solutions.
Premium theme creators want their users to leverage the theme to the fullest. Hence, their team will always be available to understand and solve users’ queries.
Features
The majority of premium WordPress templates offer cutting-edge features to develop competitive websites. For instance, premium themes have these advanced features:
- Integrated AI– Some paid themes have AI page builders to develop your website and make content generation easier.
- Drag-and-Drop feature for website building– There are multiple drag-and-drop page builders to make website development more accessible.
- In-built SEO and Marketing tools—Many templates include schema markup, A/B split testing features, and other SEO-related features. These features help improve your site’s SEO.
- Theme plugins– The best premium WordPress themes for businesses generally own plugins to provide more functionalities to customers.
TRoo Digital Agency Divi Theme is one of the best paid theme for WordPress websites for Digital Marketing Agencies.
Meanwhile, free themes usually lack functionality and features like premium themes. As a result, building a feature-rich website remains a dream while using free themes.
However, you can use third-party plugins along with free themes to overcome the limitations. But again, free third-party plugins will have their limitations.
If we fairly compare Free with Paid themes, there are excellent free themes available, but they will try to win you to use their premium versions later.
Updates
Free WordPress themes aren’t updated often so they might become prone to modern cyber-security threats. Always choose free templates from a reliable source, such as the WordPress repository. WordPress experts perform a primary security check before adding any free template to the WP repository.
In most cases, premium themes will receive updates more frequently than free themes, as:
- Theme owners want to keep their themes running smoothly. So, they keep their themes updated with time.
- Another reason to use premium themes is that they have more functionality, integrations, and features, keeping them compatible with third-party plugins and websites.
Customization
Free templates are generally niche-based themes suitable for certain types of businesses only. Hence, the customization level is comparatively low.
Meanwhile, premium WordPress themes are customizable. You can change the features, design, images, and more in a premium theme as per your business requirements.
Pros and Cons of Paid WordPress Themes
Premium themes have one setback—the acquisition cost—but they also have several advantages. Building a business website with the best premium WordPress themes for business brings wonders to your organization’s success.
When selecting the right theme, you should always consider the pros and cons of premium themes. Let’s examine the pros and cons of premium WordPress Themes.
Advantages of Paid WordPress Themes
- Advance Security—Premium themes are safer as they receive frequent updates to fix security issues and stay compatible with the current and upcoming CMS versions.
- Support—It’s a massive advantage for developers with different skill levels. Building a business website with WordPress premium themes provides personalized support to users. When you run into theme-related issues, reach out to the support team, and they will provide top-quality support through call, chat, or email.
- Extensive Customization—When you buy premium WordPress themes You get top-quality support features to develop a distinct website for your business. The majority of premium themes include built-in tools to give you more control over your website. You can easily change colors, layouts, and fonts without any coding. So, if you love developing feature-rich websites, a suitable premium WP theme can be your savior.
- SEO-friendly—Paid WordPress themes are faster and perform better than free themes, as they are optimized with the latest SEO trends. These templates are clean, have structured code, and often include lazy loading, code and script caching, image optimization, etc.
Disadvantages of Paid WordPress Themes
- Bloated with unnecessary features– The main disadvantage other than cost is superfluous features. Many features, like extra sliders, plugins, etc., are kept to attract users. But it will increase the theme load and complexity.
- No Reviewed officially– Free themes are added to the WordPress repository after experts review it. However, premium themes bought from different sources might not be reviewed and might have vulnerabilities. So, always look for a credible source to download a premium theme.
Pros and Cons of Free WordPress Themes
A free WordPress theme can help you build a website, but it might not have all the features you want. However, you aren’t paying anything for these themes, so that you can use them for essential website development. Let’s look at other pros and cons of free themes.
Advantages of Free WordPress Themes
- Cost-effective—The primary benefit of free themes is that you do not have to pay to use them. You can easily switch themes whenever you want.
- Compatibility— Free themes are compatible with popular plugins and WordPress guidelines. WordPress repository themes have specific standards that ensure their compatibility with WP and make them safe to use.
- Easy to use— Since the WordPress themes have basic features, they are easy to set up and use. You can install and set up free themes easily by following these steps:
WordPress Admin > Appearance > Search for a suitable theme > Click on the activate button after you choose a theme
That’s it. Your free WordPress theme is ready to use. Also, you can easily customize the theme from the Customize tab and make it work as per your requirements.
Disadvantages of Free WordPress Themes
- Less Secure— Free themes from pirated resources are less secure. They aren’t updated regularly and may contain harmful code. However, themes from WordPress repositories are secure as they are reviewed by experts and are made safe to use.
- Lack of Support— Free themes are less maintained as theme authors offer little or no personalized support. So, once you install a free theme, you are on your own to solve the queries you get while using it.
- Fewer features— These themes aren’t featureful like premium themes. So, they are used for creating a primary website, or a demo website.
Free vs Premium WordPress Themes: Which One Should You Choose?
While debating over Free vs Paid WordPress themes, you should consider your business requirements and goals first. If you are looking forward to building a unique business website, a premium WordPress theme can help you achieve your goals.
However, if you want a blog for your hobby without any monetization, you can choose a free theme. It provides basic features to make your website work effortlessly.
In the end, whichever theme you choose, make sure that you pick a secure theme from a reliable resource. Happy reading!
