Written by If you are getting really confused about whether to select a premium or a free WordPress theme, then don’t worry, you’re not alone. With WordPress offering an unlimited stock of both premium and free themes with different features, many people do find it difficult to decide which one to select. While a free WordPress theme can give you access to various advanced features; there are some equally impressive free themes as well. Here are some of the basic variances between the premium and the free WordPress themes that can help you to get rid of the confusion.
Quality
Premium WordPress themes offer your site the highest quality possible. From advanced functionalities to excellent professional designs, premium themes work the best when it comes to impressing the viewers with your site design. However, with free themes, you can add premium plugins, page builders or editors for improving the look of your website. While some premium themes that are poorly coded can cause you more problems than benefit; use of plugins in free WordPress themes can increase the functionality of your site.
Security
Premium themes can give your site more security than the free themes. As an owner of a WordPress website, your website’s security should be on top of your ‘must have’ list. A premium WordPress theme is known as a more secure theme than that of the free one. Such a theme is created keeping in mind the utmost security measures, wanted by the users. While downloading free themes from WordPress repository, then the free themes also become eligible in providing standard security to your site.
Easy Usability
Free WordPress themes are known for their simplicity which naturally makes them easier to use. Offering numerous advanced features, premium themes often causes difficulties among various uses. If you wish to set up your site easily and quickly; then the free WordPress theme is the apt option for you. However, the extensive documentation provided by the Premium themes also makes it extremely user-friendly.
Supports
The in-depth and excellent supports that a premium theme provides, makes it the first preference of many. Be it video tutorials, documentations, forums or 24 hours email support, the premium WordPress theme provides serious support for a smooth online business. Though the free themes also provide support, but that is a very limited one.
Updates
As the developers of the premium themes are running a business, therefore, the premium WordPress themes get to be updated more frequently than the free themes. When it comes for your site to get benefits of regular theme updates, then premium themes are the ones you need. On the contrary, the updates of free theme are limited to a certain point and after reaching that point you may need to switch to other themes.
Price
If you think that using a free WordPress theme you don’t have to spend money for an excellent site, then you’re wrong. No matter how fantastic the free theme is, eventually you will need installing plugins and that can cost you a real amount. But, most of the premium themes generally come with various built-in plugins. Therefore you don’t have to spend extras anymore.
Theme Clubs
When you purchase a premium WordPress theme, you become a member of a theme club automatically. You can also become a member of the community of the web designers through a premium theme. And when you’ll become a member, you’ll automatically receive the various benefits of it, such as unlimited access to similar branded products, plugins and connecting with different users of the same theme.
Themes that are Freemium
If you are one of those who is in a dilemma about which theme to opt for, then the Freemium themes can be the thing for you. A freemium theme is absolutely free to download, but there’s always a space for upgrading it to the premium version. Therefore, you can get the interesting features of both the premium and the free version of the WordPress themes, without getting stuck in the time-consuming process of completely changing the theme from free to premium.
No matter what is the WordPress theme that you are opting for, you need to d your research thoroughly. Before you begin your download of any WordPress theme, consider the user reviews or ratings of it and find out about the supports it offers or how often it receives its updates.
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