Do you really need premium Wordpress themes

This is a common question which many of them ask when they are new to blogging. I have seen many bloggers and website owners who pay for domain (sometimes you can be lucky  enough to get a free domain name) and hosting instead of free sub domain like blogger or Wordpress.com.  But when it comes to paying for premium Wordpress themes then they think twice.

Also see: Here is what you need to know – Blogger Vs WordPress.com

If you are new to blogging then you may use free domain during your initial days but as you become more popular and once your blog traffic increases, some of them recommend going for premium Wordpress themes. There is no rule that you need to upgrade to premium Wordpress themes and is up to you to decide on that. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using premium Wordpress themes.

Here are few advantages of using Premium Wordpress themes and disadvantages of Free themes:

• Usually premium themes will have support from their respective theme developers. Any issues will be fixed soon, as they have a proper (not necessarily) ticketing system.


• Usually these paid themes will have the latest features and code fixes.


• More customization and help from theme developers. (Note: You might end up paying more if you want customization). It depends on company and terms that you have agreed for when you purchase a premium theme.


• More features are available.


• Some themes are SEO friendly. They are search engine optimized by default.


• Some themes are Adsense friendly with additional sidebars, headers and footers which are meant for advertising.


• Support is dependent on forum for free themes and developer may take his/her own time to fix it and may (or may not) be release as next version.

And disadvantages of Premium Wordpress themes and advantages of using free themes:

• premium themes and those without GPL license, will not find/get support from Wordpress.org forum.


• Paying for a premium theme doesn't always mean that you get all the support. There are few useless premium themes which are out just to make money. Be careful as they may not fix any issues later on even after paying for premium theme.


• The free themes that are available at Wordpress.org have to undergo strict review process which ensures that themes are of high quality. This is not the case with premium themes as they are available outside Wordpress.org and don't have to go through any strict process.


• You might have to pay again when there is a new version of the same theme released.

Also see: How important is it to work with Child Theme in WordPress

Most of the themes that are available both for free and paid are responsive. If you want to know more on this then check my previous post on - How to test a responsive website. Do proper research before buying premium Wordpress themes and try all possible free Wordpress themes that are available. You never know, there might be a free theme which might satisfy all your needs. Check what you are in need of before purchasing. If a premium theme website promises many things then check what the free theme is missing and also, is it worth spending money on premium theme for just few additional features. Leave a comment on what theme you use and why do you think it is better than other themes.

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