WordPress Themes: Free Or Premium? This Will Help You Decide

Most of us now know that WordPress is a free content management system that started out as a blogging platform and is now used for any sort of website.

One of the many great advantages of WordPress is that it is relatively easy to change the look of your website either by using your own code, which can be quite complicated or by installing a new theme.

There are thousands of themes both free and premium. In this post we are going to consider the question: Should we select free or premium WordPress themes?

Free WordPress Themes

When you are starting your blog or website it is a good idea to start with a free theme. If you are on a tight budget you won’t be able to invest in a premium theme, as this will be an extra cost on top of your domain name and hosting.

However, it is always possible to change your theme at a later date when your site is making money or if you are sure you will be continuing. At the moment there are nearly 2,800 free themes on WordPress.org

Typically the free WordPress themes are free simply because they are not as complete as their premium equivalents. Although this is not always the case, some low quality paid themes might not be as good as some of the better free themes.

Use the WordPress dashboard to add new themes

Choosing a Free Theme

If you do decide to choose a free theme you can start by searching Google for free themes. Enter a search term that mentions the subject of your site, for example, “free WordPress business themes” or “free WordPress travel themes” Another possibility is to search in the same way in the themes directory on WordPress.org.

As a rule, it is best to download free themes only from WordPress.org. Theme developers that are serious would surely upload their themes to WordPress.org, it’s the ideal place to publicize their work.

The reason that you have to be careful about where you obtain your free themes is that some themes might contain malware, viruses or might have been pirated, hacked from a paid theme or they may have links in the footer that can’t be removed.

The themes available at Wordpress.org have been tested by the Theme Review Team, so they should be free of any malicious code.

Some Premium theme producers do occasionally offer free themes. They do this to attract new clients and it is okay to download from their sites.

Once you have found a theme you like on the WordPress site or from another reputable editor check out the demo, make sure it’s responsive and it has all the features you require. If all is well hit the download button.

Pros and Cons of Free Themes

Pros

• They are free
• Easy to select and test directly from your WordPress dashboard
• Large choice
• Great option for someone starting out with a small budget

Cons

• Free themes often lack support

A theme editor can release their theme but then doesn’t have the time to provide support for a theme that makes him no money. If there are large numbers of unanswered questions on a theme support page this could be the reason.

• Not always updated

A theme needs to be regularly updated to keep up with the WordPress updates. If this is not the case don’t use the theme.

• Lack of certain features and functionalities

If you have an idea of what features you need, normally a theme will list the various features and functionalities that it provides.

• Not uncommon

A popular free theme will be downloaded many thousands of times so your site will certainly not be unique. As you can see in the image of the themes directory above the 2,797 free themes have been downloaded 118,308,309 times. If each theme was downloaded an equal number of times this would equate to more 42,000 downloads of each theme!

Premium Themes

What is a Premium theme?

To put it very simply a premium theme is a theme that costs money, a paid theme. Normally they are produced by professional designers and they are aimed at a market that is willing to pay a price for something that is a little superior.

However, don’t forget that your content is the most important part of your site, content that may help solve a problem or relieve pain. It is this that will keep your visitors coming back to your site. Nevertheless, a nice attractive presentation will help you to attract an audience.

Choosing a Premium Theme

Deciding on your theme can be very time-consuming, there are so many themes to choose from. Here are a few things that might help you.

• first, decide on your budget. If your budget is tight this will limit your choice.
• know the goal of your site. If it’s for e-commerce you will need payment options, a local business you will need a map on your contact page or it might be a straightforward blog or affiliate marketing site.
• look on the internet to see what other sites in your niche are using. When you find a site you like, analyze why you like it. Simple clean design, the colors, the functionalities, the sidebar, the header, navigation, etc
• look at some of the premium theme sites to see what they have to offer in your niche. Here are a few you could try:
  • My Theme Shop
  • Theme Forest
  • Elegant Themes
  • Studio Press

When you have found something you like you need to make sure it has everything you are looking for: different page layouts, color schemes, functionalities, etc. It is also a good idea to also check out how easy it is to personalize.

If everything so far is as you want, there are still a few further things to verify. Make sure that there is good support, see what there is in way of documentation, check out any reviews on the theme and as WordPress is being updated constantly determine if the theme has been updated recently.

Finally, just make sure the theme is responsive and that it is compatible with all the major browsers.

If you are buying a new or relatively new theme, although it might have a new or fresh look to it, there might be a few bugs or functionalities that the developers have forgotten. An older theme will have the bugs already sorted out and many options built-in.

Pros and Cons of Paid Themes

Pros

• Theme support

Acquiring a paid theme gives you the advantage of being able to search the documentation or forum for detailed instructions relative to your theme. With many themes, you can also ask your questions in the support forum and the developer will respond usually quite rapidly.

• Stylish design

There are free themes that have elegant designs, but normally premium themes have more options to choose colors, page layouts, shortcodes, etc to achieve the design you desire. Paid themes are much more flexible and your site has improved quality and perhaps more credibility in the eyes of your visitors.

• Theme option panel

The theme options panel is a must now for premium themes. It allows you to make a grand number of changes without touching the theme code.

• Compatibility with the latest WordPress updates

WordPress has regular updates. However, the problem with these updates is that they can result in a broken theme or plugins. If your theme is updated regularly as are most Premium themes this won’t be a problem.

• SEO advantage

Although WordPress is SEO friendly, not all WordPress themes will comply with SEO best practices. To achieve the best rankings possible the theme code is important. Optimized, clean theme code makes it easier for the search engines to spider your site and present it in the search results.

• Premium themes less common

There are now many WordPress sites online and of course, the free themes are more popular. Paid themes are not so common so it is possible to make your site unique by customizing it as you desire. Assuming that you want your business site to have a unique look, customizing a paid theme is an awesome and not too complicated way to achieve this.

• Paid themes may be more secure

Supposing that you buy your theme directly from a developer you will have no problem with malicious code and security. Never buy a premium theme from a third-party website, there is a chance that they have inserted malware into the code which could put your site at risk.

Cons

• The cost

Can be anything from $50 -$100 on average.

• Might be challenging to configure

However, good the support, it is sometimes quite time consuming to configure and achieve the exact look you desire.

So What Should You Choose?

When selecting a WordPress theme you must focus on what you require for your website. Are you going to use your theme for a simple blog or for a business? Is it for an e-commerce site or local business? What is your budget and are you capable of configuring your site? What features and functionalities do you require?

You are the only one who knows the answers to all these questions. Therefore the perfect theme for you would not be the perfect theme for me.

Rather than looking for WordPress themes on their appearance, list everything you want and need out of your theme. Armed with your list you can start searching for themes that meet all your requirements.

Research potential themes to gain as much information as possible and then make your decision, free or premium whatever. Remember it is always possible to change at a later date if you are not content with your theme or you desire to change the design.

What kind of theme have you chosen? Why did you choose this theme? Did you favor a free or paid theme? Please share your experience in the comments below.

photo credit: Eric M Martin via photopin cc

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.