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WordPress Free themes vs Premium Themes

Discussion in 'WordPress' started by atsad, Apr 8, 2019.

  1. #1
    WP Free themes (repository themes) & premium (paid) themes still getting me a little nervous while thinking for SEO & traffics of my sites. Studied lots of articles on NET about the pros & cons of free themes & paid themes. There are dozens of different views.

    Should we switch to Premium themes for all of our sites?
    What is your opinion?
     
    atsad, Apr 8, 2019 IP
  2. Lolipop_guy

    Lolipop_guy Peon

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    #2
    You can try with both and see how it works. I always used only free themes. But it also depends on a website, etc.
     
    Lolipop_guy, Apr 19, 2019 IP
  3. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #3
    I figure you get what you pay for... so if a site is of value to you then it should be worth paying for the theme. My main issue with free/bought themes over bespoke is that they "do too much" and the html they generate is messier.
     
    sarahk, Apr 19, 2019 IP
  4. AttaboyRoi

    AttaboyRoi Member

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    #4
    I feel it mostly depends on scale. There are some free themes that will meet requirements for small sites. Some premium themes offer free basic options so you can purchase them later if you need them. Regarding SEO, if you have multiple sites or a favorite plugin, you might prefer that regardless of the cost of the theme.
     
    AttaboyRoi, May 2, 2019 IP
  5. AlphaNine_Vini

    AlphaNine_Vini Active Member

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    #5
    Premium themes are added with additional feature in most cases. But in some cases free themes are much more better then less reviewed premium themes. You need to make sure the theme is SEO friendly and Responsive to every device.
     
    AlphaNine_Vini, May 7, 2019 IP
  6. RevForce19

    RevForce19 Peon

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    #6
    I prefer the premium themes only because I think the accept the plugins better.... just my personal opinion. If you're looking for a basic page and a little bit of content then go free
     
    RevForce19, May 7, 2019 IP
  7. jayroberts

    jayroberts Peon

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    #7
    It depends. The biggest advantage of some premium themes is that they have a huge support base and dedicated staff available and willing to help you resolve issues. You can get this with free themes that are a part of a larger project as well. So, I always use Astra and even for the free version I get support. Additionally, there are premium versions of other themes that work the same with this security. That said, I've bought premium themes that are absolutely horrible and a nightmare. So it comes down to personal preference. Read extensive reviews, research theme builders and decide what you want. You can get quality themes and performance from both free and premium reputable themes
     
    jayroberts, Jun 4, 2019 IP
  8. NetStar

    NetStar Notable Member

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    #8
    Impossible question to answer. There is no better option as themes are made by different designers/programmers with different skill levels and preferences. You should look for a theme YOU are interested in. And if it happens to be a paid theme and it checks all of the boxes for you then buy it.
     
    NetStar, Jul 2, 2019 IP
  9. Em&em

    Em&em Greenhorn

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    #9
    I tried both free and paid themes and can say the difference is huge.

    To major pros I found in paid theme:
    1. Easier to get things done. More options and better UI in general
    2. Good knowledge base. For the theme, I use there are loads of tutorials and other Q&A stuff
     
    Em&em, Jul 3, 2019 IP
  10. Emranul Hasan

    Emranul Hasan Member

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    #10
    you are right!
     
    Emranul Hasan, Jul 30, 2019 IP
  11. Ron Peters

    Ron Peters Greenhorn

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    #11
    Depends on your current theme performance. Is your current theme responsive? How's the bounce rate for your website. Is your theme visually appealing to your target audience? Is your theme loading fast? Is it SEO friendly? Research extensively and decide accordingly.
     
    Ron Peters, Aug 12, 2019 IP
  12. PhoenixIM

    PhoenixIM Peon

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    #12
    It really depends. Do you know how to HTML/CSS/PHP? If so I think there are plenty of lightweight, free wordpress themes. A good example is OceanWP. It's extremely lightweight and you can use it to achieve whatever design you want to , provided you know a little bit of coding.
     
    PhoenixIM, Nov 2, 2019 IP
  13. Andrii Ozemko

    Andrii Ozemko Member

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    #13
    Some time ago I also had the same question, but regarding Joomla templates (I do not use WordPress). I tried free templates, bought some premium templates. As result, I have decided that I can create my own template. And I did it, then I did it again and again. So, in general, I prefer premium templates. But the thing I dislike a lot the premium templates are heavy. They have a lot of features I don't use. In addition, many premium templates use unbundled CSS and JavaScript, that is not very good from SEO point of view.
    So, the best decision I think - make template yourself. It is not very hard.
     
    Andrii Ozemko, Nov 2, 2019 IP
    sarahk likes this.
  14. Himanshu20120

    Himanshu20120 Peon

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    #14
    Always use Premium themes. Premium themes provides extra support and appears more attractive.
     
    Himanshu20120, Nov 20, 2019 IP
  15. iwebsocial

    iwebsocial Well-Known Member

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    #15
    I will prefer premium themes as it will give you good security and frequent updates. Premium themes also come with excellent features.
     
    iwebsocial, Dec 5, 2019 IP
  16. IMDaniel

    IMDaniel Greenhorn

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    #16
    It depends on the theme...
    Sometimes, they provide you with everything you need with the free version.
    Sometimes the premium version is irresistible.

    Upgrade if it makes sense to you :)
    It doesn't really matter though. As long as the theme loads quickly and looks nice it will work fine.
     
    IMDaniel, Dec 8, 2019 IP
  17. 10BestSeo

    10BestSeo Peon

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    #17
    One of the most important elements in a premium theme of your choice is that you get support, even the most important one. After-sales support of a design you bought is completely vital. If you are not trying to solve the problems you have experienced on your own, then the theme you choose and that theme team has succeeded.

    If you are using a wordpress premium theme and the people you get this theme are really successful in their work, you see the difference. Both the coding structure and search engine optimization are quite satisfactory. Of course, the other themes we want to say here are the free ones, not free. The fact that you have a professional power that you can reach at any time makes this more ahead.
     
    10BestSeo, Apr 15, 2020 IP
  18. NetStar

    NetStar Notable Member

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    #18
    Tons of wordpress themes suck. They are HEAVY as hell loading in multiple huge libraries to do bare minimum things that aren't needed.
     
    NetStar, Apr 15, 2020 IP