In Envato’s Power Elite Wall of Fame, every single spot is taken by a WordPress developer. Considering that WordPress-centric products can be covered in 2 subsidiaries (out of total 7), that’s saying a lot.
WordPress is open source through and through, but that doesn’t mean that any ‘related’ products are free too. It’s an undisputed fact that premium WordPress products sell like hot cakes. There’s nothing shady about it. It’s just one of the few ways to earn money through open source technologies nowadays. There are entire empires built similarly on WordPress.
The Question you’re asking as a user, of course, is why should you buy a premium WordPress theme (like all the other people spending their money to line developers’ pockets) when you can get a perfectly fine one for free.
Bet I can answer that and change your mind about usefulness of premium WordPress themes in four points.
Advantages:
• Design:
Looks do matter. Come on, be realistic – you are vying for attention on a medium that is literally chock full to the gills with endless entertainments/information/et al. You think boring, lifeless designs are going to cut it? No.
I am, by no means demeaning the free themes, but the designs of a premium WordPress theme are unmatched not only in stunning looks but also highly customizable options that can be easily worked by non-coding users.
• Support:
I am, by no means demeaning the free themes, but the designs of a premium WordPress theme are unmatched not only in stunning looks but also highly customizable options that can be easily worked by non-coding users.
• Support:
Anyone who has ever faced a technical problem during WordPress setup and lost 5 years of their life worrying over it will agree that professional support is the best thing ever.
Although the community is great and you can get answers, the unspoken implication is eventually. With premium themes, you don’t have to ask for help from anyone and wait till a Good Samaritan comes along to lend you a hand.
• Updates:
Although the community is great and you can get answers, the unspoken implication is eventually. With premium themes, you don’t have to ask for help from anyone and wait till a Good Samaritan comes along to lend you a hand.
• Updates:
Premium WordPress themes are almost always updated in sync with major (and even minor) WordPress core updates. That’s why the WP Core development team releases the ‘Release Candidates’ before the main event – so users whose entire sites are running on premium themes and plugins could be spared if they have responsible developers who will update the theme functions and more in conjunction.
The new features are just icing on the cake.
• Unique Features unavailable as plugins:
The new features are just icing on the cake.
• Unique Features unavailable as plugins:
The best description for this point is an example. The theme JobListing (available at themeforest.net) is a directory/board theme for WordPress, and the kind of features it has are unique to it.
While plugins give you functionalities, premium themes often have unique features which only work for theme users. This creates less compatibility issues, smoother performance, singularly amazing WordPress theme customization options, and as a bonus, makes your competition green with envy.
EndNote
EndNote
The competition keeps the field of premium WordPress themes almost crackling with endless variety. Developers know that to sell better, their themes have to BE better. The most a free WordPress theme signifies is free time on a developer’s hand or a random experiment.
It’s obvious now, isn’t it?
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