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About 2.2 million New WordPress websites are registered every year. Undoubtedly, WordPress is a rather well preferred Content Management System or CMS. It is an open-source platform and allows for free and easy website building. And the best part is that it comes free of cost. Do note that while building the website is free, those wanting to launch their website will need to pay for hosting services and domain name, but, that’s minimal cost and WordPress still remains #1 choice website builder. This is obvious from the fact that every 3rd Website on the Internet is powered by WordPress. If you are wondering How To Develop WordPress Website: Guide And Tips by us will help you build a DYI WordPress website, rather than hiring a WordPress Development Company.

WordPress provides a number of themes which determines the appearance of your Website. Today WordPress has more than 10,000s of themes available – some free and some paid. Someone who has experience with WordPress, know well and are sure about their choice; however, if you are new to WordPress, you will be facing that one question most of the developers face while working on their Website Project - WordPress Free vs Paid Themes – which one to choose. You know the goal of your project and the purpose your website is going to serve. Thus, you are the most qualified to make the decision. However, we believe in making informed decisions and thus, its better if you are well equipped with the knowledge of the differences between both and what their pros and cons are. So, let’s take a look, shall we?

WordPress Free Themes

The first and foremost pro is obviously the fact that they are free. They are developed by mostly by independent developers. For small businesses, and first time website owners with lower budgets, free themes are a great option.

Go to the dashboard, click on ‘Appearance’ and then ‘Themes’ on the left sidebar. Click on ‘Add New’ at the top of the themes page. You will be directed to a Themes page where a number of themes are available.

They have rather limited or nil support and you’ll not have any documentation which will get you through its complete setup as well as support. Even the updates are few and thus there may occur security issues.

Free Themes are rather easy to use. But, they lack customization options, and if you wish to customize, you may need coding knowledge.

All free themes undergo a review through multiple step process and then only are officially reviewed. They are then displayed in the theme library/directory; and thus are actually very easily accessible as theme directory can be found on the WordPress dashboard itself.

As we said earlier, 500 websites are built using WordPress every day, meaning that’s a lot of WordPress websites; and initially many websites would opt for free themes. In short free themes are rather common and used by all.

On the positive side, Free Themes have minimal design and features which ensures they make your website quicker. Thus, you’ll be able to create websites which are fast loading.

When it comes to Free Themes, as you are not paying for the theme, you can easily change the theme.  If you are wondering, why, do take a look at our WordPress Theme Modifications: Why And When. Or you may be simply someone who wants change in your website. In situations like this, free themes come in handy.

WordPress Paid Themes:

The Paid or Premium themes will cost money for the users, and are mostly developed by high-end vendors with good support provided by the support staff. The overall build quality of premium themes is way better.

The vendors of Paid Themes provide good support as well as documentation, which will see that you are guided through all the process of setting them up and using them. The updates are more regular, which keeps it more secure;

Premium Themes provide a number of customization options, and even third-party app integration too. They may even help in improving the functionality of the Website.

The Paid Themes, don’t require to go through the multi-step process of being reviewed officially. Thus, not all of the Paid Themes are officially reviewed to be displayed in theme directory. Some of them can be found in various theme marketplaces and shops; and are thus not directly accessible through dashboard.

Paid Themes are not used by many when compared to Free Themes and thus there is a uniqueness which comes with it. If your website needs to stand out, you can always go for Paid Themes

Paid Themes are rich in features and provide premium widgets too. Also, they are highly responsive; however, sometimes too many features packed in a single theme may cause ‘bloating’ and adversely affect the speed of your website. On the other hand; as the build quality of premium themes is better, there can be premium themes build specially for having speedy websites.

In this debate of WordPress Free vs Paid Themes, as we said, the ultimate choice will be yours. However, if you ask for our opinion, Free themes are better for building a rather simple website with limited budget. As for Paid Themes, they are great investments and you should consider it for your long term goals.