In this post, I’ll share with you 5 compelling reasons why you should favor using a premium quality WordPress theme over a free WordPress theme.
WordPress is probably the most popular platform for bloggers.
Of course, there are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that of WordPress’s ease of use and simplicity.
With WordPress, you can set up a blog and add just about any cool feature you want, and do it relatively quickly too.
One of the best things about using WordPress is that you can truly create a website or blog that is bespoke and unique to you.
Let’s talk about themes. There’s an array of both free and premium themes available for WordPress.
When it comes to free themes, there are absolutely thousands of them available. So, why should anyone in their right mind want to pay for a premium WordPress theme?
Well, there are actually a number of ‘very good’ reasons why you should consider choosing a premium quality theme for your WordPress blog or website, and in this post, we’ll be looking at five of those top reasons.
Let’s dive in.
If you’re a starter blogger or just setting up a personal blog to share with your friends and family, a free theme is probably all you’ll need.
However, if you are serious about your blog, from a business standpoint that is, well, you need to consider your options carefully.
Blogging is now incredibly popular, which means there are millions of bloggers and businesses out there competing for the top spot of getting noticed.
Many of them use WordPress, as I’ve already mentioned.
And so the problem with choosing a free theme, the chances are there will be hundreds if not thousands of other blogs out there all using the same or identical theme as you.
If your goal is to create a professional looking blog that truly stands out from the crowd, then you want it to be unique, right?
Premium themes give you the chance to give your site a look that’s truly distinctive.
Regardless of the topic of your blog, you should be able to find the perfect theme to make your WordPress blog or website stand out.
But what is a premium theme?
Well, a premium theme may be one that’s already available for sale, perhaps something like Genesis or Thrive. Or, it may be one that you pay a web designer to create for you.
Either way, when you use a premium quality WordPress theme, you’re making a statement to the world that you’re not just putting up another, run-of-the-mill blog or website, but one that’s 100% original.
And there’s nothing better than being original in blogging.
Not only does a premium theme set you apart from the competition, but you will also be able to impress your visitors with the quality your theme design.
I’m not saying that every premium theme out there looks amazing. Far from it, in fact. What I’m saying is that you shop around, you can find many great themes like the two I mentioned above.
Or, if your budget will allow it, you can find a skilled theme designer to create one for you.
Even if you are the only individual using a free WordPress theme, which is very unlikely, chances are it will have a very basic and generic look.
Tell me, is this the impression you want to give when visitors come to your website for the first time?
Of course not, especially if your blog is your online business where you want to attract lots of potential buyer traffic, right?
Here’s the thing, free themes limit your choices. But, if you are willing to invest a little bit of your money into a premium quality theme, your choices are expanded.
[clickToTweet tweet=”A great looking blog theme design will help steer you towards success, whatever that means for you.” quote=”A great looking blog theme design will help steer you towards success, whatever that means for you.”]
If you’ve experienced using WordPress for any length of time, then I don’t need to remind you just how many updates you get and how frequent they are.
Most of these updates are provided largely for security reasons. Because so many people use WordPress, unfortunately, it can be a prime target for hackers.
That’s why there are so many updates, sometimes as often as every month.
Another reason for these updates with WordPress, of course, is that new features are frequently added.
Now, let’s say you decided to use a free theme, there’s a good chance that it will be incompatible with future WordPress updates.
This could potentially cause a multitude of problems for your users, for instance, parts of your blog may appear broken, people might find it difficult to view your content properly, your blog may take longer to load, etc.
On the other hand, using a premium WordPress theme will give you all the free updates you’ll ever need.
This means that you can be sure that your theme will remain compatible with WordPress in the future.
Sometimes the theme may give you updates for other more exciting reasons as well, for instance, to give you new features or additional options.
Either way, you can feel more secure when using a premium WordPress theme that’s frequently updated.
WordPress isn’t hard to use, but when you start getting into advanced features it can get a little complicated.
I’ve been using WordPress for almost 8 years now, and I still manage to find something new that will boggle my mind, and for this reason, I require support.
If you want to customize your theme and make it truly personal for you or your brand, how are you going to do this with a free theme?
I mean to say, if you run into a problem or glitch whilst trying to hack your theme files to customize it, you may have a hard time getting any kind of support.
Sometimes, free themes do come with support, however, often than not it’s not very reliable support.
With a premium theme, you can get support from the developers whenever you need it, should you have any questions or issues.
Bottom line is that it’s always better to use a theme that you will become familiar and comfortable with modifying yourself, and with the added support if you need it, of course.
That is why I love using Genesis, and I’ve done so since 2010. I’m familiar with the layout, options, customization, code, and all the rest of it.
A premium theme doesn’t only look smarter than a free theme, it usually comes with many more options and features to choose from.
You can make your blog or website look any way you want in terms of fonts, layout, colors, background, headers, and so forth.
With free themes, you usually have some ability to customize it with a few built-in options and checkboxes, however, not nearly as much as with a premium theme.
I know what you’re thinking –
“You don’t need to customize your blog theme.”
Here’s the thing, though, just because you think a theme is perfect as it is now, it doesn’t mean you’ll always feel that way. You may want to add new features or change the look at some point.
Creating a unique online brand identity is a pretty important factor for many professional bloggers and online business owners. That’s why you should plan ahead and use a theme that will give you the maximum options for customization as possible.
Your WordPress theme says plenty about you and your blog.
If you’re using your blog for business, or for any other meaningful purpose, don’t you want to be able to make it look and function as perfectly as it can?
Of course, you do.
And, this goes beyond the cosmetics of how the blog looks (which is very important too, of course) and also involves any features you might need, whether it be a shopping cart, a forum or a membership area, custom pages, etc.
Bottom line is this – it’s easy to find and use a free WordPress theme and think it’s going to be good enough, but if you have real ambitions for your website, you should think very carefully about the free theme you’re using or thinking of using.
As we’ve uncovered in this post, there are some compelling reasons to find the perfect premium theme for your WordPress blog.
So, are you currently using a free WordPress theme or a premium or paid theme? I’d love to know, so please share your comment below.
In the meantime, if you’re in search of a quality premium WordPress theme, do check out Genesis Theme Framework or Thrive Themes. Template Monster is also a great place to find quality themes.
The very best of luck.
