8 Reasons To Avoid Nulled WordPress Themes And plugins

We all look for solutions to our problems that are within our budgets. That is how human instinct functions, and it’s not awful. However, some people are enticed to make a quick financial gain. It ultimately creates a loss over the long term.

On occasion, websites on the internet provide free downloads and installations of premium WordPress plugins or themes. Do you genuinely believe that this is being done by charitable individuals who want to save you from having to pay for a template or plugin?

In this post, we’ll be taking a look at some reasons to avoid nulled WordPress themes and plugins. Do well to read this post to the end as it’ll be very informative.

WHAT IS A NULL WORDPRESS THEME?

Nulled WordPress themes and plugins are pirated versions of premium software that have been modified to work without a license key. Although the WordPress CMS is free to download, its users are aware that paying even a small amount is necessary to provide visitors with a high-quality website.

In addition to web hosting, there are premium WordPress themes and plugins that can help your site come to life and improve security and speed.

Some WordPress developers use nulled versions of these same tools because it can be expensive to set up a high-performing WordPress website. Nulled themes and plugins are less expensive than the genuine premium versions, but they come with serious security, SEO, and other compatibility issues.

The use of nulled themes and plugins entails security risks, compatibility problems, and potential legal ramifications. It’s recommended to stay away from them and spend money on reliable choices for your website.

ARE NULLED WORDPRESS THEMES AND PLUGINS ILLEGAL?

Using nulled WordPress themes and plugins is both legal and illegal. It is illegal because they are piracy of licensed software. As a result, using them amounts to theft from the original developers who invested time and effort in producing the product.

Nulled WordPress themes and plugins have a limitation though and that is why we said they’re legal. Frequently, premium WordPress products use GPL (General Public License). The distribution of the software covered by this license is permitted without charge or restriction. Because the WordPress CMS system uses the GPL and because it’s a requirement to be featured in the WordPress marketplace, themes and plugins are released under this license.

GPL has the unfortunate flaw of allowing anyone to modify and distribute the software it covers. Any developer is allowed to purchase a premium edition of a product, change the code in any way they see fit, and then publish it as their own. WordPress items that have been pirated normally remain lawful as long as all content that is protected by copyright is removed.

CAN I STILL USE THEM IF THERE ARE NO LEGAL ACTIONS WHEN I DO?

No, using nulled WordPress themes and plugins is not advised. Even when something is free or legal, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or that you should use it. Although using nulled WordPress products won’t get you in trouble with the law, you won’t want to deal with the security risks and out-of-date codes. It may be alluring to save a little money by using nulled themes, the dangers outweigh any perceived benefits by a considerable margin.

The use of free WordPress plugins and themes is more detrimental than beneficial. They can easily stop working with the most recent WordPress version. This implies that you will need to delete the nulled version and install a new one each time WordPress releases an upgrade. It is better to just stay with reputable options to safeguard both your website and yourself.

REASONS TO AVOID NULLED WORDPRESS THEMES AND PLUGINS

There are a lot of reasons to avoid nulled Wordpress themes and plugins. The following are some of the reasons to avoid nulled WordPress themes and plugins:

1. Nulled WordPress Themes And Plugins Can Compromise The Security Of Your Website.

The security of your website might be significantly compromised by using nulled WordPress themes and plugins. This is one of the reasons to avoid nulled WordPress themes and plugins. Some developers advise against downloading nulled versions of their products because of this threat.

Because developers can do whatever they want with a nulled product, they frequently add malicious code, such as spammy links, redirects to questionable websites, a backdoor that allows unauthorized access to your data, or malware that could steal sensitive data or even bring down your entire website. If you choose to use a nulled product, the choices are essentially endless—and not in a good manner. Good luck identifying these problems on your own.

Although malware scans can find some malicious programs, there is always a possibility that you will lose some important files. Hackers are skilled at disguising malware so that it won’t likely be noticed, and you might not notice the damage until it’s too late.

Nulled WordPress software is not worth the risk for this reason alone. To safeguard your reputation, your visitors, and yourself, you’re much better off buying the genuine version.

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2. Nulled Themes And Plugins Are Not Good For Your SEO

Even if you ignore other reasons to avoid nulled WordPress themes, you should consider this. Your search engine authority may take months to develop, just to be destroyed by a single nulled plugin or theme.

This is because these plugins and themes frequently have hidden outbound links to malicious websites and spam links. Even if you don’t notice these links scattered across your website, Google’s site crawlers will notice them and take them into account when determining your site’s ranking.

If you link to known malicious websites, Google may even completely delete your site from the index.

3. You Won’t Receive Updates From Plugin Developers.

Every WordPress user is aware that updates are a necessity. Updates are often released by plugin and theme developers to fix issues in software, close security holes, and add new features.

This is also one of the most important reasons to avoid nulled Wordpress themes and plugins. You won’t get these upgrades if you purchase a nulled version of a plugin or theme. For several reasons, outdated WordPress software is not ideal.

You will miss out on features that could enhance user experience and performance on your website. You are bound to the features of a nulled product once you download it.

Also, outdated plugins and themes are a major threat to WordPress security. Vulnerabilities are noted in public changelogs as they are discovered and fixed by developers. Using out-of-date software, a malicious actor could target websites, including yours, by referring to these logs.

4. Unethical Use Discourages Innovation

Some could counter that it is a very small piece of software and that I am only doing this because I cannot currently afford to pay for it. However, someone’s expertise, talent, and labor of love went into creating this small fragment of code. You are depriving software developers of revenue by using nulled versions of their products. Don’t you think this is one of the reasons to avoid nulled Wordpress themes and plugins?

In addition to spending their time developing code, developers also have to run their businesses, which costs a lot of money, as well as offer assistance, write documentation, build websites, and hire support workers.

Their business suffers and they lose money when you use nulled themes and plugins. These unethical methods might deter developers from coming out with fresh, inventive solutions that could help a lot of users.

5. Nulled Themes And Plugins Affects User Experience.

This is one of the reasons to avoid nulled Wordpress themes and plugins. Nulled products may also display unwanted advertising in the form of pop-ups as if malware and spam weren’t enough already.

You have no control over the advertisements that appear, so they may promote anything the developers desire. You probably won’t be aware of these advertisements until your visitors do, unless you look for them and try to delete them. Not to mention how commercials might slow down page loads, it doesn’t look good.

6. You May Face Compatibility Issues

Updates for WordPress are frequently released and come with a variety of improvements. Each significant update includes enhanced security updates, bug repairs, new features, and functionality adjustments. This is one of the reasons to avoid nulled Wordpress themes and plugins.

These modifications are incorporated into the products of legitimate plugins and theme developers. However, out-of-date and nulled WordPress themes and plugins don’t work with the new upgrades, and occasionally they are no longer compatible with the most recent WordPress release.

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7. You Won’t Be Able To Receive Support

The functionality of the original software may be duplicated by unauthorized themes and plugins, but they will never provide the same degree of support as an official license.

Because you are receiving the product for little to no money, nulled developers have no motive to assist you. On the other hand, official developers invest a lot of effort and money in providing product support or at the very least comprehensive documentation.

This means that you are responsible for resolving any problems, including bugs and technical challenges, that you run into with a nulled product. Online information could be beneficial, but a committed support staff can solve your issues much more quickly.

8. You May Lose Personal Information 

For e-commerce sites and other websites where users can create accounts, this issue is particularly serious. These websites keep the information for a variety of uses. Due to the backdoors and harmful software inherent in the nulled products, your website may become infiltrated, resulting in the loss of all important data.

Once you lose control of your client’s personal information, there is nothing you can do but feel regret. The misuse of these pieces of information cannot be stopped.

Such instances can damage a company’s reputation, and clients may never again trust the website. Because of this, it’s a good idea to adhere to the best WordPress security recommendations whether you’re using a nulled item or a premium item.

HOW CAN I TELL IF A WORDPRESS WEBSITE IS UTILIZING A NULLED THEME OR A THEME THAT WAS INITIALLY PURCHASED?

In the most visible areas of the theme (style.css and layout.php), nulled themes will also appear authentic. Therefore, unless you check your backend and look for a license key as well as a sign that the theme has been registered and is recognized by the network/marketplace from which it was obtained, there is no way to tell if you have the original version or a nulled one.

Don’t jump to conclusions if there isn’t. Ask your site hosting company to send you the key to register the theme, which you essentially own if it was included in the contract, by getting in touch with them.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORDPRESS PLUGINS AND THEMES?

WordPress themes are made to drastically alter the appearance of your website. This comprises the overall aesthetic of the website, including the design, layout, colors, and navigation. One theme can be active on your WordPress site at a time, but you can use as many plugins as you like.

The default theme that comes installed on the majority of WordPress sites is functional but has a pretty plain appearance. However, you can completely change the design of your website by installing a new theme.

Plugins are designed to offer new features and functionalities, whereas themes change the appearance of your website. In plainer terms, plugins affect what your site can do, whereas themes affect how it looks. Because there are solutions for almost any functionality you can think of, plugins can’t be as simply explained.

Some plugins concentrate on giving your site a single new feature. The ideal illustration is Contact Form 7, which enables you to create customizable forms and embed them on your pages.

Other plugins, like Jetpack or Wordfence, offer several useful features and tools. There is a plugin to help your site do any task you have in mind.

FAQs

CONCLUSION

The use of nulled plugins and themes will always leave you open to attack. You MUST NOT utilize any of them to keep your website secure. There are a ton of free plugins available if you are unable to pay for any paid plugins.

Even some of the premium versions of the free plugins are superior in some cases. In this case, RankMath is the ideal illustration. Most importantly, you can use products lawfully with the assistance of the developers.

We hope you found our post on reasons to avoid nulled WordPress themes and plugins very helpful. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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REFERENCE

• https://themesutra.com
• https://www.wpbeginner.com
• https://blog.hubspot.com
• https://betterstudio.com

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