- June 12, 2020
- Innomax
- 0
All of the websites that are built using CMS (content management system) such as WordPress use themes to manage their appearances.
In other words, if you choose WordPress to build your website, your theme is the most important part of your website design.
Most WordPress themes are available either free of cost or at a nominal price, which is usually not more than $100.
But there is another category of themes that few web developers go with. This category is known as “Nulled Themes“.
What’s a nulled theme?
The premium themes that are hacked & made available to download for free (illegally) or at a lower price are known as nulled themes.
Should you use them?
Of course, no.
Nulled themes are the hacked versions of premium themes that are being sold illegally on the internet at a cheap price or for free.
Since these themes are already hacked, they do not carry any security. So, if you choose a nulled theme for your WordPress website development, your site could always be prone to different kinds of security threats.
In this blog post, we have shared 5 major reasons for you to avoid using nulled themes for your WordPress website.
Let’s have a look over them, shall we?
#1 Nulled themes are not secured
As we have already mentioned above that a null theme is a hacked product of its premium version, it will usually have backdoors through which the hackers can enter from the backdoor to infect the website.
One of the core objectives for black-hat developers to create nulled themes is to use your website for getting backlinks to their sites, without your knowledge.
So, do not use a nulled theme for your website because it can really affect the security & privacy of your website badly.
Recommended post: 6 Major reasons to secure your WordPress website
#2 Nulled themes are illegal
In simpler language, nulled themes are stolen premium themes and do not hold any license to use them.
When you use nulled theme for your website development, it can lead you to legal proceedings if its original developer file a complaint against you.
So, do not use nulled themes just for the sake of saving some money while the consequences of using them could be paying a huge penalty.
#3 Nulled themes are not supported
When you use a premium WordPress theme legally by purchasing it from the original developer’s website or any marketplace such as “Envato”, you do get technical support for a few months, which is usually 6 months (after the purchase).
During this support period, if you face any kind of issues or bugs in the theme, you can always create a ticket and get your issue resolved.
But when you use a nulled theme, there is no one to help you out. You will have to hire a WordPress developer to fix the issues created by your nulled theme. And in most cases, your developer would suggest you either replace the nulled theme with its premium version or redesign your website.
#4 Nulled themes affect SEO
How can a nulled theme affect SEO?
A nulled theme usually contains spam links and malicious code, through which the attackers can redirect your visitors to other websites that can harm them. As a result,
- Search engines such as Google can blacklist your website.
- Your website visitors lose their trust in your website and never visit again.
- The link juice of your website is badly affected due to the illegitimate backlinks in your nulled theme.
#5 Nulled themes can't be updated
It is important for every WordPress website to have updated plugins & themes, all the time.
When you use a premium theme for your website development, you will be regularly notified about the updates & patches available to download & install with your website.
However in the case of a nulled theme, you can’t update it to its latest version and as a result, your website could be at a higher risk of getting infected and sometimes even worst, can be hacked as well.
Conclusion:
Never use a nulled theme just for the sake of saving a small amount of money. It can really cost you a lot in terms of:
- Your business reputation
- Huge penalty
- Website security