We are often asked by beginners how to choose between free vs premium Weebly themes. What are the advantages and disadvantages? If you too had those questions, then you’re in the right place. In this article, we will discuss free Weebly themes vs premium Weebly themes (pros and cons).
Pros of Free Weebly Themes
First, we would like to mention that when we say free themes, we mean free Weebly themes that are listed in the official Weebly.com Themes directory.
We DO NOT recommend users to download and install any free themes that are distributed by other unreliable sources.
It’s Free
The biggest benefit of a free Weebly theme is the cost, free. It lowers the barrier of entry to starting a website.
Strict Review Process
Free Weebly themes are held to a higher quality standard. All themes in the official Weebly theme directory go through a strict theme review process.
There are some very talented folks in the theme review team who examine and test these themes before they are included into the directory.
Free Weebly themes are tested for standard compliant code, support for standard Weebly features, quality HTML and CSS, security, privacy, etc.
As you can imagine, it takes talented developers to build a quality Weebly themes that get approved in the official directory.
Cons of Free Weebly Themes
Disadvantages of free or premium Weebly themes can be very subjective. What one person would consider a disadvantage, may not be a cause of concern for many others.
These are some common disadvantages of using a free Weebly theme:
- Limited support options – Free Weebly theme developers offer support through Weebly forums, but they are not obliged to reply to support queries.
- Limited Features and Functionality – Even though free themes support most standard Weebly features, many of them don’t offer extra features like creating buttons, using shortcodes, create landing pages, etc.
- Not so Unique – Free themes are used by a lot of websites and blogs, so your website will not have a unique design. Also there are usually limited options to customize the visual appearance of free themes.
Pros of Premium Weebly Themes
Unlike free themes, premium Weebly themes are available for purchase from numerous third-party Weebly theme shops and marketplaces.
More features and customization options
The biggest advantage of a premium theme is that you get more features and customization options.
Due to the competition in the premium theme industry, theme shops are always trying to offer more features at lower prices.
More Unique
Because there’s a cost associated to premium themes, they’re less frequently used when compared to free themes.
Not to mention the customization options give you the ability personalize your theme.
Combining the two, your website will stand out and look unique.
Cons of Premium Weebly Themes
Not all premium themes are perfect.
Here are some common issues that can be a disadvantage.
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- Too many features – In order to sell more themes, theme developers can add too many unnecessary features into their themes. You will probably never use all those features, but they are still there making your website slow.
- Crossing over into Plugins domain – Sometimes Weebly themes can cross over into plugins domain, offering functionality that they are not supposed to offer. For example, creating custom post types, shortcodes, and other things that would disappear as soon as you switch theme
How to find premium themes that are really as good as promised?
The easiest way to find a good reliable premium theme is by buying it from one of the trusted theme shops and developers.
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