Nulled WordPress themes and plugins are free and could be obtained from various sources. It can be used in a WordPress site. But have you ever thought about the major consequences on your website caused due to use of nulled WordPress themes and plugins?
The price that you have to pay for using nulled WordPress plugins and themes can be high. These themes & plugins can put your website in real danger.
In this article, I’ll be explaining why you should avoid using nulled WordPress themes and plugins on your website.
What are nulled WordPress themes and plugins?
Nulled WordPress themes and plugins are simply stolen digital goods from which copyright materials, license keys, etc. are removed and redistributed unethically on the internet. You can also refer them to pirated copies of premium WordPress themes and plugins.
Since WordPress is licensed under GPL, any products under WordPress like themes and plugins are also licensed under GPL. Thus the people who produce nulled WordPress themes and plugins argue and claim that it is completely ok to produce copies and redistribute them.
In some instances, it is true. But still, it is an unethical and illegal practice. Due to this, many developers and owners who invest their time, money and effort to create themes and plugins lose money.
The use of nulled WordPress themes and plugins is the main reason why your website’s security is breached and gets hacked. Nulled WordPress themes and plugins always compromise your website’s security and integrity.
Below, I’ve listed the most important reasons why you must avoid using nulled WordPress themes and plugins on your website.
Who releases nulled WordPress plugins & themes and Why?
Nulled WordPress themes & plugins are released by an individual or group of person who has knowledge of hacking. What they do is either they buy the premium themes & plugins form the legal source to obtain the code of the product or they rely on other illegal sources to get their hand on the codes. After obtaining code they will modify the code by removing author copyright and inserts their code. I mean bug codes.
Usually, the nulled WordPress plugins & themes are released with the intention to create a backdoor on your website with the help of the inserted bug codes. That means you are giving up every information to them plus you will lose access to your own website(locked out). It will become more clear if you read the reasons.
Legal Issues
As I’ve mentioned earlier that the nulled WordPress themes and plugins do not contain the original owner’s or author’s copyright materials, you’ll be using them without a license & legal right.
Although the majority of WordPress themes and plugins are licensed under GPL, there are many themes and plugins which are licensed under multiple licenses and are protected under copyright laws. Using such nulled WordPress themes and plugins on your website is the same as using them without permission and violating copyright laws. Thus, this may lead the copyright holder to sue you.
Also, the use of nulled WordPress themes and plugins makes your website susceptible to a security breach resulting in illegal activities on your website. Thus leading you to legal proceedings and paying huge amounts as fine.
Malware Issues
Nulled WordPress themes & plugins are mostly infected by malware and possess many more threats. Malware can be viruses, spyware, worms, etc. which are designed to create destructions to your website or does other unwanted activities on your website. It does not care about your consent. Moreover, your server also gets infected by this malware.
There are many websites that help you to check whether the downloaded themes & plugins are free from malware or not. But still, I’m not sure that these scan sites provide 100% true results.
If you are thinking to check the code yourself and want to make it free from malware then it will be hard for you. To find out the malware problem is hard work for even trained professional developers and designers. Furthermore, if you don’t have access to premium theme & plugins then you can’t compare the codes to find out the authenticity of the nulled themes & plugins codes.
Researched shows that In 2017 only, 4,000 websites were infected by malware with the installation of fake SEO plugin.
Security and Protection
Do you think it is protective and have strong security to use nulled WordPress themes & plugins on your website?
No, it is not safe to use nulled WordPress plugins & themes. Why?
We know nulled WordPress themes & plugins are modified materials with the removal of copyright. Nulled WordPress plugins & themes are also malware-infected. That means your site will become vulnerable and has a high chance of getting hacked. Although, WordPress is protected by BruteProtect and WordFence plus it has strong security.
Mostly Nulled WordPress plugins & themes malware viruses that will damage your websites. These kinds of nulled themes and plugins carry bugs or spyware which remain undetected. Those planted bugs will start working from inside of your websites and make it vulnerable. Furthermore, it also creates a back door for hackers to access your website. They will have full control over your website and they can also change your password to steal valuable pieces of information
Areas of Vulnerabilities of WordPress
The above figure shows the data of 2017 where WordPress plugin has 54% vulnerabilities due to malware infection and WordPress core has 31.5% and WordPress themes have 14.5% vulnerabilities. Which represents the hacking rate using fake plugins & themes and un-updated WordPress core. Security is also related to updates which are explained below in part of the update.
Privacy Issues and Information
Do you think Your valuable information will be safe?
No, Your information is not safe while using nulled WordPress plugins and themes. The hackers will get access to your website and start accumulating your information for blackmail or to hack your other personal social accounts. Your room for privacy no longer exists.
If you have a blogging website about a niche then hackers may benefit by getting access to the names, contact information, and password from your user.
If you have business sites or eCommerce sites, news & magazine sites hackers may change your content, know your business plans, collects data about your website, meaning your websites are not safe from hackers.
Negative SEO
Search Engine Optimization helps to rank your website in Google search ranking. It is important to have positive SEO remarks due to which your websites get appeared on the screen of users when they are searching by using keywords.
How will nulled WordPress themes and plugins make SEO negative of your website?
We all know the SEO juice stuff and how we can pass them from one link to another. On our website, we make sure to pass SEO juice mostly to our internal links and mostly we do not pass SEO juice to external links. That way we are organizing our links and SEO remark.
Using nulled WordPress plugins and themes you do not also have full control over links on your websites and you cannot organize every link on your websites. In your websites, you won’t even realize or detect any unrelated links and unwanted links. Those links are called spam links that post out of content links on your website that ultimately make negative SEO remarks. You will also have a problem with broken links.
You may remove spam links at the moment you see but they happen to be auto-generate on your website. No matter how many spam links you deleted you cannot make them completely gone while using nulled WordPress themes and plugins.
No Access to Updates
Keep in mind that nulled WordPress plugins and themes cannot be auto-updated because you don’t have access to updates. No developer provides updates to the pirated version of their theme. It means either you have to wait for the latest pirated version of the themes and plugins or you have to manual input code to update the theme. You cannot update them on your dashboard. Even you find the latest pirated version, it comes with a high risk of getting malware each time.
There are many things you should know about updates. Core WordPress provides its own updates and so as WordPress themes and plugins. In first, nulled WordPress plugins and themes users don’t have access to any of the updates.
Second, new updates come with new features, improvement on old features, fixes the problems and errors or bugs, etc. If you are not using nulled WordPress and plugins then you get all the new features in time both of WordPress and WordPress plugins & themes
Third, In each WordPress update, you are also having the maintenance of your websites and getting stronger security. While using nulled WordPress themes and plugins you will be waiting for only updates of themes and plugins because new updates of core WordPress may generate an error on your websites You cannot update your dashboard until you find the latest pirated version. As well as you are not having the maintenance of your website and become an easy target for hackers.
Study shows that more than 60% of hacked websites are from using an outdated version of WordPress. That’s why I do not recommend you to use nulled WordPress themes and plugins. You can use your time for searching for the best free WordPress themes for you.
No Access to Support and Documentation
WordPress developers and designers do not support illegal activities and give support to the pirated versions of their themes and plugins. If you are using nulled WordPress themes and plugins then you are alone and on your own. In free version WordPress themes and plugins, you can have support from the theme developer but in the nulled case, you cannot ask for support. No developers will corporate with you if you have a nulled theme and plugin user.
Documentation is related to the instructions and guidance on installing themes and plugins. Developers do not make any documentation for nulled WordPress plugins and themes. They make documentation for mostly premium themes and plugins. The documentation of premium theme and plugins are only accessed by the real buyers. But not all of the users.
Therefore when you are are using nulled WordPress plugins & themes you are not eligible for support nor you have any access to the original documentation.
Customizing nulled WordPress themes and plugins is really troublesome especially when you do not have support and documentation.
It Works But Nothing Like Real Thing
You may be thinking that nulled WordPress themes and plugins work like the real premium themes and plugins. In first you just have a feeling that it is working like one but you will have the realization that it is working differently after using it for some time.
All the codes may be the same but nulled WordPress plugins & themes are modified and mostly infected by malware. You will be able to create a website like a premium one but you won’t have full control. You are creating websites in a destructible manner. Not all the malware infection take action right away. Some take time and work as a slow poison.
That means buying a premium version of themes and plugins and creating a website or running it is effective and efficient. Your website will be an asset to you because you are also investing in it. But when you are running websites by using nulled WordPress themes and plugins you are having liabilities. You need to fix the impact done by nulled themes and plugins either by hiring a developer or spending your time.
Remember nulled WordPress themes and plugins do not last longer period because many bugs and errors come in the surface level nor it is fit for the short term period.
Therefore, nulled WordPress themes and plugins lead to the way of destruction and start using it is just like starting destruction on your own website.
Encourage The Right Person
We all know WordPress has two kinds of themes & plugins free and premium(pro). Free themes & plugins cost 0$ but the premium cost dollar $ and have different price ranges. Premium themes & plugins are for sustaining developers and using them for creating more free themes and plugins. No one can contribute if they cannot sustain themselves. Developers also need to survive and want to support their families.
Do you know what scenario is created by nulled WordPress themes & plugins?
Developers put much more time and effort to create themes and plugins. It is a mentally exhausting thing. After completely finishing the building process of free themes and plugins. They release them on WordPress.org. While releasing the free theme developers have to also complete the pro version. Still there work is not done. They have to keep working for new updates both in the free version and premium. Not one-time update but have to provide numerous times of updates with passes of time. The important subject matter is customer support. The developers provide customer support for both free and premium versions.
Here comes nulled WordPress themes and plugins with little more modification and manipulation of codes. Breaking the cycle of developing themes and plugins. Hackers getting hands on the premium version codes of the themes & plugins with the removal of copyright and licensed plus adding a little bit of malware and they are good to release on the internet. They are stealing credit as well as almost entire codes of developers. Each new update on the premium version by developer followed with each releasing new malware-infected pirated by hacker.
Now, Is it ok to steal from someone again and again? What if it is like when someone steals from you? You cannot bear it right.
That’s right developers cannot bear those kinds of activities. Downloading pirated versions is not only destroying your website but also encouraging the hackers to release more nulled WordPress plugins and themes.
If you want to encourage developers who make themes and plugins then you can encourage them by using free version only plus not using nulled WordPress plugins and themes. It’s your choice and preference to buy or not to buy premium themes and plugins.
Therefore encourage the developers to develop more themes and plugins. Nulled WordPress themes are only a duplicate of the premium version. If there is no WordPress developer then there will be no themes and plugins.
In terms of cost
Do you still believe nulled WordPress themes are free or cost 0$?
No, null WordPress is not free, you just don’t know what will be the cost for you. At first, it will cost you your time and effort. To customize null themes and plugins without proper documentation and support will cost you more time & effort.
The cost will be your valuable information and whatever you created on the Website. You can even lose them with your website.
To fix the problems, you must hire professional developers which cost you even more. The total cost will be higher if the hired professional have to fix your website thoroughly.
Furthermore, you will be lacking new features on your website and you will have negative SEO which starts to increase your opportunity loss.
In WordPress, every best product comes at a fair price but not at a high price. Considering the years of developments and updates of themes and plugins. The damaged cost done by nulled WordPress themes and plugins will be more than premium WordPress themes and plugins.
You are not only risking yourself
The nulled WordPress themes and plugins have a high risk of malware infection. At first, you may not have any problem and malware infection but no one guarantees you that same nulled themes & plugins are malware infection-free in each new update.
There is a high chance that your information mainly your virtual identity can be sold among hackers and used for illegal activities. Your clients who are registered on your website can be the target of hacking and spam emails or messages. It’s like your website is the factory of illegal activities. That will ruin your image and reputation. It can also ruin your career, business, etc.
Therefore you are not only risking yourself but your clients and followers also.
Do The Right Thing
If you can’t afford the premium theme and plugin then use their free version. Although free themes have limitations there are many themes that have lots of features being free versions. You just have to spend your time to get the right theme for you. It’s the same case for plugins. You can find multiple options on the same nature of themes and plugins.
Competition can be found everywhere, in WordPress also there is the competition which benefits WordPress users like you cause you can have many features in free version themes and plugins. You have multiple options to choose a theme or plugins from. You can compete with themes & plugins prices, features, designs and many more. If you like then only you can purchase theme plus there is a policy of money-back guarantee of mostly 7 days.
Paid theme and plugins increases the performance of your websites which helps to boost your website income also. Therefore you are not spending your money but rather you are investing in your website.
The right thing to do is to use only WordPress themes and plugins that are crafted by WordPress developers. You should start avoiding the null WordPress themes & plugins and encourage the real developer to create more themes & plugins having many features.
Conclusion
Say “No” to nulled WordPress themes and plugins. I do not recommend nulled themes and plugins to use for test purposes also. The malware infection can put your website at higher risk and you won’t have knowledge about the devastating impact it can create. Using free WordPress themes & plugins created by WordPress developer is a better solution for you or it’s up to you to have a premium version.
Never use nulled WordPress plugins and themes. This is the best way to protect your website from being hacked and malware infection.
Thank you for reading my post and have a great day.