Why you must avoid nulled WordPress themes & plugins?
Nulled WordPress themes and plugins are pirated copies of paid WordPress themes and plugins distributed unethically on the internet.The folks redistributing nulled items argue that because WordPress and any derivative works (like plugins and themes) are licensed under GPL, it’s completely ok to copy and distribute it.
While that’s true, often this comes with big cost. Not only does it cause good WordPress Companies to lose money, but most importantly it compromises the security and integrity of websites using these nulled WordPress themes and plugins.
Here are some of the top reasons why you must avoid using nulled WordPress plugins and themes on your website.
1. Security
Nulled WordPress plugins and themes are extremely dangerous for WordPress security.They are known to carry malware.The malicious code can spread across different files to disguise itself which makes it hard to detect and fix when your website is hacked.
You could also lose your site data in the hack process. Last but not least, your site may get de-indexed from search engines for distributing malware.
2. Privacy
Nulled WordPress themes and plugins can have different kind of malicious code hidden inside. This can include code that steals information from your WordPress site and makes it available to hackers on the dark web.
This information may include your username, email address, and passwords. If you run an online store then the personal information of your customers can also be at risk.
These kind of hacks are hard to detect and may go unnoticed as your WordPress site keeps functioning normally.
3. Bad for SEO
Pirated WordPress themes and plugins can destroy your WordPres SEO completely. Nulled WordPress themes and plugins can add spam links to your website or hijack your users and redirect them to bad websites.
These activities are hard to detect by human eyes as the links are well hidden in the code. You will likely not be redirected when you are logged in to your WordPress account. However, search engines will be quick to notice that and penalize your website by dropping your search rankings or de-indexing your website completely.
You will have to spend months to recover your website’s SEO rankings and sometimes you may even have to make a new website from scratch.
4. Legal Issues
Many WordPress themes and plugins are open source, but some of them are sold with mixed licenses. This means that some parts of the code are protected by copyright laws and if you are using a nulled WordPress theme or plugin, then you don’t have legal permission to do so.
Pirated WordPress themes can result in data theft, data loss, or distribution of illegal material. All of these can lead to legal proceedings where you may end up paying huge sums to lawyers.
5. No Access to Updates
Most WordPress themes and plugins regularly release updates to fix bugs, add new features, and close security issues. Nulled WordPress themes and plugins cannot receive those updates because they don’t have a valid license key.
This leaves your WordPress site with an outdated version which may be buggy and insecure. WordPress itself regularly releases new versions and sometimes themes and plugins need to be updated to remain compatible with the latest changes. Since nulled theme or plugin can’t be updated, your website may start misbehaving or become inaccessible.
6. Support & Documentation
Even the most experienced WordPress users need support and documentation to properly use premium WordPress themes and plugins.
Developers of these products spend a lot of their time on providing support and creating documentation for their users. They even hire support specialists to answer questions and regularly add new tutorials.
If you are using a nulled WordPress theme or plugin, then you are on your own. You cannot ask the developers to help you out when you need help. You also don’t get access to documentation and tutorials because those are only available to paid customers.
7. Access to New Features
WordPress themes and plugins are updated regularly and often these updates include new features. If you are using a pirated WordPress product, then you cannot get automatic updates, and you wouldn’t even know that there are new features available
8.The Abundance of Free Alternatives
There is no reason for anyone to use nulled WordPress themes and plugins. No matter which WordPress theme or plugin you choose, there is always more than one suitable free alternative available for them.