Let’s be honest. Nobody likes to pay more. But what about launching a new website or project that costs hundreds of dollars, and you want to save a little?
The most logical thing is to save where users will not see, for example, on some technical elements. So, for instance, cheaper or free plugins and themes seem harmless.
Sometimes this idea can cause the site to break and you to lose your reputation.
Don’t you think the nulled WordPress plugins are a high risk to take?
What Are Nulled WordPress Plugins and Themes?
If you enter the name of a plugin/theme and add nulled at the end, you will see dozens of websites that offer to download that plugin or theme for almost free. For example, more than 1000 people Google “premium WordPress plugins nulled” every month.
Nulled plugins and themes are premium versions of these WordPress add-ons that have been re-coded. Since WordPress is an open-source CMS, anyone can write a plugin or create add-ons. But often, re-coding existing plugins causes not only data loss but also a website crash.
What problems can the installation of such a plugin or theme lead to?
8 Reasons to Stop Using Nulled Plugins and Themes
1. You may lose your data or give access to it to fraudsters
Plugins and themes save time and money on creating individual features and styling. When you install a plugin, as usual, you don’t view its code. Instead, you download and activate it. The same goes for nulled plugins. But remember, fraudsters rewrote this code. It means unwanted code fragments could be introduced into the website, which can copy your data and transfer it to data thieves.
Finding these pieces of code can take many days, and you may still have no results. And this is the first and most important reason to reject nulled plugins.
2. Your website may get broken
The next equally important issue is that nulled plugins and themes can start to conflict with other plugins on your website, which may lead to a complete crash.
Developers of licensed plugins and themes invest a lot of time and effort into providing users with a quality product that won’t harm their projects. Such products are safe to install and do not bring undesirable consequences. Fraudsters don’t care about their reputation, so they aren’t interested in what happens to your site.
Of course, you can try fixing the bugs yourself, but you need to know the product’s architecture.
3. You won’t get access to plugin updates
WordPress and most plugins are updated every few weeks. As a result, the code is constantly being improved and supplemented. But for obvious reasons, this does not happen with nulled plugins. It means you do not get access to new features and risk the next update will cause the nulled plugin to conflict with anything else on the website.
Of course, you can delete the nulled plugin after each update and install a new version, but you will have to configure everything from scratch each time.
4. You won’t get support
Most plugins have a support team to help you fix any problem quickly. You can contact them, tell them what happened, and get a solution. However, it is clear that with a nulled plugin, you are not entitled to support services.
Therefore, you will have to find a solution by yourself if something stops working.
5. Your users may see inappropriate content
Now, this point may not seem so important. But you never know what links and code snippets are hidden in the nulled plugin. Perhaps, after you install such an add-on, the website users will see unwanted ads, be redirected to other strange sites, and receive suspicious messages.
What reputation will you earn as a site owner, then?
6. You lose positions in SEO rankings
SEO is a pretty tricky thing. You can accumulate a good reputation for years, collect trusted links and write valuable content. But a few links to dangerous sites can take you out of the search results for good.
Such links can be hidden in the nulled plugin code, and you are unlikely to notice them quickly.
7. You open doors to fraudsters
Another problem that you may face is the attack of fraudsters. As I wrote above, the original plugins are constantly updated. These updates are added to the Changelog, which is usually public. It indicates the problem has been resolved. If it was about security, then any data thief could see this loophole and hack a site where these updates were not implemented: websites with nulled plugins.
They can access both your personal information and your customers’ data.
8. You steal money from the developer
Developers spend many hours creating each plugin and theme. These are not big corporations with billions of dollars in revenue. Most often, it is a few enthusiasts who do their job well. Nulled plugins deprive them of their hard-earned dollars.
It’s about ethics, as no one wants to go unpaid for their work, right?
How to Save Money?
If you’re looking to save money but don’t want to put the website, the customers, and yourself at risk, there are several options to help you.
- Check out the free version of the plugin in the WordPress repository.
Most plugins have a free version, so you can get familiar with their features and try them out. Check if there is what you need. Usually, free versions have features that are enough for regular operation.
- Look for analogs. Luckily, there are hundreds of plugins out there that perform similar tasks. If you think some plugin is very expensive, look for a replacement. You will find something suitable at a lower price or for free.
FAQ
To purchase and download plugins and themes, choose the official websites of the developer company or wordpress.org.
If you do not want data loss, website breakdown, and other undesirable consequences, deactivate it and remove it from your resource.
Not really. Nulled plugins and themes are PRO versions of plugins whose code has been re-coded by self-taught developers who are interested in fast money.
Last Few Words
Nulled plugins and themes seem like a sweet candy that you want to use. It is what they are designed for. Anyone who does not think about the consequences may face various problems when choosing such plugins: from data and site loss to customer troubles.
No amount of money can replace your reputation, the work hours, and your customers’ trust. Therefore, consider whether these consequences are worth the money saved before installing something illegal.
