‘Free’ WordPress Themes? Really?

  • I have a real issue with the manner in which some themes at least are presented on the WordPress website.

    Part of WordPress’ success comes from the fact that it is free software. In looking through the available plugins for WordPress more often than not, one can differentiate between a plugin that is being offered at no charge versus one which is very limited in function that is being offered as a ‘come-on’ for the developer’s ‘Pro’ version that you pay for.

    With the themes that are being offered, more often than not, the description of the theme which appears on the WordPress website is a description for the ‘Pro’ version of the theme, but that fact is omitted by the author.

    Look, I’m not a coder or a developer, and I have no doubt that the folks that do spend many hours working very hard to come up with a product that is worthy of the price they ask for it, but let’s at least be honest about it and not mislead people into thinking they’re getting something for free that they are not.

    That’s my two-cents worth.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    Topic moved to Miscellaneous.

    I have a real issue with the manner in which some themes at least are presented on the WordPress website.

    Okay.

    Part of WordPress’ success comes from the fact that it is free software.

    I totally agree. The opensource GNU license permits so much that is often intentionally limited by “commercial” software licenses.

    In looking through the available plugins for WordPress more often than not, one can differentiate between a plugin that is being offered at no charge versus one which is very limited in function that is being offered as a ‘come-on’ for the developer’s ‘Pro’ version that you pay for.

    Oh. You’re not talking about freedom, you mean cost. Free as in free beer.

    With the themes that are being offered, more often than not, the description of the theme which appears on the WordPress website is a description for the ‘Pro’ version of the theme, but that fact is omitted by the author.

    I look at (so many things here!) the reviews, theme pages and plugin pages. If you are aware of a theme or plugin that doesn’t clearly delineate what the WordPress repository version has compared to the “pro” version then please let us know in the forums.

    That’s not the same thing as what you or I may personally prefer on a theme or plugin page. There’s a clear line between user preferences and what the theme or plugin author actually represents here. But if something is offered here that you need to but something to get it then that will be rectified.

    Theme and plugin authors are permitted to upsell here but they can’t represent features in the hosted www.remarpro.com version that don’t exist in that version.

    Please, when you encounter a specific theme or plugin with a misleading description, post a negative review and/or a question or comment in the theme or plugin’s support section. Your involvement will be very helpful to the WP community.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    post a negative review

    *Drinks coffee*

    No, do not do that. Posting a negative review for that reason is actually an abuse of the review system. You do not post negative reviews for that reason, that’s not appropriate.

    Sometimes theme or plugin authors make mistakes. That can be corrected but using the review system as a form of coercion is wrong.

    vnuindia

    (@vnuindia)

    Hi,

    Is there any other websites to buy word press themes?

    for example, i have seen some word press themes in themeforest.net website, but these themes are not listed in www.remarpro.com.

    will there be any problem, if i buy themes in third party websites and install in to wordpress?

    Regards,
    Hemanth

    jonimueller

    (@jonimueller)

    It is a bit annoying to install a theme to find out it then begins to nag you to purchase the pro version. But one key that might help you avoid these kind of themes is the fact that a large majority of them have the word “Lite” in their name. That should help you avoid some of them. ??

    jonimueller

    (@jonimueller)

    You can buy themes from just about anywhere. That doesn’t mean they will be solidly-coded or adhere to web standards. All that is a crap shoot. Stick to reputable sites such as these and you should be okay. There are others, this is not an exclusive list, but it is a start:

    https://www.studiopress.com (Genesis framework)
    https://themetry.com/themes/
    https://www.elegantthemes.com
    https://www.templatic.com
    https://www.graphpaperpress.com
    https://www.mojo-themes.com

    • This reply was modified 8 years ago by jonimueller. Reason: Added some additional links
Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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