WordPress, a content management system, has become one of the most popular and easiest ways to create a website or a blog. One of the reasons WordPress is the most successful open-source CMS presently is the abundance of themes and plugins available. WordPress is responsible for approximately 43% of all websites on the Internet, which implies that one out of every four websites is likely to be powered by WordPress.

Nulled Themes and Plugins in WordPress

Since WordPress is used to create a plethora of websites, it has been built highly versatile as a platform. Elements such as plugins, which provide new features and functionalities to users’ websites and themes, change and enhance its appearance and elevate the application’s quality. The user is provided with the option to use either free or premium plugins and themes from the directory. Premium ones, however, are more expensive, and many users try to cut costs by acquiring nulled WordPress plugins and themes.

Why are nulled Themes and Plugins becoming an Issue?

However, ‘nulled’ themes and plugins pose a threat as they are the modified versions of the premium plugins that do not have paywall or licence limitations. Simply put, they are unauthorized and pirated versions of the premium plugins. Since they provide the features of premium plugins and themes at no cost, they greatly appeal to the users. As a result, many users overlook critical issues such as privacy and security.

Apart from providing premium features, nulled themes and plugins also provide malicious malware and backdoors for free! This presents itself as a major threat to spread SEO spam, launch attacks on other websites and steal sensitive information, all of which can put the site visitors at risk and ruin the websites reputation and credibility. Why are nulled Themes and Plugins becoming an Issue?

Have an Eye on Legality Issue

Premium WordPress facilities are often licenced under the General Public Licence (GPL), which permits the free and unfettered distribution of the software it covers. Various mixed licences are also available with several plugins and themes. So technically, the utilization of nulled themes and plugins is not entirely legal.

Secure your personal Data

Nulled WordPress plugins and themes might harm the website and the server if the hosting company does not take the necessary precautions. The use of nulled themes and plugins carries a great risk of being hacked rather easily. The hacker can access almost any element of personal and professional data stored on the website. The nulled plugin will direct the information and send it to its server as soon as the page is activated, it is activated, and then it’s a matter of seconds before all of the data history is stolen.

Look out for Regular Updates

Themes and plugins for WordPress that have been nulled do not come with any upgrades, and interestingly, the most common cause of hacked WordPress websites is outdated plugins. Hackers tend to acquire personal information from third-party websites rather than the original developer. They are frequently designed to work without using a licencing key, and as a result, the version of the WordPress blog would be outdated, which is likely to be insecure. That is why plugin makers distribute updates on such a regular basis. This poses a grave threat to the security of personal information and compromises the identity of the company. It takes years to earn a reputation and only seconds to lose it on the Internet.

Ending Note

People often overlook the downsides and risks that nulled plugins and themes carry with them when they utilise them. Several public awareness campaigns are being launched concerning the harmful nature of nulled plugins and themes in WordPress.
Lastly, the domain’s credibility and organic traffic suffer because of this and developers who invest their time, expertise and effort are being deprived of their profits. It is, therefore, preferable to look for alternatives to nulled plugins and themes.