5 Reasons To Stop Using Nulled WordPress Plugins And Themes

Whether you are just starting a WordPress website or are already halfway through it, it is undeniable to not find ways that can help you save a few bucks. In this pursuit, people generally end up using nulled themes and plugins on their sites. 

According to a 2020 Threat Report, the distribution of malware through counterfeit pirated and nulled themes and plugins is one of the biggest threats faced by the entire WordPress ecosystem.

Most of the time, site owners remain oblivious to the risks linked with nulled tools. In the worst-case scenario, they might not even be aware that there is a nulled theme or plugin on the site. If you are also sailing in the same boat, you have stumbled upon the right post. 

In this article, let’s find out what exactly are nulled WordPress themes and plugins and how they could be harmful to your site. Then, we have highlighted the top five reasons why you should stop using nulled WordPress themes and plugins right away. 

Let’s get started. 

Nulled WordPress Plugins and Themes: Meaning

When you use a pirated copy of a premium plugin or theme that is unethically available on the internet, that is what is known as a nulled WordPress plugin or theme. Now, you would think that the practice of using a pirated or copied version is illegal. However, such is not the case. 

In fact, WordPress and its themes and plugins are licensed under General Public Licence (GPL). Thus, it is absolutely acceptable to distribute the pirated version of any plugin or theme. 

However, despite being a legal activity, such a practice comes with several negatives than positives. For instance, it leads to WordPress developers losing money from sales that they could have otherwise generated by selling authentic themes and plugins.

A lot of time, resources, and efforts are invested into the creation of a premium tool. Thus, those who are actually putting their best into the product should get all the rewards. 

Beyond this moral issue, there are plenty of security issues presented by nulled WordPress plugins and themes. Almost every such tool will have vulnerabilities that can compromise the security and integrity of your site. 

While you might relish premium services without paying the price, there are chances that the nulled product is the reason behind your website getting hacked by an attacker. If this happens, it can lead to the following situations:

• Your site can get filled with unnecessary spam
• Hackers can take control of your site and can lock you out
• Sensitive data can get stolen
• The site can go down complete
• Your brand’s reputation can be ruined
• You can face revenue loss
• Your site can get added to a botnet
• SEO can be ruined, and the site can get blacklisted

Since a hack is a serious situation, you must know that it can happen in the blink of an eye if you are using any nulled WordPress theme or plugin on your website. 

How to recognize nulled WordPress plugins and themes?

If you have bought a copy or lifetime license of a premium WordPress plugin or theme for free or at a discounted price not from the original vendor but a third party, know that you are using the tool’s nulled version. 

Although your dashboard may display that you have a premium version activated, such installations don’t have a valid license key required to activate the premium features. Thus, these plugins or themes are not completely functional. 

Are nulled WordPress plugins and themes illegal?

It is quite unlikely that an investigation team is going to knock on your door for using a nulled WordPress theme or plugin. This is because, contrary to other pirated content, nulled plugins and themes don’t break the law often.

It is all linked to the General Public License (GPL). A part of this license lets people freely distribute any GPL-licensed software, even the premium ones. Thus, if a nulled site is putting any software, theme or plugin for download, they are not breaking any law technically as they have the right to distribute it freely.

Keep in mind that GPL is a huge part of WordPress, and most of the plugins and themes use GPL. This is because plugins and themes should be GPL-compliant before they can be listed on WordPress.org.

Although premium plugins don’t need a GPL license, many come with a freemium version on the repository, which requires a GPL license. Or, they might choose to get this license. There are some other reasons, too, such as using an existing GPL-licensed code in themes or plugins. 

Generally, if you are using an existing code in any product, you must also release ensuring products under the GPL. 

Overall, most nulled plugins and themes that you see around the internet are not illegal. However, this should not be any reason to equip your site with nulled extensions and themes. 

Five Reasons to Avoid Using Nulled WordPress Plugins and Themes

Here are some of the reasons that should be compelling enough to avoid the use of nulled WordPress plugins and themes: 

• Legal Issues

A variety of WordPress themes and plugins are 100% open source. But there are some that are available with mixed licenses. A mixed license means that some parts of the product’s code are safeguarded by copyright laws. Thus, if you choose to use a nulled plugin or theme, you don’t have legal permission to use that software.

Themes and plugins that have copyrighted code can be used only if you have bought the license directly from the software developer. Moreover, using these pirated products can lead to a variety of legal issues, such as:

• Data theft
• Data loss
• Unauthorized circulation of illegal material

Any one of such issues can lead you into a messy circle of legal proceedings that would need thousands of dollars to be paid. This surely doesn’t sound rewarding, is it? 

• Security Issues

Nulled products are extremely dangerous for the security protocols of your WordPress website. Beyond the susceptibilities built into them, these themes and plugins are also known for carrying malware on their own. 

Loading even a single nulled product on the site can cause the spread of malicious malware code to various files. Not just that, but the malicious code can disguise itself as well. Thus, it can become problematic to discover and fix the precise breach point.

There is also a possibility that in case you are not protected, you may lose the site data while the breach is taking place. In such a scenario, you could incur a massive loss. Apart from that, search engines, such as Google and others, may delist your site from search results because of active malware distribution.

• Privacy Issues

If you try to find the types of malicious code present in the files of a nulled plugin or theme, the task would be impossible. If you value the privacy of your data, you must never consider using any nulled product.

Some malicious code concealed in such files can steal vital information from your website and make it available throughout the dark net. The information that could be at risk includes:

• Usernames on the site (including the admin username)
• Passwords on the site (including the admin password)
• Email addresses

Moreover, if you are running an online store or a membership website, you will be putting the personal information of your customers at risk by using a nulled product. This can include credit card information, bank account information, phone numbers, physical addresses, and more.

So, being a responsible site owner, risking the privacy of customers to save a few bucks on premium themes or plugins is surely not worth it, right? 

• No Support

Sure, the internet is filled with support and guidebooks. This fact could be the driving force for you, as you would think you can find a way to use a pirated plugin or theme without any support or documentation. 

Whether you have tried doing the same or not, know that it is not recommended at all. In fact, even the ones who have been using WordPress websites for years altogether generally require personal product support and documentation to learn the best use of premium products.

Good and professional WordPress developers invest a lot of effort and time into offering personal support and creating detailed, profound documentation for users. Many also employ support specialists to answer queries in person. Moreover, some of them also invest time in tutorials and new product demonstrations. 

So, if you decide to choose nulled plugins and themes, you are on your own. When you get stuck, you will find no possible way to reach out to the product’s developer to seek help. This is because you don’t have the license for that product. 

Not just that, you cannot even access the valuable tutorials and documentation put forth by the developer as they are only for the ones who have paid the right way. 

• No Updates

Any WordPress theme or plugin that is a worthy shot will release periodic updates and bug fixes to add new features and mend security issues. However, nulled plugins and themes have no way of getting these updates from developers as they are not running on a valid license key.

 By merely having one plugin or theme on the site that is not fully updated, you make the entire website vulnerable, and it becomes easily accessible to malicious attackers. Furthermore, you will also experience SSL insecurities and bugs when running nulled products. 

Also, since WordPress releases updated versions of the software, the themes and plugins you are using must be updated to stay compatible with recent WordPress changes. Since you won’t be able to update the nulled products, they will no longer be compatible with the latest WordPress versions. At times, they may even become inaccessible altogether. 

Wrapping Up

Being a responsible WordPress website owner, you must know that the security of your site always has to be at the forefront. While malicious attacks and potential hacks are all lurking around, it has never been more vital than now to stay cautious with the tools you use. 

On the surface, it may look like a good deal to get a premium theme for the plugin at a discount or without paying anything. However, in reality, it is not worth it. Even if you have discovered a source for clean, legal GPL products, you will still be wasting your time as you will have to configure everything on your own. Also, you will have to manually check for updates and complete the process yourself. 

So, if you are using any nulled WordPress themes or plugins on the site, it’s time to say goodbye to them. Once done, make sure you install and activate only the premium themes and plugins. 

If at all you want to use the free version, make sure you are either downloading the product from the WordPress repository or from the right source without including any third party in between.