1) SEO

Bought themes are often full of unnecessary code for features that you will never use, making them SEO-unfriendly.

2) Low Standards

The majority of bought themes fail to follow the basic HTML standards eg. the proper use of H tags, minification of css/javascript etc.

3) Security

Often bought theme developers combine plug-ins with themes making them more vulnerable to malware. In 2014 over 100,000 ‘bought theme’ WordPress sites were hit with SoakSoak.ru malware leading to 10,000 domains being blacklisted by Google.

Such issues often reflect badly on WordPress’ credibility. In reality it is down to poor code. This has resulted in WordPress officially banning ThemeForest authors from speaking at WordCamps (official WordPress conferences.

4) Abandoned Themes

Often bought theme developers decide to abandon a theme. This means support stops and the theme becomes outdated and old.

5) Slow Speed

The poor code or unnecessary scripts in a bought theme can slow down a website. Every second delay in a page response results in a 5%+ conversion reduction!

6) Errors

A recent WordPress update resulted in all most every bought theme having ‘errors’. In most cases the problem was with hardly used features on the bought themes. It’s hard to find the cause of such problems as there are so many unneeded files being loaded into the sites and all the extra unnecessary code makes finding the error very difficult and time consuming.

7) Issues Swapping Themes

Often bought themes with ‘drag and drop’ features mean that moving to a new theme may lose some of your websites content or you have to copy it manually.

8) Unique Design

A bespoke theme is designed specifically for a client, creating a unique looking site for the customer. A bought theme is likely to be used by 100s, if not 1000s of businesses, often in the same market.

Here at Andrew Burdett Design we build bespoke themes for our clients, ensuring every website we create fulfils our customers needs perfectly. The code is concise and SEO friendly. The plug-ins used are kept to a minimum. Sites have the necessary scripts optimised for a clients sites needs. The result is well designed website that works well, that requires little maintenance and suits your requirements perfectly.

Call Andrew Burdett Design on ‭01629 732148‬ to discuss your bespoke website requirements.