Should I pay for plugin licenses?
You can get MOST WordPress plugins (even Premium plugins) for FREE! However…
It's simply not worth it. Without paying for plugin licenses, you (or your web developer) will need to manually upload each new version of every premium plugin that you are using every time an update is published (you won't be notified when important updates become available so you will constantly be checking for updates). Also, publications of the free versions are usually delayed, so you are typically a few (sometimes many) versions behind. This can pose serious security risks.
That doesn't sound like a big deal until you neglect some plugins for a while and your website gets hacked because of vulnerabilities caused by insecure, out-of-date plugins 🙂 . The more plugins you are using, the more likely you are to eventually get hacked. That likelihood skyrockets when you don't have automatic updates enabled (which only work when you are using the paid licenses). Also, out-of-date plugins are much harder to scan for viruses and other malicious code—so if you do get hacked, it will be harder to find out quickly.
You could opt for building your website with many free plugins to create the same functionality that a premium plugin accomplishes. However, we've observed that premium plugins tend to get updated more frequently and are often much more secure.
In our experience, it's extremely difficult to stay on top of manual plugin updates. No small business has the resources to monitor their website that persistenly. We have seen more than 50 websites hacked or destroyed due to plugin negligence. Please learn from the mistakes of others and get yourself licenses to make sure your website stays as secure as possible.
You may still want to use free plugins, but please consider one last point. Anything you saved by not paying for plugin licenses will probably be spent later to recover your website files & database if/when it gets hacked.
If you still want the free versions of the plugins, use the buttons below to find free plugins and themes or have us install and manually update them for you periodically. If you'd like to learn from others' mistakes and purchase premium plugin licenses, either 1) visit each website and purchase a license, or 2) use the form below to purchase discounted use of our agency-level plugin licenses.
It's simply not worth it. Without paying for plugin licenses, you (or your web developer) will need to manually upload each new version of every premium plugin that you are using every time an update is published (you won't be notified when important updates become available so you will constantly be checking for updates). Also, publications of the free versions are usually delayed, so you are typically a few (sometimes many) versions behind. This can pose serious security risks.
That doesn't sound like a big deal until you neglect some plugins for a while and your website gets hacked because of vulnerabilities caused by insecure, out-of-date plugins 🙂 . The more plugins you are using, the more likely you are to eventually get hacked. That likelihood skyrockets when you don't have automatic updates enabled (which only work when you are using the paid licenses). Also, out-of-date plugins are much harder to scan for viruses and other malicious code—so if you do get hacked, it will be harder to find out quickly.
You could opt for building your website with many free plugins to create the same functionality that a premium plugin accomplishes. However, we've observed that premium plugins tend to get updated more frequently and are often much more secure.
In our experience, it's extremely difficult to stay on top of manual plugin updates. No small business has the resources to monitor their website that persistenly. We have seen more than 50 websites hacked or destroyed due to plugin negligence. Please learn from the mistakes of others and get yourself licenses to make sure your website stays as secure as possible.
You may still want to use free plugins, but please consider one last point. Anything you saved by not paying for plugin licenses will probably be spent later to recover your website files & database if/when it gets hacked.
If you still want the free versions of the plugins, use the buttons below to find free plugins and themes or have us install and manually update them for you periodically. If you'd like to learn from others' mistakes and purchase premium plugin licenses, either 1) visit each website and purchase a license, or 2) use the form below to purchase discounted use of our agency-level plugin licenses.
Obtain Discounted Licenses
We have purchased agency-level licenses in bulk.
You can save some dollars by using our agency licenses on your websites. Sign up for a license using the form below and we will activate it on your website to enable automatic updates.
You can save some dollars by using our agency licenses on your websites. Sign up for a license using the form below and we will activate it on your website to enable automatic updates.