6 Tips For Getting Discounts On WordPress Themes and Plug-ins
Over 40%, or two of five websites, rely on WordPress (WP) for content management, making it the most widely used system worldwide. The platform is also used by over a third of the world’s top-performing sites and has been the fastest-growing content management system for 12 years.
Ideally meant for bloggers, WP has expanded its market to include practically all industries, mainly the e-commerce, real estate, services, and hospitality sectors, to name a few. As such, WordPress has thousands of themes and plugins, allowing company sites to distinguish themselves from the competition and provide a seamless visitor experience.
According to websitebuilderexpert.com, maintaining a website could cost anywhere from USD$11 to USD$40 monthly to cover a domain name, web hosting, themes and plugins, and web security. But you can cut costs by availing of discount coupons, deals, and other money-saving moves. Find out what these are in this article.
Understanding WordPress themes and plugins
Websites must represent the face and values of businesses in the digital realm. Its appearance and functionalities must be well-thought-out in the web design and development processes.
As a content-management platform, WordPress enables customers to modify their theme for a customized appearance and design. Plugins, or extensions, add specific features and functionalities to your website, making it more useful. Different plugins are used for various purposes, including search engine optimization (SEO), marketing, and security. They work almost instantly after installing on your WordPress-hosted site.
How to get discounts on WordPress Themes and Plugins
Estimates indicate WordPress themes could cost site owners USD$200, while plugins can set them back up to USD$1,000. These figures can be prohibitive, especially for small businesses.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to substantially reduce costs, allowing you to allocate higher budgets for other core operations.
- Keep your eyes peeled for WordPress flash sales
Despite capturing most of the market, WordPress aims to attract more users by offering discounts to first-time subscribers. WP also encourages upgrades and purchases by periodically offering flash sale coupons to existing subscribers.
WordPress coupons and discount codes could appear anytime during the year, especially during Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and end-of-year holidays, where price reductions are typically higher.
WordPress coupon codes can be applied to the products the sale covers, whether monthly plan price-offs or discounts on plugins, themes, domains, or many others. These cost-savers can be used for multiple sites belonging to the same account.
Unfortunately, discount coupons have expiry dates, so you should use them early. They also apply to current transactions, so you’ll pay the regular price once the offer is no longer valid.
- Avail of verified WP deals from DontPayFull.com and other trusted sites
Coupons are a great way to attract new clients and retain current ones. Besides traditional ones printed in magazines and newspapers, promo codes are available online, especially on DontPayFull.com, a coupon website.
Create an account to access and get updated on the latest offers. The site has eight verified WordPress discounts and deals as of this writing. Three attractive discounts include 50% off on annual plans, one-year free domain and email support, and a free WordPress plan. The website claims users can save up to USD$112 from any of their current offers.
The downside is that the discount site can’t fully guarantee the prices, and the deals are time-restrictive, so you have to act fast to avail.
Before clicking anything, look for indications like a ‘verified’ logo to ensure a valid deal. Additionally, you can search unbiased review sites like Trustpilot. DontPayfull.com’s Trustpilot rating is 4.3, with 86% of consumers positively attesting to the site’s reliability.
A word of caution
If you’ve seen a plugin sold at USD$ 1 and is being offered at USD$60 elsewhere, check the site for reviews and legitimacy first before clicking. Some unscrupulous individuals sell unlicensed or nulled plugins that have been modified purportedly to allow users lifetime free access.
Getting unlicensed plugins and themes can expose your site to the following problems:
- They may contain malware and viruses.
- There’s no access to updates or customer support.
- The plugin/ theme won’t work well.
- A slower website harms your search ranking.
- Potential legal issues may occur.
In addition to being careful and exclusively using licensed themes and plugins, note that too many can slow down your site and negatively affect user experience. Only purchase the required plugins to save costs and keep your site responsive.
- Sign up for WP resource sites to get discount coupons
WordPress has built-in resources to guide its users. However, external WP resource sites can also help beginners learn valuable tips and hacks, such as using the right themes and plugins.
Aside from uploading relevant articles about the platform, most of these sites sell WordPress-related products online, for instance, e-books for beginners, tutorials, plugins, themes, and widgets.
For instance, a free WP resource site has an entire section dedicated to coupons and discount deals for WordPress and other platforms. These offers cover specialized themes for e-commerce stores and other niche businesses, plugins, services, hosting, and so on.
Each offer has a rating indicating whether users have successfully availed of the promo. However, these coupons only work with specific themes and plugin providers. Hence, you must look elsewhere if your plugin or theme-maker isn’t on the list.
- Check out offers from WordPress hosting companies
Signing up for WordPress is free, with certain restrictions that could impact your website functionalities. It’s best to pay for specific elements to optimize your WordPress.org or WordPress.com website, most notably the plugins, web hosting, themes, etc.
The most popular WordPress hosting providers offer discounted rates for their services and related products. For example, they may offer lower domain prices for new sign-ups or launch exclusive offers for themes and plugins that your business needs.
- Ask a developer to create one instead of subscribing to a vendor
Site extension and plugin costs vary wildly. According to fitsmallbusiness.com, premium plugins can cost anywhere from USD$49 to USD$99 per year. Higher-end ones can reach USD$250 monthly. Cost variations depend on the functionalities integrated into the extension.
The downside of subscribing to this service is that you need to renew it regularly, and the costs can eventually add up. Consider hiring a developer for a customized plugin and pay a one-time fee.
WordPress developers charge USD$15 to USD$150 an hour, depending on the project requirements, their skill level, and their area of expertise. Hiring a developer might be a sensible option if you only need a specific feature for your business. For instance, if a freelance developer asks for USD$30 and finishes the task in 10 hours, you’ll spend USD$300 for a business-specific plugin. Just make sure your developer is trustworthy to prevent issues.
Meanwhile, customized WordPress themes can run anywhere from USD$20 to USD$200, depending on the niche.
- Negotiate with the WordPress theme or plugin developer
Negotiating with suppliers is commonplace in any business, especially among small firms. Consider flexing your negotiation skills with a developer to get discounts from a premium plugin or theme. For instance, if your business has locked into a longer subscription period, ask your developer if they can provide better rates.
Consider paying a portion in cash and the rest through a non-monetary business deal for one-time payments. If you own a small marketing firm, offer your services for free in exchange for the customized plugin or theme. Doing this may not always work, but it’s worth a try.
Conclusion
With tens of thousands of themes and plugins available today, it’s easy for businesses to go overboard with their choices. However, a well-performing website should aim to optimize visitor experience, and you don’t need to have all the bells and whistles to achieve this. Cutting costs means businesses must learn to identify their needs and find ways to lower their website maintenance expenses, some of which are discussed above.
