What’s the Difference Between Premium and Free Bootstrap Themes and Which One Should You Pick?

What is the first step in creating a website? Choosing a template, of course! With so many options around us and the sheer increase in the number of free template and themes download options, you would make the mistake of believing that the first task is the easiest one. However, that is not as simple as it sounds.

When making a website, you need to think about its user interface and experience. The UI and UX of a site will determine its traffic flow, conversion rate, sales and overall success. There was a time when crafting a usable website would take days and perfecting it would take weeks or even months!

Making a website

Thanks to ready-to-use templates and themes for websites, you can create a working website within minutes. Bootstrap offers a reliable and robust Marcus J Debaise framework for the frontend of a website. A combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript frameworks makes Bootstrap 4 ideal for the designing of almost all types of sites.

Bootstrap has been the leading choice of framework among successful designers and developers. It demands next-to-nil coding skills, and yet it is highly flexible towards customization options. These ready-to-use templates are diverse, easy-to-use and flexible. You can pick one among millions to suit your needs of website development.

Why do developers prefer Bootstrap themes only?

Irrespective of the category or type of themes, almost all Bootstrap templates are versatile and useful. There are thousands of free templates and themes you can try before you choose a premium version.

These free versions of themes almost always come with limited functionalities and features. Although highly customizable, you will always find at least one or two elements that you would like to add to these limited-use themes for improving your site’s UX.

Using a free theme for a commercial website is not a great idea. Most of these free themes don’t come with complete support from their developers. Sometimes, you will not find ways to add plug-ins or extra features to these themes without finding your way into the main code. Manipulating these samples are more complicated than their paid versions, and even veteran website developers can attest to that.

Why should you use premium bootstrap themes?

The experienced developers never settle for the limited free theme options from Bootstrap. They only work with the premium templates that come with complete optimization options.

Have you been thinking about investing in a premium bootstrap theme? Then, maybe you should double-check your reasons against this list before you go ahead with your project –

Ease of use

All Bootstrap themes are superbly easy to manipulate and use. Bootstrap templates are so simple that you don’t need any special skills or tutorials to make your way through to a complete website. All the premium templates are stable, and they come with user-friendly features that are easy to customize.

Responsive sites

No website owner wants to lose visitors because their site isn’t suitable for mobile browsing! More than 72% of your smartphone users run a “near me” search every day. Your website could be receiving that purchase-ready traffic if it were ready for mobile viewing and navigation. Bootstrap themes bear a fluid 12-column grid design that fits every device screen equally.

Customization ready

Many templates and themes, including the free ones from Bootstrap, are not as easy to customize as you would expect them to be. The paid-for themes come with customization-ready elements that are easier to manage. If you want to add custom elements and features to your website, you might want to stick to fully paid Bootstrap themes.

Quick turnaround

Website development was the profession for the patient. However, clients hardly have the time to wait for sites developed from scratch with hundreds of competitors encroaching into their target markets. Web developers need ready-to-use, but bespoke solutions for website creation. Bootstrap might just be the only frontend framework that offers edgy customization thanks to CSS, JavaScript and HTML without any need for coding. With premium Bootstrap templates the turnaround can be as short as one day for the smaller websites!

Affordability

The cost of development and design has always been the limiting factor for site owners. Even developers have had to deviate from their creative ideas to make space of a more cost-effective plan. Now, Bootstrap themes bring forth a new era of affordable website building. The customization of elements and components take up fewer resources, so the team can use the rest to boost their creativity. Now anyone can get completely functional websites that are good-looking too without spending even one buck more than their budget!

Integration

The premium templates are often easier to integrate as compared to their free or trial versions. Apart from the fact that free versions come with limited features and coding flexibility, they pose particular challenges when it is time to add a new page or move a page from one location to another. Premium bootstrap themes support extensive technical adjustments. Adding or removing pages has never been easier before the advent of Bootstrap premium themes in the world of web development.

Support

One of the main reasons professionals stick to Bootstrap themes is extensive support. The support system includes dedicated communities, discussion forums and pages on third-party sites. The members are typically developers, engineers and users, who have been using Bootstrap templates and themes since 2011. At the same time, you will find experts and fellow users, in case you need to troubleshoot a particular theme-related problem. Free themes from Bootstrap rarely come with this level of community support and services.

Creating a website within minutes is only possible when you are opting for a fully paid Bootstrap theme. Since all types of themes and templates are now available online, you might find it a little tricky to choose one over the other. The easiest way to make the correct choice is by considering what you expect from the Bootstrap theme you are choosing.

Bootstrap 4 brings certain new features to the table too. You might want to filter the premium Bootstrap themes by their Bootstrap versions before you go about comparing their pricing and specifications.