For those searching for the "Goodnews | Responsive WordPress News/Magazine" theme in 2025, it's crucial to understand its history. The theme, originally developed by an author named Momizat and sold on the ThemeForest marketplace, was a highly popular and feature-rich choice for online publications a number of years ago. However, the Goodnews theme by Momizat is now severely outdated and has been unsupported for a significant period.
As of mid-2025, installing this theme on a modern WordPress website is strongly discouraged due to significant compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, and a complete lack of developer support. Forum discussions on Envato, ThemeForest's parent company, indicated the theme was no longer supported as far back as 2019, with its last update only ensuring compatibility up to WordPress version 5.2.
While it is no longer a viable option, a look at its original features illustrates why it was once a market leader and what users should look for in a modern news theme.
Original Key Features of Goodnews
The Goodnews theme was known for its versatility and robust feature set designed specifically for news and magazine-style websites. Key functionalities included:
- Responsive Design: It was designed to adapt to various screen sizes, ensuring a consistent user experience on desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
- High Customizability: The theme offered extensive customization with unlimited color schemes, multiple layout options (full-width, boxed, various sidebar configurations), and advanced theme admin panels.
- Versatile Content Modules: It included numerous "news box" styles and content blocks that could be arranged on the homepage to feature different categories and trending stories.
- Ajax Live Search: A dynamic search function that provided instant results as users typed, improving site navigation.
- Smart Ad System: One of its standout features was a built-in advertising manager that allowed publishers to easily place ad units in various strategic locations across the site.
- Plugin Compatibility: It offered integration with essential plugins like WooCommerce for selling products, and bbPress for creating forums.
- Rich Media Support: The theme was equipped to handle various post formats, including video, audio, and galleries, and included over 1,600 icons.
Why You Should Avoid the Goodnews Theme Today
Using an outdated and unsupported theme like Goodnews in 2025 poses serious risks:
- Security Risks: Without regular security patches, your website becomes an easy target for hackers and malware.
- PHP and WordPress Incompatibility: The theme's code is not compatible with current versions of PHP and WordPress, which will lead to critical errors, site crashes, and broken functionality.
- No Support: If you encounter any issues, there is no developer to turn to for help, bug fixes, or guidance.
- Poor Performance: Modern web standards for speed and performance have evolved, and the theme's legacy code will likely result in a slow-loading website, negatively impacting SEO and user experience.
Recommended Modern Alternatives
For publishers in Lahore and across the globe looking to build a professional news or magazine website in 2025, it is essential to choose a theme that is actively developed, well-supported, and secure. Excellent, highly-rated alternatives that fulfill and exceed the original promise of Goodnews include:
- Newspaper by tagDiv: One of the best-selling news themes of all time, known for its performance, vast library of pre-built demos, and powerful tagDiv Composer page builder.
- Jannah: A highly versatile theme with a focus on fresh layouts, push notifications, and AMP compatibility for fast mobile performance.
- SmartMag: A modern, flexible theme praised for its clean design, customizable layouts, and features like dark mode and a built-in review system.
- Soledad: A multipurpose magazine theme with thousands of homepage demos and extensive customization options through Elementor or WPBakery.
In conclusion, while the "Goodnews" theme holds a place in WordPress history, it is no longer a safe or functional choice. The modern theme market offers far superior, secure, and powerful alternatives for creating a successful online news or magazine platform.