How I Created a News Portal with Built-in WooCommerce Using the Newspaper Theme (GPL Version)

When it comes to publishing content at scale — especially news articles, editorials, and product reviews — few WordPress themes have the reputation that Newspaper has.

After years of building small blogs and WooCommerce stores, I decided to launch a more ambitious project: a news magazine with monetized product roundups and native shop functionality.

The tool I chose? The Newspaper WordPress Theme GPL version, downloaded from gplitems.com.

No license key. No locked features. No legal gray area. Just a complete, powerful theme ready for content and commerce.

Why I Picked Newspaper Over Other Themes

There are plenty of great WordPress themes out there — Astra, Kadence, Soledad, JNews — but few offer the combination of:

Beautiful pre-built layouts
Drag-and-drop content builder (tagDiv Composer)
WooCommerce integration
AMP & mobile optimization
Monetization blocks (ads, sponsored sections)
Built-in review post types

Newspaper is designed specifically for publishers, and I needed something flexible enough to support both high-volume articles and eCommerce.

Where I Downloaded the Theme (Legally)

I didn’t risk it with shady forums or sketchy downloads.

I've learned from experience that nulled WordPress plugins often contain backdoors, break with updates, and harm SEO.

Instead, I searched for free GPL WordPress resources and found gplitems.com — a platform offering 100% legal, clean GPL-licensed versions of top WordPress themes, including Newspaper.

That’s how I got access to the full Newspaper theme — no license activation required — under a true unlimited site Pro plugin solution.

Installing the Newspaper GPL Theme

After downloading from gplitems:

Uploaded the ZIP via WordPress dashboard
Activated the theme
Installed the required plugins (tagDiv Composer, Cloud Library, WooCommerce)
Imported the “Gadget News + Shop” demo

In just a few minutes, I had a homepage filled with trending posts, breaking news sliders, and featured products — all styled and mobile-ready.

Customizing the Layouts

I used tagDiv Composer (built into Newspaper) to customize the homepage:

Replaced default categories with my own (Tech, Reviews, Business)
Added a breaking news ticker
Featured a WooCommerce “Flash Sale” section
Inserted newsletter signup above footer
Added sponsored post widget in sidebar

All of this without needing Elementor or other page builders.

Everything is modular, optimized, and pre-styled.

WooCommerce + News = Perfect Match

Here’s where Newspaper impressed me most:

Product pages inherit the site's global styling
Product listings can appear inside post feeds
Cart and checkout pages look native
You can create custom “Deals of the Week” sections inside editorial layouts
Ads and product reviews blend seamlessly

For a theme originally built for publishers, Newspaper handles WooCommerce like a pro.

Speed & SEO Results

Even before optimization, the site was fast:

GTmetrix Grade: A
Mobile PageSpeed: 92
CLS / LCP: all passed
TTFB: 130ms

After optimization with FlyingPress + Cloudflare:

Load time: 800ms
Mobile Lighthouse: 96
Google indexed the entire site within 48 hours
Bounce rate dropped by 18% in the first week

Why I Avoid Nulled Versions Now

I used to experiment with nulled WordPress plugins, but the long-term costs aren’t worth it:

Malicious redirects
SEO penalties
Broken updates
Compatibility issues
Blacklisting from search engines

Now, I only use trusted GPL-compliant premium upgrades from providers like gplitems.com.

Final Verdict: Is Newspaper Worth It via GPL?

Absolutely.

With the Newspaper WordPress Theme GPL version, I got:

✅ Full pro functionality
✅ WooCommerce-ready layouts
✅ tagDiv Composer unlocked
✅ Legal, license-free usage
✅ Ability to build unlimited sites

Whether you're starting a news portal, blog, or hybrid magazine + store — this theme is flexible, fast, and designed to scale.

And you don’t need to risk anything. Just head over to gplitems.com and grab it safely, legally, and affordably.

Newspaper – News & WooCommerce WordPress Theme(free download)