{
    "title": "Sydney",
    "seo_title": "Sydney: review, recommended settings and theme limits",
    "h1": "Sydney",
    "description": "Sydney free theme or Sydney Pro: strengths, limitations, pricing, recommended settings (local fonts, preloader, credits) and security, to help you decide.",
    "lead": "Sydney, the aThemes theme for business sites and portfolios, is configured in the Customizer and works with Elementor. Our take on the free theme and Sydney Pro, the performance settings to turn on, the ones to switch off and its security track record.",
    "language": "en",
    "locale": "en-US",
    "type": "plugin-sheet",
    "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/",
    "canonical": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/",
    "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/index.md",
    "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/index.json",
    "published": "2026-11-05T08:00:00+00:00",
    "modified": "2026-11-05T21:26:03+00:00",
    "site": {
        "name": "WP Masquerade",
        "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/"
    },
    "translations": [
        {
            "language": "en",
            "hreflang": "en-US",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "fr",
            "hreflang": "fr-FR",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/fonctionnalites/extensions-camouflees/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/fonctionnalites/extensions-camouflees/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/fonctionnalites/extensions-camouflees/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "es",
            "hreflang": "es-ES",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/funcionalidades/plugins-camuflados/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/funcionalidades/plugins-camuflados/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/funcionalidades/plugins-camuflados/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "de",
            "hreflang": "de-DE",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/funktionen/getarnte-plugins/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/funktionen/getarnte-plugins/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/funktionen/getarnte-plugins/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "it",
            "hreflang": "it-IT",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/funzionalita/plugin-camuffati/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/funzionalita/plugin-camuffati/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/funzionalita/plugin-camuffati/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "pt",
            "hreflang": "pt-BR",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/recursos/plugins-wordpress-camuflados/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/recursos/plugins-wordpress-camuflados/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/recursos/plugins-wordpress-camuflados/sydney/index.json"
        },
        {
            "language": "nl",
            "hreflang": "nl-NL",
            "title": "Sydney",
            "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/functies/gecamoufleerde-plugins/sydney/",
            "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/functies/gecamoufleerde-plugins/sydney/index.md",
            "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/functies/gecamoufleerde-plugins/sydney/index.json"
        }
    ],
    "headings": [
        {
            "level": 1,
            "text": "Sydney"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "What Sydney does on your site"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "Which sites Sydney is a good fit for"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "Sydney strengths and limitations"
        },
        {
            "level": 3,
            "text": "Strengths"
        },
        {
            "level": 3,
            "text": "Limitations"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "The settings we recommend for Sydney"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "Sydney security: one published flaw, fixed in 2.57"
        },
        {
            "level": 2,
            "text": "Sydney FAQ",
            "id": "faq"
        }
    ],
    "body": "## The essentials\n\n- Best for a business site or portfolio set up through menus, on its own or with Elementor.\n- Main caveat: the template builder, hooks and advanced WooCommerce features are Pro only.\n- Free; Sydney Pro costs $79 per year for one site, or $199 for a lifetime license.\n\n## What Sydney does on your site\n\nSydney is a classic theme from aThemes, built for business sites, freelancers and portfolios. You configure it in the Customizer (Appearance > Customize): a drag-and-drop header and footer builder, a sticky header, a “Hero” area with a full-screen slider or a header image, colors, Google Fonts typography, blog layouts and basic WooCommerce settings. It also adds a Sydney menu to the dashboard with the theme dashboard, starter sites and settings.\n\nThe theme works with the block editor, which gets a library of Sydney patterns, and with Elementor: on activation, Sydney turns off Elementor’s default colors and fonts so the theme’s own apply. Starter sites are imported with the aThemes Starter Sites plugin. For performance, a dedicated section lets you serve Google Fonts from your own server, drop the WordPress emoji script or jQuery Migrate, and defer the block stylesheet.\n\nThe free theme is GPL-licensed. Sydney Pro, sold by aThemes, adds the template builder, hooks, a mega menu module, extra slider and blog options, WooCommerce features and Elementor widgets. Recent versions also ship “AI Abilities”, off by default, which expose theme settings tools to AI agents through the WordPress Abilities API.\n\n![Diagram: Sydney works on visitors and bots, wordpress, database and files. Public traces: folder name (hidden with Pro); tag IDs (hidden with Pro); CSS classes (still visible).](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/media/wpm-sheets/sydney/diagram-en.svg?v=89562f51)\n\n## Which sites Sydney is a good fit for\n\nSydney makes sense when you want a business site you set up through menus, without working in the Site Editor:\n\n- **Small business, agency and freelancer sites**: the Hero area, sticky header and starter sites get you a complete home page quickly.\n- **Sites built with [Elementor](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/elementor/)**: the theme lets the page builder handle content while it keeps control of the header, footer and global colors.\n- **Portfolios and small blogs**: six archive layouts are free, with a sidebar and widgetized footer.\n\nIt is not the best pick for an ambitious store: WooCommerce support in the free theme stays basic, and aThemes keeps wishlists, variation swatches and multistep checkout for Sydney Pro. If you want to build everything in the Site Editor, a block theme is a more consistent choice. For a more widely used multipurpose theme, compare it with [Astra](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/features/camouflaged-plugins/astra/).\n\n## Sydney strengths and limitations\n\n### Strengths\n\n- **Free header and footer builder.** Drag and drop and the sticky header are included without Pro.\n- **Built-in performance settings.** Local Google Fonts, emojis, jQuery Migrate and block styles are handled without a plugin.\n- **Local fonts from day one.** The free theme turns on local loading of Google Fonts when you activate it, so there are no calls to Google’s servers.\n- **Plays well with Elementor.** The theme’s global colors show up in Elementor’s color picker, and the builder gets dedicated styles.\n- **Widely translated interface.** The Customizer labels are available in many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.\n\n### Limitations\n\n- **Template builder is Pro only.** Multiple headers and custom archives, posts, 404 pages or shop pages require Sydney Pro.\n- **Upsells in the dashboard.** The Sydney menu shows “Upgrade to Pro”, and the theme dashboard loads notifications from the aThemes site.\n- **Preloader on by default.** A loading animation appears before the page until you turn it off.\n- **Basic WooCommerce in the free version.** Advanced store features are in Sydney Pro.\n- **A classic theme.** No full Site Editor support, and if you switch themes, your Customizer settings do not carry over.\n\n## The settings we recommend for Sydney\n\nVisual settings live in Appearance > Customize; theme options are under Sydney > Theme Dashboard, Settings tab. Test every performance change on a page built with Elementor and on a blog post.\n\n| Setting | Recommended value | Why |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| **Load Google Fonts Locally?**  Appearance > Customize > General > Performance | On | The theme’s fonts are served from your server, so visitors’ IP addresses are not sent to Google. |\n| **Disable Emojis**  Appearance > Customize > General > Performance | On (default) | The WordPress emoji script is no longer loaded; browsers still display emojis. |\n| **Disable jQuery Migrate**  Appearance > Customize > General > Performance | On only after testing | One less script, but older plugins rely on it: check menus, sliders and forms. |\n| **Defer block styles**  Appearance > Customize > General > Performance | On if your pages are built with Elementor | The block stylesheet is deferred on content that has no blocks. |\n| **Enable preloader**  Appearance > Customize > General > Misc | Off | Content shows right away instead of waiting for the loading animation to finish. |\n| **Footer credits**  Appearance > Customize > Footer > Copyright area | Your own notice, for example `{copyright} {year} {site_title}` | The default “Proudly powered by Sydney” text includes a link to aThemes. |\n| **Improve Sydney**  Sydney > Theme Dashboard > Settings > Misc | Off (default) | No usage data is sent to aThemes. |\n| **AI Abilities**  Sydney > Theme Dashboard > Settings > AI Abilities | Off, or Read-only if you use an AI agent | Only give an agent write access to settings when you need it, then switch back to Off. |\n| **Enable auto-updates**  Appearance > Themes > Sydney | On | Theme fixes install without waiting for you to step in. |\n\n- View the source of your home page and search for `fonts.googleapis.com`: any match should come from a plugin, not the theme.\n- After disabling jQuery Migrate, open the browser console on the home page and a contact page: no JavaScript errors should appear.\n- Check the footer on desktop and on a phone: the default credit should be gone.\n- Put custom PHP or CSS in a child theme, never in Sydney’s own files.\n\n## Sydney security: one published flaw, fixed in 2.57\n\nWPScan and Patchstack list one vulnerability for Sydney: **CVE-2025-8999**, published in September 2025 (CVSS 5.3). In versions up to 2.56, a capability check was missing on the function that activates theme modules, so a logged-in subscriber could turn some modules on or off. Version 2.57 fixes it. The impact is limited, but any site that accepts user registrations should be up to date.\n\nTurn on auto-updates for the theme (our guide to automatic updates helps you decide for the rest of the site) and keep an eye on the plugins installed alongside it, as our article on [vulnerabilities in popular WordPress themes](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/popular-wordpress-themes-security-vulnerabilities/) shows. The `sydney` folder visible in file URLs is one of the clues used in [fingerprinting](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/fingerprinting/); WP Masquerade Pro renames it in file URLs and tag IDs, which makes the theme harder for bots to spot without replacing updates, while the `sydney-*` classes stay visible in the page code.\n\n## Sydney FAQ\n\n**Is the free version of Sydney enough?**\n\nFor a business site, often yes: the header and footer builder, sticky header, Hero area and performance settings are free. Sydney Pro is worth it for the template builder, hooks, the mega menu or advanced WooCommerce features.\n\n**How much does Sydney Pro cost?**\n\naThemes lists prices in US dollars: $79 per year for one site, $149 per year for 10 sites and $249 per year for 100 sites, or a lifetime license starting at $199 for one site. Every plan includes Addons Pro for Elementor; the Agency plan adds Botiga Pro and white labeling. The vendor offers a 14-day refund.\n\n**Will my site keep working if I don’t renew Sydney Pro?**\n\nYes, according to aThemes the site keeps working, but without updates, new features or support. For a theme, going without fixes is risky: plan to renew or move back to the free theme.\n\n**Do I need a plugin to import a starter site?**\n\nYes, imports go through the free aThemes Starter Sites plugin, offered from Sydney > Starter Sites. Import onto a fresh site when you can, since a starter site adds pages, menus and settings.\n\n## Key facts\n\n- Category: Builders and themes\n- Vendor: aThemes\n- Price: Free; Sydney Pro from $79 per year for one site, or $199 for a lifetime license\n- Active installations (wordpress.org): 80 000+\n- Version: 2.73\n- Official page: https://wordpress.org/themes/sydney/\n\n## What WP Masquerade hides\n\n- Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only\n- With Pro: folder name, tag IDs\n- Still visible: CSS classes",
    "catalog": "sydney",
    "essentials": [
        "Best for a business site or portfolio set up through menus, on its own or with Elementor.",
        "Main caveat: the template builder, hooks and advanced WooCommerce features are Pro only.",
        "Free; Sydney Pro costs $79 per year for one site, or $199 for a lifetime license."
    ],
    "format": "application/json"
}