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What the GPL allows

What the GPL lets you do with WordPress plugins and themes, which parts can carry their own licence, and what a GPL store can and cannot give you.

On this page
  1. What the GPL is
  2. What it lets you do
  3. Why WordPress plugins and themes are GPL
  4. Parts that can carry their own licence
  5. What a GPL store can and cannot give you
  6. How GPL Feast works
  7. How to judge any GPL store
  8. Sources

The plugins and themes on GPL Feast are distributed under the GNU General Public License, usually called the GPL. This page explains what that licence lets you do, why it covers WordPress plugins and themes, which parts of a product can carry a different licence, and what any store that shares GPL software can and cannot give you. It is general information, not legal advice.

What the GPL is

The GPL is a free software licence published by the Free Software Foundation. Here “free” is about freedom, not price. The licence says so itself: “When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price.”

A developer who releases a program under the GPL keeps the copyright. What the licence does is give everyone who receives a copy permission to use it, study it, change it and share it, on a few conditions. Those conditions travel with every copy, so the people who get the program from you have the same rights you had.

Two versions are in wide use. Version 2 dates from June 1991. Version 3, from 29 June 2007, keeps the same freedoms and adds terms about software patents and about devices built to refuse modified software, among other changes. Many programs, WordPress included, use “version 2 or later”, which lets you follow version 2 or any later version of the licence.

What it lets you do

The GPL protects four freedoms for everyone who has a copy of the software:

  • Run it for any purpose, on as many websites as you like. The licence puts no limit on running the program.
  • Study it and change it. You may read how the code works and adapt it to your needs. Access to the source code is what makes this possible. The PHP code of a WordPress plugin or theme arrives as plain text files you can open, read and edit.
  • Share copies with other people, free of charge or for a fee. The Free Software Foundation’s own answers say that the right to sell copies is part of the definition of free software.
  • Share your changed version, so that others can use your improvements too.

Changes you make only for yourself, or only inside your own organisation, do not have to be published. The Free Software Foundation’s answer on changes you keep private says that the decision to release them is yours. The conditions below apply when you pass copies on to other people.

When you pass copies on

  • The same licence. Copies you share, changed or not, stay under the GPL. You may not add restrictions that take away the freedoms above.
  • The source code. The people who receive a copy must get the source code with it, or a way to obtain it.
  • The notices. Keep the copyright notices and the licence text. Mark a changed version as changed, with a date, so that its problems are not blamed on the original authors.
  • No warranty. The software comes “as is”, without any warranty, as far as the law allows. Anyone who shares it may offer support or a warranty of their own, and may charge for it.

The GPL deals with copyright. It does not give anyone rights to a developer’s trademarks, such as product names and logos, which stay with their owners.

Why WordPress plugins and themes are GPL

WordPress itself is released under the GPL, version 2 or later. Its licence page explains that the licence sets out requirements for derivative works, such as plugins and themes, and that derivatives of WordPress code inherit the GPL.

The WordPress project is open about where that view stands: “There is some legal grey area regarding what is considered a derivative work, but we feel strongly that plugins and themes are derivative work and thus inherit the GPL license.”

The project applies this view on WordPress.org. The plugin directory guidelines require every plugin listed there to use the GPL or a licence compatible with it, and strongly recommend the same licence as WordPress, “GPLv2 or later”. Commercial plugins and themes are sold elsewhere, and many of their developers use the GPL as well. A plugin usually names its licence in its main file or its readme, and a theme in its style.css file, so you can check it yourself.

Parts that can carry their own licence

The GPL covers what a developer released under it, usually the code. A product often contains other files too: photos and illustrations, icons, fonts, and in some products CSS and JavaScript. Those parts can come with a licence of their own, chosen by the developer or by the person who made them. Some developers use what is called a split licence: the PHP code under the GPL, and the images, CSS, JavaScript or other assets under their own terms.

A few common cases:

  • Demo photos. Photos in a theme’s demo content are sometimes licensed for the demo only. Replace them with your own before a site goes live, unless the theme’s documentation says you may keep them.
  • Fonts. Fonts usually have their own licence. The GPL Feast Updater is an example: the plugin is licensed under the GPL, version 2 or later, and the Poppins font inside it comes under the SIL Open Font License.
  • Template kits. A kit is mostly layouts, images and fonts, the kind of parts that can carry their own licence. Check a kit’s notes before you use its images on a live site.
  • Bundled libraries. Code a developer includes from elsewhere can use another open source licence, which it names in its own files.

The licence files and documentation inside a product usually say which terms apply to which parts. A store that shares the product cannot change those terms. When in doubt, ask the developer or whoever made the file.

What a GPL store can and cannot give you

Because the GPL lets anyone who has a copy share it, a store can offer GPL plugins and themes from many developers, often with one membership for all of them. The licence covers the software. It does not cover the services a developer sells alongside it.

What a GPL store can give

  • Copies of the GPL code, with the freedoms described above.
  • New versions as developers release them, and older versions to go back to.
  • Its own help with downloading, installing and updating.
  • Its own tools, such as an updater that brings new versions to your sites.

What it cannot give

  • The developer’s support. Questions about how a product works, bug reports and custom work go to the developer, who supports their own customers.
  • A licence key. Keys come from the developer’s own shop and accounts. Developers use them to deliver their own updates, support and cloud features. Usually the product works without one.
  • Online services that run on the developer’s servers, such as AI credits, cloud template libraries, premium demo imports and add-on stores. These need the developer’s licence.
  • Rights to names and logos. These are trademarks of their owners.
  • A connection with the developer. A GPL store is a separate business. GPL Feast, for example, is not affiliated with the developers or the trademark owners of its products.

How GPL Feast works

GPL Feast shares premium WordPress plugins, themes and Elementor template kits made by their developers. You can join with a Monthly, Yearly or Lifetime plan, or buy a single product on its own. Every plan includes the whole catalogue, unlimited websites, new versions every day, automatic updates and help with installing and updating. The plans differ in price and in how many products you can download each day.

  • New versions. GPL Feast checks for new versions every 15 minutes. Each product page shows the version, when it was released and what changed.
  • Older versions. Members can download older versions of any product, and buyers older versions of the product they bought. Older versions do not use a daily download. Template kits have no older versions.
  • Updates. The free GPL Feast Updater plugin installs new versions from your WordPress dashboard, on a schedule if you like, and keeps a copy of the previous version so you can roll back. The Updater guide shows how it works.
  • Files. Products are shared as their developers release them. Some plugins and themes carry a small change so that they work without the developer’s licence key, and their product page says so in a note. Where our files come from explains how files are handled.
  • Not included. The developers’ support, licence keys and online services.

Compare the plans, or read the answers about downloads, updates and licences in the help center. Support covers your account, billing, downloads, updates and installing the products, by email at [email protected], Monday to Saturday, 12:30 AM to 3:30 PM GMT. A payment can be refunded within 14 days if nothing was downloaded with it; renewal payments are final.

How to judge any GPL store

GPL stores differ a great deal. These checks help you tell them apart, and they apply to GPL Feast as much as to any other store:

  • It says who runs it and how to reach a person, with an email address and support hours.
  • It is clear about what is not included: the developer’s support, licence keys and online services. A store that promises these with GPL copies is promising something it cannot give.
  • It shows versions and dates. Each product should show its version number, its release date and its changelog, so you can compare them with the developer’s own release notes.
  • It tells you when a file differs from the developer’s release, on the product’s own page.
  • It keeps older versions, so you can go back when an update causes trouble.
  • Its rules are written down: terms of use, a privacy policy and a refund policy you can read before you pay.
  • It answers problem reports. There is a clear way to report a file that looks wrong.
  • It names products only to identify them, and does not present itself as the developer or as the developer’s partner.

Whatever store you use, keep backups of your sites, and try a new product or a major update on a staging copy of your site before you put it on the live one.

Sources

This page describes the licence in general terms and is not legal advice. For a question about your own situation, ask a lawyer.