Plugin Guidelines require plugin to be GNU General Public License

1. Do WordPress plugins have to be GPL?
2. What is plugin license?
3. How do I add licensing to a WordPress plugin?
4. How do I activate my GPL license?
5. Are GPL plugins safe?
6. Do WordPress plugins have to be open source?
7. How do I license a WordPress theme?
8. What is Freemius?
9. Is WordPress free for commercial use?
10. How do I create a premium WordPress plugin?
11. What license does WordPress use?

Do WordPress plugins have to be GPL?

Although hotly debated and rarely enforced, this means that the PHP code inside of any WordPress plugins and themes must also be licensed under the GPL. Because of this, even premium plugins and themes are usually released under the GPL license and can be legally distributed to anyone who wants them.

What is plugin license?

Plugin Licenses are a feature of the Dev Portal that was created in order to give you more autonomy and control over the usage of your plugins by limiting who can use them and how often.

How do I add licensing to a WordPress plugin?

To activate a license, first install and activate the plugin under WordPress > Plugins. You should see the following notice once the plugin is active: Click the “Please enter your license key” link, or click Job Listings > Add-Ons > Licenses tab.

How do I activate my GPL license?

How to use GNU licenses for your own software

1. Get a copyright disclaimer from your employer or school.
2. Give each file the proper copyright notices. ...
3. Add a COPYING file with a copy of the GNU GPL or GNU AGPL.
4. Also add a COPYING. ...
5. Put a license notice in each file.
6. (Optionally) make the program display a startup notice.

Are GPL plugins safe?

Likely. But the GPL license protects these freedoms. And the authors of these themes and plugins know it when they create their products. The GPL license does not, however, protect copyright infringement over trademarks.

Do WordPress plugins have to be open source?

In the realm of WordPress plugins, the WordPress repository is also a tremendous way to gain exposure for your plugin, since the user base there is about 1000 times larger than anywhere else. If you want to put your plugin in the repository, it must be open source.

How do I license a WordPress theme?

To activate the license key for your theme/plugin, follow these steps:

1. Upload and activate the theme/plugin. ( ...
2. After activation, navigate to Settings->General and scroll down until you see the theme or plugin license input.
3. Insert the license key into the field and click Activate.

What is Freemius?

Freemius is a complete monetization, analytics and insights platform for WordPress plugin and theme developers.

Is WordPress free for commercial use?

Key Points to Know: WordPress is released under the GNU General Public License (or GPL), which means anyone can download, edit, customize, use, and even sell the code as long as they release it under the GPL license. The software itself is free but you might end up paying for: Hosting.

How do I create a premium WordPress plugin?

Put a payment mechanism on your site, and use it to generate API keys. Make the user put these keys into their backend, or couple their sites URL with their purchase, and use that to enable the restricted features.

What license does WordPress use?

WordPress is also released under the GPL license, which means that WordPress is an open source software that can be used, modified, and extended by anyone. The WordPress project considers GPL license to be its philosophical equivalent of the bill of rights.