Terms for a WordPress plugin or theme business

A premium WordPress plugin or theme is sold in a market where the code itself is usually licensed under the GPL and can be copied, and the business that sells it is selling something else: updates, support, licence keys that unlock them, and its brand. Terms that try to forbid copying GPL code are unenforceable on that point and undermine the rest, so the terms have to be built around what the business can lawfully control, and around the consumers and businesses who buy. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Businesses and developers in England and Wales selling premium plugins, themes, add-ons or bundles for WordPress and similar open source platforms, by one-off purchase or annual subscription, through their own site or a marketplace.

What matters in terms for a plugin or theme business

The GPL and what the terms can restrict

Code that is derived from WordPress is generally licensed under the GNU General Public License, which gives anyone who receives it the right to copy, modify and redistribute it, and a term that purports to forbid that is ineffective as to the GPL code. The terms should acknowledge that the code is licensed under the GPL, say that the business's own non-derivative assets (images, designs, documentation, branding) are licensed on the terms stated, and confine restrictions to what the GPL does not cover: the licence key, the update and support service, and the business's trade marks.

What the customer is buying

The terms should describe the purchase as a licence key that entitles the customer to updates and support for a stated number of sites for a stated period, with the software downloadable regardless, so that the price is for the service rather than for permission to use code the customer already has the right to use. Site limits, activation and deactivation, and the consequence of a lapsed subscription (the software keeps working, updates and support stop) should be stated plainly, because that is the answer to most complaints.

Updates, support subscriptions and renewal

Where the licence renews annually, the terms should state the renewal, the price, the notice, and a cancellation route no harder than buying, because consumer renewals are tested for fairness under Schedule 2 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and are subject to the subscription rules under Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 as they come into force. The support commitment should be defined by channel and hours, and the terms should say that support does not extend to customising the plugin or to third-party themes and plugins that conflict with it.

Consumer buyers and their rights

Many buyers are individuals, and a plugin is digital content under section 34 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 with rights to repair, replacement and price reduction that cannot be excluded, and section 46 liability for damage to the consumer's site or device; a purchase online carries the cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 unless the checkout captures express consent to immediate download under regulation 37. The terms should keep a consumer section and a business section, with the business section governed by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 test.

Marks, branding and the business's own content

The GPL does not license the business's name, logo or product marks, and the terms should state that the marks are the business's under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and may not be used on forks, resold copies or competing products, and that documentation, images and demo content are licensed only for use with the product. Forks are lawful; passing them off as the original is not, and the terms should draw the line where the law does.

Liability, third-party code and the boilerplate

The terms should exclude liability for conflicts with other plugins, themes and hosting environments the business does not control, for the customer's failure to back up, and for modifications the customer makes, within the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for consumers and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 for businesses, and should identify third-party libraries and their licences. Telemetry and usage data should be collected only with the consent the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 require, described in the privacy notice under the UK GDPR, and English law should apply with third-party rights excluded under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

What it costs

SaaS terms of service, £995. Your standard customer-facing terms. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the saas and technology contracts page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how your product is sold, delivered and supported
• Service levels you can meet, with remedies that are proportionate rather than aspirational
• A liability position that is defensible and will survive enterprise procurement
• IP and data provisions that fit together rather than contradicting each other
• A commercial note on where you will get pushback and what is worth conceding
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Negotiating individual enterprise deals, which I quote separately
• Advice on the law of jurisdictions outside England and Wales
• Technical security certification or audit
• Regulatory advice for regulated sectors such as financial services or health

Questions I am often asked

Can we stop customers sharing our premium plugin?

Not the GPL code, which they may copy and redistribute. You can stop them sharing the licence key and receiving updates and support, and the terms are built around that; the marks and non-derivative assets are protected separately.

A customer's subscription lapsed and they say the plugin should keep working. Does it?

If the terms say so, yes: the software keeps working and updates and support stop. Terms that disable GPL code on lapse are on weak ground; terms that stop the service are not.

Do consumer rights apply to a plugin bought by a freelancer?

A sole trader buying for their business is not a consumer. An individual buying for a personal site is. The terms keep the two sections apart and the checkout captures the download consent for consumers.

Related guidance and services

• SaaS and technology contracts, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• End user licence agreement for downloadable software
• Open source software in your product: what the terms need to say

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.