If you watch WordPress community closely, you will notice the debate between WordPress and Themeforest. While WordPress supports GPL license, ThemeForest only allows authors to sell themes at single license only. For example, you have to pay $30 – $55 for every site you install a theme from ThemeForest. This upsets WordPress foundation as well as the community since the nature of WordPress is open source software.
The debate leads to an obvious decision, to stay with ThemeForest or WordPress.com. This is not good for both users and theme authors.
Some authors want to support the community, but they have to stick with ThemeForest due to a large number of potential customers and many authors in ThemeForest are working individually with just a few themes. They can’t risk their lives by staying away and set up a new theme shop. It’s very risky and challenging. Although not all ThemeForest’s themes are good, they are diversified and when it comes to choose a premium theme for my new website, I always look up at ThemeForest first.
Thank God, ThemeForest has worked to provide a new option for their authors. Now, authors can choose to add 100% GPL Option to their themes which means these themes are 100% compatible with WordPress.com’s aims and targets.
How To Set Up ThemeForest 100% GPL
If you are an author, login to your account and visit author settings page. You’ll notice a checkbox next to upload and edit forms. Checking this box means accept 100% GPL and the item (theme or plugin) will be switched to 100% GPL forever. There is no turn back. These themes or plugins marked with 100% GPL License won’t have an extended license options.
In the new update, authors now aren’t required to add Readme and License files since these files will be added to your package automatically.
A Great News For ThemeForest And GPL Lovers
After Themeforest added new GPL option to their marketplace, Woothemes – one of the most popular independent theme shop – has joined this marketplace. In the coming days, we’ll see Woothemes’ works listed on ThemeForest and I am quite sure that more theme shops will come to this premium marketplace in the future.
It also ends the war between ThemeForest and WordPress.com since now theme shops can choose to add 100% GPL License to their websites. It would be great to see some big names like Obox or Studiopress coming back to ThemeForest.
This also shorten your time of choosing a good WordPress themes because many themes are now included in ThemeForest. Visit one site and browse many different themes in various categories. However, I prefer to buy themes on the theme shop’s official website. First it’s cheaper because authors don’t have to pay ThemeForest for advertising fee. Second, there will be membership option with more affordable price.
It’s time to speak your voice. Do you love 100% GPL option? Will you buy a theme with or without 100% GPL Option?
