This document will walk you through the setup instructions for the WordPress Licensing System.
Note: this plugin has been built specifically for WordPress plugin and theme authors, but due to the included API, anyone can take advantage of the features it provides.
License key generation is setup on a product-by-product basis, so not all products sold are required to have license key generation. To setup a product to generate license keys on purchase, go to your Licensing System > Product Manager page, then click Edit on the product you wish to configure or create new one.
Installing and Activating WordPress Licensing System
Yes, WordPress Licensing System uses itself to provide automatic upgrades. You will have receiving a license key to get activate and receipt update; copy the key (your received by email) to your clipboard, then go to Licensing System > License and enter the key into the “License Key” field. Click “Activate Plugin” to activate your license.
Anytime a new version of the plugin is available, you will be notified of the update just like any other WordPress plugin.
Configuring the Product Options
You can create and manage your product you sold from Licensing System > Product Manager.
Choose the source file to be used for automatic upgrades
This lets you set the .zip file (or perhaps other format) that is sent to users when performing an automatic upgrade. This option is used specifically for WordPress plugins and themes that have implemented the automatic upgrade system, but can also be used by any other kind of software by utilizing the included API.
If you are selling a WordPress plugin or theme, this option should be set to a .zip that contains only the necessary plugin or theme files. This .zip file is setup through the main Download Files configuration section.
If you are not selling a WordPress plugin or theme, this change log can still be utilized via the included API.
Managing Sold/Generated License Keys
The Licensing System > License dashboard page provides an overview of all the license keys you have sold. Several pieces of information are listed with each key:
- License Key – this is the actual license key sent to the user.
- Created – this is the date the license was purchased.
- Status – this indicates the status of the license, either active, inactive, suspended, or expired.
- Email – this is the email address use by user for purchase this license.
- Counter – this is the number of sites (or times) the license has been activated on.
- Expires – this is the date that the license expires.
- Product – this shows the product the key was purchased for.
You can manually activate, deactivate, suspend, renew/extend, or delete a license at anytime by hovering over the license and clicking the appropriate link. Note: deleting a license key is irreversible.
You can also view the activation log for any license by hovering over it and clicking “Logs”.
Domain URLs can be manually managed on a per-license basis by clicking the “Manage Domain” link. If you wish to add or remove a domain URL from the license, you can do it on this page:
Sending License Renewal Notices
WordPress Licensing System can automatically send renewal notice emails when license keys are within day of expiring as defined at Configuration page. This option must be enabled.
The email notice that is sent for license keys to be renewed can be customized from Licensing System > Configurations > Notification.
Adding Automatic Upgrades to Your WordPress Product
For documentation about how to integrate automatic upgrades for your WordPress plugins, click here.
For documentation about how to integrate automatic upgrades for your WordPress themes, click here.
Working with the API for Other Kinds of Software
This plugin provides a complete API that you can use for activating and validating license keys. You can also use the API for checking if new versions of the software are available, and for downloading install files for the latest version.
For documentation for working with the API, click here.
Downloads
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Download VideoComplete Video for Wordpress Licensing System usage
