Developer license when buying/selling WordPress plugins

Envato Authors Theme Authors
1

Happy New Year everyone!

I’ve been selling the WordPress plugins we develop on Codecanyon since September 1, 2010 and I’ve noticed that a lot of developer or designers who have clients are asking for Developer License for WordPress plugins.

At the moment we have the following licenses when it comes to plugins sold on Codecanyon:

Plugins
Regular License Examples

The Regular License could be used for any of the following:
Single website (commercial, personal, or non-profit).
Single website for a client (commercial, personal, or non-profit).
Single intranet site project.

Extended License Examples

The Extended License could be used for any of the following:
Component to be used in a template which is then sold (including on CodeCanyon or ActiveDen).
Part of a software package for sale.

How much does the Extended License cost for CSS items?
The Extended license costs 7 times the cost of the Regular license of the item. For example, a WordPress plugin components that’s $10 under a Regular license, would be $70 (7 x $10) under an Extended license.

Important Notes

Items purchased under a regular or extended license may NOT be redistributed or resold “as-is” or as part of any other collection of image resources or files unless the subcategory’s inherited licensing terms dictate otherwise.

This means that we have to buy a license for each website that we use the plugins on, as the Extended License only lets you incorporate the plugin you have purchased into another product and then sell it. The price for this is very reasonable 7x the regular price.

However this doesn’t help the developer/designer that want to use the plugin on all their customers websites. On Themeforest you pay 50 x the price for being able to get a “developer license” or use the theme an unlimited number of time e.g. on a WP MU installation.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to introduce a “Developer/Designer” license for the plugins?

I don’t think it should be 50 x the price, but maybe 12-20 times. I’m not sure! What is your opinion on this?

Best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Richard

2

I completely agree. +1

3

As a web designer / developer I have a select handful of plugins in my bag-of-tricks that I install on every site I design. Sometimes I omit a few based on the functional requirements needed but for the most part these select plugins have become an integral part of my workflow and make my clients extremely happy. About 2 years ago I purchased the Gravity Forms developer license. I love the way they structure their licensing. Yes, you pay more for the developer license, but you can install the plugin on multiple sites and get access to unlimited updates and their priority support for a year. For a developer the price pays for itself in just a couple jobs. Only caveat is that after the year, your updates expire as does your support. However, the plugin keeps working on whatever sites you have installed them on over the period of that year. Brilliant in my opinion because you don’t have to hassle with purchasing every single plugin for every single job you work on. Time is money and although it may seem like it is not a hard step to repurchase an item, it is still a step. Depending on how many plugins you rely on, you have to repeat it more than a few times over the course of a year.

I understand that you want your developers to be properly compensated (who wouldn’t) but you also want to keep their products in high demand because lets face it that is what drives sales. If you check the stats and do the research you will see that the folks at Rocket Genius that created Gravity Forms are on to something. Their plugin is one of the most highly rated among designers and developers out there. And it is not just because they create a killer product. Yes, it is a good plugin but in all honesty products like Easy Custom Content Types for WordPress (thanks Pippin!) are just as good and have the potential to rake in big bucks among developers if properly marketed.

I would like to use Code Canyon for the bulk of my WordPress plugin needs but it needs to make sense, not only financially but from a time standpoint (which equals dollars in my business). Please consider some kind of developer license. Trust me you will gain a ton of sales and keep your customers coming back for more.

4
rsmelik said

I would like to use Code Canyon for the bulk of my WordPress plugin needs but it needs to make sense, not only financially but from a time standpoint (which equals dollars in my business). Please consider some kind of developer license. Trust me you will gain a ton of sales and keep your customers coming back for more.

The very short answer is we are missing a “Developer License” on Codecanyon no doubt about that.

However paying $20 or $25 for a premium plugin in order to use that for a client project and then be eligible for lifetime free updates and support on the plugin - that is cheap.

Paying only 5 x the regular license price for a plugin and then be abel to implement it in a theme which you can resell and potentially make thousands of dollars on - is in my opinion too cheap.

However I’m pretty much happy with the way Codecanyon works. We put a lot of work into our plugins, but they also sell pretty well, but we could definitely use bulk discounting or a developer license option. And also the option not to offer Extended Licenses on all your plugins.

5

I’m thinking of more flexibility on this. A “Developer License” will get more than just a license. For example, a developer documentation, email support… This can increase the developer license sales.

Right now, the extended licenses for WordPress plug-ins are selling x5 for me.

6

While a developer’s license would be fantastic, I definitely agree with RightHere about the pricing. I hear a lot of people say that paying $10-$20 is really too expensive for a plugin, but it definitely isn’t. Just think of the time and money it would take you to develop any of the plugins for yourself (or a client project). Most of the plugins available for sale here have anywhere from 5-50 hours of development time put into them.

Yes, it is a good plugin but in all honesty products like Easy Custom Content Types for WordPress (thanks Pippin!) are just as good and have the potential to rake in big bucks among developers if properly marketed.

Thanks, I appreciate the support :slight_smile:

7

I definitely wasn’t implying that the developer license should be $10 to $20.

While a developer's license would be fantastic, I definitely agree with RightHere about the pricing. I hear a lot of people say that paying $10-$20 is really too expensive for a plugin, but it definitely isn't. ... Most of the plugins available for sale here have anywhere from 5-50 hours of development time put into them.

Sorry if I mislead anyone. I think the current pricing is very reasonable for what you get. I for one don’t take for granted how much time goes into development. So I agree with you there. I might be in the minority but to me paying over $100 is worth it for a developer license so long as I am getting a good product. For those who think it is too pricey they would still have the Regular License to fall back on.

What I am looking for is a license that lets me “reuse” the technology for a designated length of time (say a year) on sites I am contracted to build. It would cost a bit more because it would allow for more open usage on multiple websites. After the designated time I either renew the license or I don’t get any future updates / versions of that technology. I’m not sure what that dollar amount would ultimately be. However, if the technology is good enough and I can make up the cost in the jobs I would most certainly pony up and pay out. Maybe that is what the Extended License is and I am misunderstanding but the words “limited to a single application” are what’s throwing me here.

8

Did anyone ever get an answer? I don’t see a response here from Code Canyon and I don’t see any way to email or call them. I have Multisite with a bunch of my own sites and I don’t really need to use on someone else’s site but that would be good. I do need to be able to use on my own unlimited sites.

I would try Bestimonials but only if I can use on unlimited sites. I currently use WP Customer Reviews which is free and works with Multisite.

Frankly, I’ve never paid for a Code Canyon product because the license structure is insane. I’m an attorney and don’t have a few hours needed to read it. It’s much easier to read my license with WestLaw and many many lawyers complain about that one but WestLaw only has one competitor, Lexis and they have a similar license. Lots of plugins are available for free or with a really good license and rate.

Formidable Pro is a really good alternative to Gravity Forms with a free version or a low one-time fee of only $47 or $117 for an Unlimited Developer License.

9

Why does an attorney need a developer license?

And it would take you, as a lawyer, 3 whole hours to read and understand this page?!!

10

I have many websites for myself. Some are legal related and some are not. I also have websites for lawyers who license a toll free vanity phone number from me, although I own the domain names.

There is a lot of license information on several pages at the link you provided and it seems to be better organized than the last time I saw it a couple of years ago. Still, it’s the most complex licensing structure I’ve seen outside of something like Microsoft. I’m an expert on many subjects including contracts and sales. I would make it real easy for customers. The chart is a good start but it can be made a lot simpler.

I just want an answer to a simple question which I can’t easily find out. Can I purchase Bestimonials and at what price (also is it a one time price or for each upgrade) to use on:

  1. Multiple websites I own for my own use.
  2. Multiple websites I own for the use of other people.

Thanks.

11

I dont speak for codecanyon or the bestimonials author on this, but I think you need the regular licence, one for each site/project/client you’ll use it on. Most items here are cheap, and if you’re charging those other lawyers for the sites you’re setting up then its a good investment.

12

It’s only one client, me (or at least I own the domains). I also have a dozen of my own sites on which I would use it. They are all in Multisite where the plugin is available for each site.

13

Even when buying it for yourself, you’ll need 1 regular licence for each product/project you use the item in. If the multi-site installation is really 1 single project, it should be ok, I think.

14

The multi-site installation is 1 single project with many sites each with its own domain. As you said, you “think”. I think someone from codecanyon should answer this because I don’t want to guess.

As you can now see, the license agreement here is not easily determined and I can assure you that it will take me a lot of time to figure out. As an attorney, I’ve written more complicated and lengthy agreements but codecanyon obviously paid a lot of money to a lawyer to write the license. I’m not familiar with software licenses and as a potential customer, I don’t want to spend the time.

15

If each domain in a WordPress multi-site serves a separate client of yours, even if its still one project, I think you’ll need a license for each. Its just what sounds fair, even though I’m not a legal expert on this. Don’t you agree?

Anyway, I’ve flagged this thread for a staff member to respond.

16

I’m not interested in that. I have a developer’s license for any software I use that is not free. I’m still waiting for someone from codecanyon to respsond. They are the only ones who can answer the question since it is their license. No one can legally answer for them.

17

I’m very interested in the idea of a developer license. It’s one that authors have asked for a few times. We even used to have one, but it didn’t sell very well. That said, I think there may have been other issues that caused that one to fail. It’s something we’re taking a second look at. Thanks for your input!

18

I am interested as well. I have paid $50 to $300 for unlimited developers licenses of plugins and themes elsewhere. So I think a 10x rate is appropriate to let me install a plugin on all of my client sites. $50 for a $5 plugin, $100 for a $10 plugin and $200 for a $20 plugin within the norm outside of CodeCanyon.

The complete lack of a developers license here has caused me to purchase numerous items elsewhere. I bought my calendar plugin elsewhere for $100 because if I bought a separate license for each client here it would have cost me over $300 (and counting).

19

I never bought anything here because of the extensive license information and because it did not appear to have a developer’s license. I have had no problem finding great plugins and themes elsewhere at very fair prices with a developer’s license.

Two great examples are Formidable Pro forms and StudioPress themes. I was interested in Bestimonials but will use WP Customer reviews instead. There have also been requests for a similar plugin at wpmudev. Maybe they will have one soon.

Interesting is the complete absence in this thread of any information from codecanyon staff. I’ve never seen no response like this. I even clicked the box to request support - but nothing.

20
PhilEsq said

I never bought anything here because of the extensive license information and because it did not appear to have a developer’s license. I have had no problem finding great plugins and themes elsewhere at very fair prices with a developer’s license.

Interesting is the complete absence in this thread of any information from codecanyon staff. I’ve never seen no response like this. I even clicked the box to request support - but nothing.

First you complain about too much license information being provided, then you complain about staff members not giving you enough information. If you have other greater options elsewhere, why do you keep coming back to complain about codecanyon? You obviously don’t want to buy anything, and yet you keep on coming back, and mentioning sites/products offering competing products to those sold here. Are you selling something?