Hi All,
There are some common questions emerging, which we’ve grouped together and will answer below:
How to declare compliance
We’ll provide you with more details here in the next week or two. Note, this is only for WordPress themes at this point, not for plugins.
Purchase Verification
Do I need to implement purchase verification?
No, it is not required to have purchase verification - but if you do have it, then users need to be able to unlock the theme using their Purchase Code.
Will Envato provide a library or code to add purchase verification?
Not at this time. We know it’s a common request, so we may look at this in future, but at this point we can’t promise if or when that would happen.
Am I allowed to check if the purchase code is in use on another domain?
You may do this, although we don’t encourage it. If you do choose to do this, you must follow the Data Privacy requirement and consider your obligations in regard to handling the customer’s data on your servers.
Does this apply to plugins too?
The specific rules around what functionality can be behind keygates are for themes. At this stage, there are no equivalent rules for plugins. Please note however that the rules about notifications being dismissable, etc, are part of the Plugin Requirements.
Will these requirements be applied consistently?
We’ll be working to make sure our reviewing process both reflects these requirements and is as consistent as possible. Realistically speaking though: a) there will probably be an adjustment period as we bed this in and b) maintaining consistency is difficult at the best of times. Rest assured, we will continually work on this to make the experience as consistent as possible - this is something we want to do a better job of than we have in the past.
Review Wait Times
Once you have declared compliance, we will review a cross section of your items - not every single one. There may be some effect on review wait times, which are an ongoing challenge for us, but we expect this to be manageable.
Gutenberg
We understand the community has mixed views on Gutenberg, but it’s coming to WordPress core at some point and we want themes to be ready for it.
Most of our Gutenberg related requirements are fairly straight forward and unlikely to lead to any extra work if Gutenberg changes before launch. If you are not considering deeper integration with Gutenberg, then the main thing we’re asking you to do is to ensure that the core blocks are styled appropriately for your design. If a customer chooses to use Gutenberg with your theme instead of a page builder, the content should look like it fits the design.
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And I know there are still some big questions you’d like answers for, but we’ll have to leave it there until Monday (Australian time). Thanks for your patience!