This page is about what you bought and what its limits are. Activating it is a separate walkthrough, and this one assumes you have already done that or are deciding before you buy.
Two worlds sit behind the same word, with different rules, and mixing them up causes most of the questions we get: an Envato license and a direct license from us.
#An Envato license
Envato issues it, not us, and their licensing terms govern it. They change those terms without our involvement, so read their current text rather than trusting a summary anywhere.
The short version: Regular covers one end product whose users are not charged for access, Extended covers one where they are.
One purchased item is one end product. A second site is a second purchase.
Support runs for six months and is extended through Envato.
#A direct license
The number of domains comes from the number of activations you chose when buying. If you need five sites, you take five activations in one order.
Five activations is one key covering five sites, not five different keys.
The same string is entered on each site, and each site confirms its own activation separately. That is also why adding capacity later needs nothing reinstalled anywhere.
You can add activations later from your account, or move to the unlimited plan. The key does not change: the same string simply gets a larger allowance, and nothing has to be reinstalled on the sites already running.
The license does not stretch. Each production domain takes an activation, and a subdomain counts as its own domain. The exception is a test environment, which has a separate free slot, so staging does not consume a paid activation.
When you run out, the refusal names the domains holding your activations. That is the answer to "where is it in use", so read it rather than guessing.
The support period on a direct purchase runs for twelve months. When it ends the theme keeps working exactly as it is, the licence stays valid, and every version you own stays available in your account. What closes is the support channel.
A domain is not permanent. An activation can be released and moved to another site whenever you want.
#Three levels, and why it matters for updates
Our own license levels are separate from the two Envato types, and confusing them is easy:
| Level | Where it comes from | Automatic updates |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | an Envato purchase | no, installed manually |
| Premium | a direct purchase | yes |
| Agency | a direct purchase, unlimited activations | yes |
The level decides whether automatic updates arrive, not the store you bought from and not a date on the calendar. A Regular key activates, verifies and works normally; it simply has no Version Control screen and does not receive new builds in the admin.
This boundary is set on our side and can change, so check the current pricing rather than treating the table above as permanent.
#What a license really is
The most important part of this page, because it is where expectations break.
A licence belongs to an account, not to a purchase code.
The purchase code is a label we recognise your licence by. It is not the licence, and holding one does not make somebody the owner, so handing your code to another person transfers nothing and a licence bought from somebody else's account cannot be moved into yours. The thing to protect is access to your account and to the email address the purchase was made with.
A useful side effect of the same design: the purchase code does not change when you move from an Envato purchase to a direct one. The string you once pasted into the admin stays valid, and nothing needs re-entering.
Licenses are not transferable to third parties.
#What not to try
One license on several domains at once, cloning a database with its activation, or otherwise working around the binding. Verification happens on our side, and those activations get removed.
The constructive version is cheaper anyway: if you need more sites, buy more units, and your account shows how many you have and where each one is in use.
#Common questions
Does a subdomain need its own activation?
Yes, blog.example.com and example.com are separate domains as far as activation is concerned, and so are the www and non-www forms of the same name.
What happens after twelve months?
The theme keeps working exactly as it is and the versions you own stay downloadable, and what closes is the support channel until you renew.
I bought on Envato and want automatic updates
Open the licence in your account and take the Premium offer on it, where the author share of your marketplace purchase is applied as credit, so you pay the difference rather than the full price.
Can I sell a site I built to a client?
Yes, the licence goes with the end product, so it transfers with the finished site rather than staying behind with you.
My account shows something I did not expect
Your account is the authoritative view of what you own and where each activation sits, so when it disagrees with what a site reports, trust the account and open a ticket with both pictures.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket with your purchase code and what your account shows against what the site shows.
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