WordPress.org

1. Shawn Q
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #
   

   Hi all!

   I've become quite familiar with WordPress the last few months and have been a Web Designer for about 2 years now and I'm loving it. However, say I buy a theme or use a premade theme and completely alter the CSS. Couple issues I'm unclear with:

   1. Would it then be alright to change the Theme info?
   2. Would I be able to attribute this type of design work to my portfolio, even though the functionality and code belongs to the developer of the original theme?

   This is still a nebulous area for me. Any help would be great, thanks.

2. W.P. Ginfo
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #
   

   When shopping for a theme, most theme authors state what you can / cannot do with their theme. If the theme comes with a GNU General Public License [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License] you'll have all the freedom you can want.
   It's allways polite though to give credit where credit is due. So reveiling 'your sources' e.g. in the top of your code / in a credits section is nice.

3. Shawn Q
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #
   

   Of course, the GNU License, great, thank you! I feel that most themes are built upon others' work anyways (e.g. UI elements, design layouts, js sliders, plugins etc.). I just want to make sure that I'm giving credit where its due and want to be clear where the line is drawn in cases like altering the HTML/CSS of a theme and adding my own custom UI design elements and graphics so that I can use the site for showcasing.

   It also seems discouraging to see so much contention towards the use of themes. I know how to design and I'm decent developer, but whats with all the hate? I mean if using templates are wrong then using premade code and plugins that others have developed also has to be looked down upon but its not. I guess I'm just trying to understand where the shift it credit changes.

4. Andrew Nevins
   Volunteer Moderator
   Posted 3 months ago #
   

   but whats with all the hate?

   Themes with licenses not GPL go against the open-source philosophy of the web. Meaning you may not be able to customise them.

   It's in your own interest to use for GPL themes.

5. Shawn Q
   Member
   Posted 3 months ago #
   

   Thank You

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