WordPress.org

1. Katch22
   Member
   Posted 11 months ago #

   Hi

   Im in the process of doing some work for a site I designed and built a few years ago, but this time around im wanting to put it into word press so that the client can manage certain aspects i.e pricing, phone numbers etc without editing the actual file.

   Because im not very experienced in word press I was planning on using the twenty ten theme and changing it so that the layout, design and features match up with the previous design that I built. Should I go down the route of using a child theme to make the changes or should I change the actual theme, renaming it for the company?

   I only plan on using the excellent ground work that twenty ten sets (compatibility/functionality wise), and fully intend on making sure its noted in the code that I used that theme as a framework, but is it ethical to do so?

   I don't do many websites as im only learning, and this would be the first word press site. I know its for public use and can be edited, but because im getting paid for my time im unsure where it falls.

   Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

   Cheers

2. Katch22
   Member
   Posted 11 months ago #

   I should also say that if I were to make changes to the actual theme and rename it to the company name, the theme would obviously be private and not available for public use - otherwise people could make copies of the site which would be harmful to the business.

3. fonglh
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   yes it's fine. use a child theme or changes will get overwritten when you update wordpress.

   the theme just contains the code for how to display the content. the content itself is in the database so even if you release the theme people can't make copies of the site. however, it's still fine to keep it private.

4. TimeHealer
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   I've wondered a lot about this too, hopefully someone can provide a more thorough answer, because obviously taking a commercial theme and renaming it wouldn't be fine, so it would be nice to know how GPL works with this.

5. Ipstenu
   Half-Elf Support Rogue & Mod
   Posted 10 months ago #

   It's GPL fine.

   I'm quite serious. Within the GPL, it's totally legal to take a GPL pay-for theme and edit it AND to sell it.

   Now ... it's bad form, IMO, but it's legal.

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