Licensing & Activation

The Mapsmith WordPress plugin is free under GPLv2. Pro and Agency are annual subscriptions that unlock the separately-distributed Mapsmith Pro companion plugin. Cancel anytime — activated sites keep working past renewal; only updates and support pause.

Upgrading from Free to Pro

The whole path, start to finish — about five minutes:

1. Buy a plan on the Pricing page and complete Stripe checkout.
2. Get your key + download — both appear on your Account page right after purchase (license key + the mapsmith-pro.zip companion plugin).
3. Install the Pro plugin in WordPress: Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose mapsmith-pro.zip, then Activate.
4. Activate your license under Mapsmith → Settings → License: paste the key, click Activate. Pro features appear immediately — your existing businesses, locations, and maps are untouched.

Keep the free WordPress.org plugin installed and active — Pro is a companion that extends it, not a replacement. Full detail on each step is below.

What's Free vs Paid

The free Mapsmith plugin from WordPress.org covers the core multi-location store-locator workflow: unlimited businesses, locations, and maps, 4 built-in stock map themes, standard pin styling, default popovers and sidebars, hours display with timezone awareness, and a search box. There are no caps and no time limits.

Pro and Agency add:

• The Mapsmith Pro companion plugin — a separately-distributed plugin that adds custom popover layouts, custom marker icons / SVGs, custom map theme JSON, per-instance scoped CSS, marker clustering, frontend category filter, "find nearest" geolocation button, "open" badges, custom hours templates, and bulk CSV import with server-side geocoding.
• Priority email (Pro) or chat (Agency) support, with response SLAs.
• License-managed activation infrastructure for running Mapsmith on multiple sites.

Plan Comparison

Feature	Free	Pro ($39)	Agency ($99)
Unlimited businesses, locations & maps	Yes	Yes	Yes
4 built-in stock map themes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Default popover & sidebar with field toggles	Yes	Yes	Yes
Custom popover layouts & field schemas	—	Yes	Yes
Custom marker icons / SVGs per location	—	Yes	Yes
Custom map theme JSON	—	Yes	Yes
Per-instance scoped CSS	—	Yes	Yes
Marker clustering	—	Yes	Yes
Frontend category / type filter	—	Yes	Yes
Bulk CSV import with server-side geocoding	—	Yes	Yes
Site activations	—	1 (staging included)	Unlimited
Multisite (network) support	—	—	Yes
Support	WordPress.org forums	Email · 12 mo	Priority chat · 12 mo
White-label client dashboards	—	—	Yes
Onboarding call	—	—	1 hour

Purchasing a License

1. Go to the Pricing page and click Get Pro or Get Agency.
2. Create an account or log in if you already have one.
3. Complete the checkout via Stripe.
4. Your license key and a download link for the Mapsmith Pro companion plugin will appear on your Account page immediately after purchase.

Activating a License

1. Install the free Mapsmith plugin from WordPress.org if you haven't already.
2. Download and install the Mapsmith Pro companion plugin from your Account page.
3. In WordPress admin, go to Mapsmith → Settings → License.
4. Paste the license key into the License Key field.
5. Click Activate License.

Pro is a single-site license; staging environments matching your production URL pattern (e.g. staging.yoursite.com) do not count against the limit. Agency licenses have unlimited site activations.

Deactivating a License

If you need to move your license to a different site:

1. Go to Mapsmith → Settings → License.
2. Click Deactivate License.
3. The site activation slot is freed up and can be used on another site.

What Happens When a Subscription Lapses?

Pro and Agency are annual subscriptions. You can cancel at any time from your account billing portal. If your subscription lapses:

• Your free Mapsmith plugin keeps working forever — no change.
• The Mapsmith Pro companion plugin you have installed keeps working forever on the version you have. Your license remains valid for that installed version, even after the subscription ends.
• You stop receiving new versions of the Pro plugin and lose priority support.

Re-subscribing reactivates updates and support immediately. There is no grace penalty — pick up where you left off.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid license key"

Double-check that you copied the entire license key including all dashes. The format is Mapsmith-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.

"Activation limit reached"

Your Pro license is already active on its production site. Deactivate it before activating on a different site, or upgrade to an Agency license for unlimited activations.

"Could not connect to license server"

Your WordPress site could not reach the Mapsmith license server. This can happen if your hosting provider blocks outgoing HTTP requests. Contact your host to ensure wp_remote_post can reach external URLs. The free plugin remains fully functional without a license, so this only matters when you want to activate the Pro companion plugin.