A theme developer got in touch with me recently. He builds premium Grav themes and wanted to know if he could sell them through GPM, the same way we sell Grav Premium packages. Right now the answer is no. GPM lists free packages from the community, and paid ones only from us.
I've been chewing on this for a while, and I think it's time to change. So here's a proposal. Nothing has launched yet, and I'd like to hear from you before it does.
A third kind of package
We'd add Commercial listings: paid themes and plugins built, sold and supported by independent developers and studios. They install and update like anything else in GPM, from the Admin or with bin/gpm install. The difference is who you buy from.
That's a mockup of the plugins page with two Commercial packages in it (the vendors are made up). Premium keeps its coral badge, and it still means the Grav team built it and supports it. Commercial gets a light badge with the price on it, and the vendor's name sits in the footer. Click Buy and you go to the vendor's own store.
Grav lists it, the vendor sells it
The vendor sells the package on their own site and emails you a license key. You add the key with the License Manager, then install. When your site asks for the download, getgrav.org checks the key with the vendor's store before serving the zip.
That's the same system KahunaCart uses today. It's sold from kahunacart.com, and GPM checks its keys there, so most of this already exists and has been running for a couple of months.
WordPress went the other way. Its directory doesn't allow paid plugins at all, so every pro plugin ships its own updater, its own license screen, and usually its own nag banner. I'd rather keep one License Manager and one set of updates for everything on your site.
The rules that matter
Every Commercial listing has to agree to a few rules. This is the one I care about most:
A lapsed license never breaks your site. Licenses only control downloads and updates. No kill switches, no locked features, no countdown banners in the Admin. If you stop renewing, the version you have keeps working, and you can still reinstall anything released while your license was current.
Beyond that, Commercial packages go through the same review as free ones, and they have to work with Grav 2.0. Each listing shows its price, refund policy and support contact. And if a vendor's store goes dark, the listing is hidden.
How vendors pay for it
We don't want to be a marketplace, and we don't want a cut of anyone's sales. Taking a percentage would put us in the middle of every sale, with all the tax, refunds and chargebacks that come with it. So vendors pay a flat yearly fee based on how many paid packages they list:
| Plan | Paid packages | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 1 | $49 |
| Studio | Up to 5 | $149 |
| Unlimited | Any number | $299 |
A $50 theme covers the Single plan with one sale. Listing free packages stays free, and freemium is welcome: a free version in GPM with a paid add-on is fine.
The first five vendors we approve get half price for two years. Vendors who buy a listing plan also get 20% off KahunaCart, which can run their store and issue their license keys. That works out to about $50, which pays for a year of the Single plan.
Tell us what you think
The full details are on the Learn site: Commercial Extensions. It covers how buying works, what vendors need, the validation API, and the full listing rules.
If you'd sell through GPM, or buy through it, I want to know what you think. Are the prices fair? Is anything in the rules a dealbreaker? Is there something you'd need that isn't there? Leave a comment below, or come and find us on Discord.
Andy