Brand Usage Guidelines

The guidelines here indicate how brands can be used and/or mentioned in all content published on Learn WordPress.

Goals

The purpose of creating brand guidelines here is threefold:

  • Learn WordPress needs to be home to high-quality learning materials that serve the needs of all WordPress users – from beginners to power users – without being home to commercial interests.
  • While the platform is not responsible for the success or failure of any particular business providing services to the WordPress community, it would be great if it could create a fertile environment for pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party/theme developers, hosting providers and others to actualize their own goals and make a living while contributing to the community.
  • Guidelines need to consider the WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ teams and volunteers involved. These contributors who make sure that everything runs smoothly deserve impactful tasks and appropriate credit. 

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Guidelines

Keeping the above mentioned goals in mind, here are the guidelines:

Brands can be included in Learn WordPress content if:

  • They are relevant to the piece of content in question.
  • They respect the WordPress trademark and don’t misuse it in any way.
  • They embrace the WordPress licence. Meaning that any WordPress derivatives (plugins, themes, or distributions) they distribute must be licenced under the General Public Licence (GPLGPL GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples.).

Additionally, plugins and themes can only be included if there is a version of their product that is hosted in the WordPress.org Plugin/Theme Directory – this will not only ensure compliance with the licence and trademark guidelines, but it will ensure that any plugins/themes mentioned in the content will be freely and readily available for learners directly in their WordPress dashboard.

When brands are mentioned in training content:

  • At least 2-3 options of different brands that provide a similar product/service must be mentioned wherever it is possible and reasonable to do so. This is in order to keep the content aligned with the purpose of helping people learn how to use WordPress, rather than how to use a particular plugin/theme/service.
  • For practical reasons, in some cases it may be appropriate to have a tutorial that is focused on a single plugin/theme. In those instances, the content must be clear about the purpose (“How to use Plugin X”) and can only cover plugins/themes that are hosted in the WordPress.org Plugin/Theme Directory – no upsells or highlighting premium features available elsewhere should be included. If a tutorial about a specific plugin/theme is submitted by someone who does not work for the company that owns the plugin/theme, then every effort must be made to gain explicit permission from the actual owner before continuing.
  • A disclaimer must be added to the content that any brand/product/service mentioned is considered a suggestion and not an endorsement.
  • Content must be reviewed and updated if there are any previously mentioned brands that no longer adhere to the trademark/licence requirements above (for example, if they change their licencing or use of the WordPress trademark).

Regarding the promotion of your own company/brand:

  • Company/brand logos should not appear as a watermark, footer, or other persistent element throughout the video. In as far as the plugin/theme avatarAvatar An avatar is an image or illustration that specifically refers to a character that represents an online user. It’s usually a square box that appears next to the user’s name., logo, or brand is mentioned or shown, it should only be in the context of its placement on the WordPress.org directory, or as shown within the configuration or use of the plugin/theme itself.
  • You may not highlight your business or otherwise advertise your own products/services as part of any content on Learn WordPress – this includes individuals who create training content professionally. All videos are accompanied by bios of all speakers, so credit will always be given appropriately to the individuals creating the content.
  • The only time where you may highlight your own product when producing content for Learn WordPress is if it is relevant and contextual. For example, if someone who works for Easy Digital Downloads is creating content about using eCommerce in WordPress, then including Easy Digital Downloads as an option alongside other eCommerce plugins would be reasonable so long as it is done according to the guidelines above.

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Clarifications

These guidelines were proposed, discussed and finalised in August 2021.

It is important to note that the GPL requirements outlined above only apply to WordPress derivatives (i.e. plugins, themes, distributions or forks). Other software mentioned in Learn WordPress content is not required to adhere to the same licence guidelines.

That being said, in the interest of encouraging the use of free and open-source software and making this instructional content as accessible as possible, all software used and/or recommended on this site must be open-source as far as possible. For example, when using an FTPFTP FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol which is a way of moving computer files from one computer to another via the Internet. You can use software, known as a FTP client, to upload files to a server for a WordPress website. https://codex.wordpress.org/FTP_Clients. client in a tutorial video, it would be better to use an open-source product like FileZilla or CyberDuck rather than a premium or proprietary option.

Any open-source tools or projects mentioned in Learn WordPress content should be linked to in order to promote greater awareness and use of the open-source ecosystem.

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