Changing Free CMS Themes

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KaalVoet

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Morning,

I downloaded a free Wordpress Theme. I changed it to what I wanted so it looks nothing like what it did when I started. Am I allowed to remove the link of the author in the footer that links to their webpage. I am not a developer but I do dabble in the code somewhat. But I am not sure of exactly where the lines are with open source, in my heart i still feel it`s theirs, but my head tells me it looks ugly at the bottom of my page and i want it gone.
 
KaalVoet said:
Morning,

I downloaded a free Wordpress Theme. I changed it to what I wanted so it looks nothing like what it did when I started. Am I allowed to remove the link of the author in the footer that links to their webpage. I am not a developer but I do dabble in the code somewhat. But I am not sure of exactly where the lines are with open source, in my heart i still feel it`s theirs, but my head tells me it looks ugly at the bottom of my page and i want it gone.
Click to expand...

You will find that it's probably encrypted in the footer.php somewhere. This is what "Free" theme author's do (some even put a juice hack on your site)

just decrypt/replace it (cause it's usually mixed in with html that you need) and you should be good to go.
 
envo said:
You will find that it's probably encrypted in the footer.php somewhere. This is what "Free" theme author's do (some even put a juice hack on your site)

just decrypt/replace it (cause it's usually mixed in with html that you need) and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...

Yes, how dare they give you something for free and still expect to take credit for it.

You will probably find a paid version of the theme without the footer, but hell a couple of dollars for the entire look and feel of your site that you can generate revenue off of is just naked profiteering.
 
I design ALOT of things that take hours and then give some away for free to get traffic to my site, just the same as free templates. I don`t watermark my name onto any of my designs so excuse me if I ignore your holier than thou outlook on the internet. Prob the difference between designers and developers, we care to share.

Envo - I checked, i cannot find it in the files. I`m not that clued up. I can see it when I edit with firebug though.
 
KaalVoet said:
I design ALOT of things that take hours and then give some away for free to get traffic to my site, just the same as free templates. I don`t watermark my name onto any of my designs so excuse me if I ignore your holier than thou outlook on the internet. Prob the difference between designers and developers, we care to share.

Envo - I checked, i cannot find it in the files. I`m not that clued up. I can see it when I edit with firebug though.
Click to expand...

Forgot to add. I have no problem linking back to the maker. I just want the link to be in a place of my choosing. And it should say, Original Template code by bla bla bla. Cause i did all the designing of the menu`s, header etc etc etc, if you wanna get down to details.
 
KaalVoet said:
I design ALOT of things that take hours and then give some away for free to get traffic to my site, just the same as free templates. I don`t watermark my name onto any of my designs so excuse me if I ignore your holier than thou outlook on the internet. Prob the difference between designers and developers, we care to share.

Envo - I checked, i cannot find it in the files. I`m not that clued up. I can see it when I edit with firebug though.
Click to expand...

It's not a holier than thou outlook, unless it is stated in the T's & C's that you can change the footer it's blatant plagiarism. The designer of the theme obviously has a different business model to yours and should be respected as such.

Considering that it is hidden in the first place, I'm pretty sure he/she doesn't share your idea of "care to share".

What you can do:
1. Contact the designer and ask for permission to change the footer
2. Pay for the theme without the footer if available
3. Leave the theme and design the rest of the elements yourself
 
Designing is not the issue. Developing is. But yes Dad. I will do the right thing and leave it there. Free, should be Free. Dammit.
 
Check the readme that came with the theme for anything relating to usage terms.
Also check if the text isn't perhaps in the footer widgets.

Post a link to the theme and I'll check it out for you.
 
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