A plugin license for client sites is one of those details agencies only think about at handover, when a site still runs on the agency’s key and renewal reminders go to the wrong inbox. Sorting it early saves awkward emails and surprise lapses, whether your sites run in WordPress multisite or as separate installs. This guide is for teams at agencies and freelancers who build WordPress sites for clients. We cover agency plans, who should pay, what happens at handover and how Echo Forms Signature handles it, in about 10 minutes of reading.
The short version
- Use an agency plan while you build and maintain sites.
- Decide early who pays renewals: you, as part of a care plan, or the client.
- At handover, the client can buy their own one-site license.
- Their site then leaves your plan, and the spot frees up for the next one.
What is an agency license?
A plan that covers many sites under one key and one renewal. It suits the build phase, when you need a plugin on staging and live sites, and ongoing care plans where you keep looking after the site. Echo Forms Signature has four plans, each with every feature:
| Plan | Sites | Launch price a year |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | 1 | $49.99 |
| Freelancer | 10 | $99.99 |
| Agency | 25 | $199.99 |
| Enterprise | 100 | $299.99 |
For an agency with 25 clients, that is about $8 a site a year, which most care plans absorb easily.
Who should pay for the license?
It depends on whether you keep looking after the site. Many agencies keep some sites on care plans and hand others over, so plan for both, and check the list 14 days before each renewal.
| You keep the site on a care plan | The client takes the site over |
|---|---|
| Keep it on your agency plan | The client buys their own one-site license |
| You renew once a year for all sites | The client renews for their own site |
| Build the cost into the monthly fee | Renewal emails go to the client |
The worst case is the middle ground: a site that has left your care but still runs on your key. If you stop renewing, the site’s license lapses, and the client may not know why.
How does client handover work in Echo Forms?
The client buys their own one-site license, in their name and on their card, and the site moves onto it. The spot on your plan comes back for the next client. Because the client pays for their own license, a site never moves without a paying owner behind it. Our pricing page shows the plans.
How to hand a site to a client, step by step
- Before launch, agree in writing who pays for each paid plugin.
- Build on your agency plan.
- At handover, send the client a list of their paid plugins and what each one does.
- Ask the client to buy their own license for any plugin they will renew.
- Enter their key on the site, and release the spot on your plan.
- Check the renewal email reaches the client, within 30 days of the handover. The whole handover takes about 15 minutes per site, and our Free vs Signature page helps explain to clients what they are paying for.
What about a multi-site license and the GPL?
WordPress plugins are licensed under the GPL, which lets anyone use and change the code, as explained by the WordPress license page. A paid license is for updates, support and the paid features’ key, not for the right to use the code. That is why we put every feature on every plan: the plans differ only by the number of sites, and the free vs Signature page shows what the key adds.
A plugin license for client sites is a 10 minute conversation at the start of a project that saves hours at the end. Pick an agency plan for the sites you look after, and let clients own the license once a site is theirs.
Plans for 1, 10, 25 or 100 sites
Every Echo Forms Signature plan has every feature, from $49.99 a year for one site.
