ThemeForest support expired? What still works and what to do

If your ThemeForest support expired, your website keeps working exactly as before. The theme does not switch off, and you can still install its updates. What stops is item support, the help you get from the theme's authors.

The real question is who helps you the next time something goes wrong. That is why the support date belongs on every WordPress maintenance checklist, next to backups and updates.

You have three options. Renew item support on ThemeForest, add Premium Support from us, or wait. Premium Support is for MyHome, Listivo and Vehica, the themes we make.

What still works after your ThemeForest support expired

Support and your license are two different things. Your license lets you use the theme on your website, and it has no end date. Support is a period of help that comes with the purchase.

• Your website, with its pages, listings and user accounts
• The theme and every setting you made in it
• Theme updates, because they are not part of support
• Your purchase code, which proves your license

On ThemeForest, the newest version of the theme stays in the Downloads list of your account. In MyHome, you install every new version in one click. For Listivo and Vehica, you enter your purchase code in the theme's updater and update from your WordPress admin.

The help center of MyHome, Listivo and Vehica also stays open to everyone. When your support period ends lists what keeps working and what stops.

What stops when support ends

On ThemeForest, item support follows rules that ThemeForest sets, the same for every author. It lasts 6 months from the purchase, unless you paid to extend it. While it runs, it covers three things.

• Questions about the theme's features
• Bug reports
• Help with the plugins that come with the theme

Once item support has ended, the authors no longer have to answer these for you. Even while it runs, item support has limits. It does not cover installation, changes beyond the theme's features, server problems or plugins that do not come with the theme.

If you run MyHome, Listivo or Vehica, you can still send us a message without active support. If your question needs Premium Support, we tell you in the reply.

Before you choose, check where your site stands

Five quick checks tell you how much help you really need. Do them before you pay for anything.

• Find the date your support ended. It is 6 months after the purchase, unless you extended it.
• Compare your theme version with the newest one. An old theme can clash with a newer WordPress.
• Ask whoever built the site if they edited the theme's files. An update would remove those edits.
• Take a fresh backup before you change anything, updates included.
• Write down what is broken or missing, page by page. This list shows if you need answers or fixes on your site.

If someone edited the theme's files, read how to update a WordPress theme without losing your changes first. Backups matter most on a listing website, because new listings arrive every day. How to back up a listing website without losing new ads shows a routine that keeps every new listing safe.

Your three options after support ends

Which option fits depends on what you need next. Answers about the theme are one thing, and fixes on your own site are another.

Renew ThemeForest support

To renew ThemeForest support, open Downloads in your ThemeForest account and click the renew support link next to the theme. The rules stay the same, so you get answers about the theme, not fixes on your own site.

This fits a site that works well, where you mostly need answers. It is also the option when your theme is not one of ours, because Premium Support covers only MyHome, Listivo and Vehica.

Add Premium Support from the theme's authors

If you run MyHome, Listivo or Vehica, Premium Support is our own support, so it can do more. It lasts 12 months, and you can add it to a theme bought on ThemeForest, also after item support has ended. It also covers fixes on your own site, which item support leaves out.

• Errors, white screens and broken pages, fixed on your site
• Plugin conflicts, also with plugins that are not ours
• Slow pages, failed updates and server settings
• Trouble installing or updating the theme
• Help to set up new fields, search filters and how listings are shown

Everything happens in writing, so you keep a record of what was done. You write to us by email or send a message. If we need to look at your site, we ask for access in the reply.

Wow, you guys are the best! I would have never in my life done it. I’m so glad you replied to my request for help, because I was about to pay a web developer to fix a simple problem. I really appreciate you! Elisabeth Reynoso, RE/MAX Ocean, Punta Cana

Premium Support has a limit too. Building a new feature to your own plan, or designing whole new pages, is custom work. We tell you when a request is custom work before anything is done.

Go without support for now

Maybe your site runs well and you rarely change it. Then you can wait, keep good backups and add support when a real problem appears. On our three themes, you can add Premium Support at any time.

The risk is time. On a listing website, a broken page means visitors cannot reach your listings. Keep the plan for the first hour after an update breaks your site close at hand.

How to add Premium Support to a theme bought on ThemeForest

You need one thing from ThemeForest, your purchase code. The steps are the same if your item support expired long ago.

1. Find your purchase code in the Downloads list of your ThemeForest account.
2. Click Add Premium Support on our Premium Support page, then create a free TangibleWP account or log in.
3. Add your ThemeForest purchase code to your account, so we can see your license.
4. Add 12 months of Premium Support with one payment.
5. Write to us with your website address, what you expected and what happened instead.

Planning your next theme? Compare buying a theme on ThemeForest or from its authors first. Bought from us, a theme comes with 12 months of Premium Support, while item support on ThemeForest lasts 6 months.

Questions