{"id":1636,"date":"2025-11-04T13:56:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=1636"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:56:53","slug":"running-smile-themes-on-external-hosting","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/documentation\/running-smile-themes-on-external-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"Running SMILE Themes on External Hosting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We occasionally receive requests from clients who\u2019d like to use a SMILE-developed WordPress theme on their own hosting environment. While we\u2019re happy to support open and flexible use of our work, it\u2019s important to understand the implications of doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a SMILE theme externally is permitted under the GPL licence, but it becomes a self-managed setup. We\u2019re happy to provide the files, but all maintenance, guidance, support, and responsibility sit with your chosen hosting provider or internal team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to discuss bringing your site into SMILE\u2019s managed hosting environment in future, we\u2019d be happy to talk through the options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Theme licensing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All SMILE WordPress themes are released under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/licenses\/gpl-3.0.html\">GNU General Public License (GPL)<\/a>. This means you are free to use, modify, and redistribute the theme, provided that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Any distributed copies also remain under the GPL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You accept full responsibility for installation, maintenance, and support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s included<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like to run a site externally utilising your theme, we can provide you with the base theme files at no cost. These files are provided <strong>as-is<\/strong>, with no guarantee of compatibility or ongoing updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s not included<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When a SMILE site is hosted externally, the following are <strong>not provided or supported<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Theme updates<\/strong> \u2013 The version you receive will not receive automatic updates or security patches.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plugin updates<\/strong> \u2013 Proprietary SMILE plugins and integrations (used for certain custom features) will not be included or maintained.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technical support<\/strong> \u2013 We don\u2019t provide troubleshooting, setup assistance, or compatibility checks for externally hosted sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure benefits<\/strong> \u2013 Performance, caching, security, and monitoring tools that form part of our managed hosting are not available outside our environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By hosting the theme externally, you take on full responsibility for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Server configuration, security, and uptime.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>WordPress updates, plugin compatibility, and site performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any maintenance or development required to keep the site operational.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We strongly recommend using a reputable WordPress hosting provider and ensuring you have access to developer support if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Benefits of SMILE-managed hosting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When hosted within SMILE\u2019s environment, your site benefits from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Automatic updates to your theme and SMILE plugins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regular security and performance maintenance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Access to our technical team for support and advice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A guaranteed compatibility layer with other sites in your network.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are part of the managed service agreement provided to our partner institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We occasionally receive requests from clients who\u2019d like to use a SMILE-developed WordPress theme on their own hosting environment. While we\u2019re happy to support open and flexible use of our work, it\u2019s important to understand the implications of doing so. Using a SMILE theme externally is permitted under the GPL&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[107],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-1636","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-professional-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1637,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1636\/revisions\/1637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wearesmile.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}