Total includes several great plugins for free which greatly enhance the functionality of the theme. While these plugins could be placed inside the theme it’s much better to keep them as separate plugins. However, this means that plugins will have to be updated separately from the theme update.
Understanding The Plugin License
The way it works on ThemeForest is when a plugin is bundled for free with a WordPress Theme you can use the plugin for free without any issues, however, if you want automatic updates and support from the plugin developer you need to purchase it separately (this is 100% optional). Some plugins include a field to enter your “purchase” code for the plugin. Since you purchased a bundled product you do NOT have a purchase code for that plugin so you can’t enter anything in this field. Updates to the plugins are provided when the theme itself is updated. Please continue reading below to see how to update your bundled plugins.
Plugin Versions Supported by The Theme
Plugins are updated accordingly with the theme itself. Whenever a plugin is updated we will personally test that plugin with the Total theme to ensure there isn’t any problems or bugs and if everything is good then we’ll update the theme and include that plugin update.
You can look on the theme changelog and see what versions of your plugins are currently supported by the theme.
Updating Your Plugins
Since plugin updates are included with the theme whenever you update your theme if a plugin needs updating you will see a notice at the top of the site to update the plugin like such:
You can also go to Appearance > Install Plugins and update bundled plugins from there which would look like this:
Video Guide:
Important WP Multi-site Notice
If you are using WordPress multisite with the Total theme network activated, please be sure to follow the steps for updating the plugins via the main site and not the network admin dashboard. The network admin dashboard technically doesn’t have the Total theme installed so it can’t correctly process the plugin updates.