Install Free first, configure its country source, then add Pro and activate your purchase key. Keep both plugins active: Free supplies country detection; Pro adds WooCommerce product controls.
New installation
- Check the environment. Back up and test on staging. Use WordPress 6.8+, PHP 8.3+ and WooCommerce for product targeting. Initial testing covers single-site WordPress 6.8.3 and 7.1.3, WooCommerce 11.2.1 and PHP 8.3. Broader multisite and custom checkout compatibility need separate testing.
- Install Free. Download WPLocation Free, upload it under Plugins → Add Plugin → Upload Plugin, then activate it. Follow the full Free setup guide.
- Configure the source. In WPLocation → Settings, select a current licensed GeoLite2 Country MMDB outside the public web root, or explicitly download one with your own MaxMind account. Check Diagnostics. Automatic data updates remain off until you opt in.
- Install Pro separately. After purchase, download the Pro ZIP from My Account → Downloads or your receipt. Upload and activate it while Free remains active. Activate WooCommerce if it is not already running.
- Activate the Pro license. Follow the license steps below, then create and test your first product audience.
Activate and manage your license
- Find your WPLocation Pro purchase key in My Account → License keys or the purchase receipt.
- In WordPress, open WPLocation → Pro license, then Manage License.
- Enter the Pro key and choose Activate. Check the returned license status. This is the WPLocation purchase key, not your MaxMind database-download key.
- If activation fails, check the key, its covered-site allowance and your server’s HTTPS connection to wplocation.com. Review the exact message before retrying; contact support if it persists.
The rule editor is under WPLocation → Pro; the license entry is the separate Pro license submenu. If the Free dependency is unavailable, the license entry appears under WordPress Settings, while Pro country enforcement is paused. Restore compatible Free before testing rules.
Understand plans, renewals and expiry
Pro and Agency use the same Pro plugin. Current Pro plans cover one site; Agency covers five. Monthly and yearly subscriptions renew at the chosen interval until cancelled. Both lifetime options are one-time software licenses for their stated site limits. See current prices and plan terms.
Manage future renewals in My Account → Subscriptions. Cancelling a subscription keeps the current paid license term. After expiry, installed rules continue working, but updates and support require an active entitlement. A temporary licensing-service outage does not switch off installed targeting rules.
Both lifetime plans cover current and future WPLocation add-on software for their covered sites when released. Roadmap add-ons are not available today. Managed lookup credits, usage-based services and third-party charges are separate.
Create and test a product audience
- Open WPLocation → Pro, then choose Products or Product categories.
- Select Edit audience. Choose Everyone, Only selected countries, or Everywhere except selected countries. Select countries for a restricted rule and choose Save audience.
- Use Test a country for an allowed and denied country. Every applicable product and category/ancestor rule must allow the visitor; variations inherit the parent product.
- Purge caches and test the actual catalog, direct product URL, add-to-cart, existing cart and checkout. Unknown countries cannot access restricted products. Checkout also checks the applicable shipping or billing country.
Follow the product-rule guide and complete WooCommerce test checklist.
After checkout
Your receipt includes the Pro download and license key. New customers receive a separate email to set their account password. Sign in to My Account to manage your purchase.
- Downloads: get fresh links for the files included with your purchases.
- License keys: copy your Pro key, check its status and use Manage Sites to review activations.
- Subscriptions: check renewal dates and the available payment or cancellation actions. Lifetime purchases have no recurring subscription.
- Orders & receipts: open purchase details, downloads and receipts.
- Profile: update your contact details.
If email is missing, check junk mail and confirm the checkout email address. Use the account login/password-reset flow or contact support with your order number. Keep license keys and signed download links private.
Upgrading the original Free 1.0.0
The original standalone plugin stored its database inside the plugin directory. Replacing that folder removes the file, and the original 2018 data is too old to reuse.
- Back up the database and plugin folder, retain a rollback copy, and test the migration on staging.
- Install and activate WPLocation Upgrade Assistant 1.0.0 while legacy Free is still active.
- Obtain a current GeoLite2 Country MMDB you are licensed to use and place it in a private directory outside the web root. In Tools → WPLocation Upgrade, select it and confirm your permission to use it. The assistant can instead copy a recent licensed bundled GeoLite2 file to a private directory; old files are rejected.
- Keep the assistant active while installing Free 1.1.0 with WordPress’s replacement flow. It guards supported WordPress upgrades when the source is unprepared. Manual file replacement and third-party updaters can bypass that guard.
- Verify Diagnostics, saved content rules, shortcodes and public output. Purge caches. Once verified, deactivate the assistant; then install Pro if needed.
No unattended update is offered from the original standalone release. Multisite migration is outside the supported scope of this release.
Privacy and dependencies
License activation and update checks send your key, site URL and software details to wplocation.com over verified HTTPS. Optional diagnostic tracking is off by default. Keys are stored in WordPress and can appear in backups.
Free performs local country lookups; Pro adds product/category rules without a visitor IP log. Removing or deactivating Free or Pro stops Pro enforcement, although saved rules are retained. An expired license is different from a missing plugin dependency. No hosted lookup credits are included.
Review cache behavior and country-detection limits. Geo Redirects is included in Pro 1.1.0. Groups, schedules, bulk tools and other specialist add-ons remain future work.
Geo Redirects in Pro 1.1.0
Geo Redirects is included in the Pro plugin; no second ZIP or license is needed. Keep Free active with a current local country database. Open WPLocation → Geo Redirects to create a published page-to-page country rule, preview it while paused, then activate it after testing your real page cache or CDN. WooCommerce purchase rules remain independent. Read the Geo Redirects guide for visitor choice, exclusions, cache behavior and troubleshooting.
Contact WPLocation with your software versions and the result you expected. Keep keys and customer data private.