If you’re interested in using one of our premium plugins on a multisite network, we’ve got you covered! We have special Multisite Licenses that can be activated on your main network settings page, granting automatic updates to all sub-sites within the network. You can purchase a Multisite License for any of our premium products from the individual product pages. A Multisite License is the best way to manage multiple WordPress sites all in one place.

What is a Multisite Network?

A multisite network is a collection of sites that all share the same WordPress installation. They can also share plugins and themes. The individual sites in the network are virtual sites in the sense that they do not have their own directories on your server, although they do have separate directories for media uploads within the shared installation, and they do have separate tables in the database.

WordPress Codex

What license do I need for my Multisite Network?

💡 Most people using a multisite network will need to purchase a Multisite License. You need a Multisite License to “Network Activate” a plugin, individually activate the plugin on 11 or more sub-sites, or do automatic updates on any number of sub-sites.

Network activating your license means that you activate The Events Calendar and any premium add-ons just once, and then those plugins become activated on all sub-sites that are on the multisite network.

You can also activate our plugins on individual sites with a multisite network. First, you’ll want to install (but not activate) the plugins on the main network site. Then you can activate the plugin from individual sub-sites.

Whether you want to use our plugins on your entire network or just part of it, you’ll need to enter your multisite license key on the network site admin License Keys tab. Entering your Multisite license key in the network admin will license all the sites across the entire network. This will also allow you to perform automatic updates for any sub-sites using our plugins.

💡 If you only want to use our plugin on a handful of sub-sites (10 or fewer) and are willing to perform manual updates, then you do not need a multisite license. In this case, you can purchase a license for 1 site, 3 sites, or 10 sites.

Note: If you use a 1-site, 3-site, or 10-site license for a site on a Multisite Network, you may see a Disconnection notice in your account on this site when you log in and go to My Account → License Keys. You can ignore this. We are working to improve this messaging and functionality. Additionally, you may not receive notification that updates are available. When an update is available, you will need to visit My Account » Downloads to manually update the plugin.

The rest of this tutorial pertains to Multisite licenses and network-level management.


Installing and activating plugins on a multisite

First off you’ll want to install and activate our core plugin, The Events Calendar. Once it’s installed, click the Network Activate link to activate it for all your sub-sites. If you only want to use the plugin on some of your sub-sites, skip the network activation and you’ll be able to activate the plugin on individual sub-sites as desired.

Next you’ll add whichever premium plugin(s) you’ve purchased. For this example, we’ll use Events Calendar PRO. Download the plugin .zip file from your account’s downloads page. Upload the plugin file via your network plugins page. Again, you can choose between the Network Activate option and manually activating the plugin on individual sub-sites.


Network settings for events

There’s a few network-wide settings that you can choose for all your sub-sites. From your Network dashboard, go to Settings > Events Settings in the sidebar menu. From there, you can choose to hide the Events Settings pages on sub-sites. This can be helpful if you want to prevent sub-site admins from changing settings without your permission.

KB - network settings

Adding your multisite license key

The final step is to add your multisite license key to the network settings page. Plugins downloaded since 8 May 2017 will have the license automatically included in the ZIP file. To confirm that your license is activated, go to the Events Settings page and then select the License Keys tab. For each premium plugin you have installed and active, you’ll see a corresponding license key field.

If your license is not activated, copy your multisite license key from your account’s license keys page. Then paste the key into the corresponding field.

KB - network license

Make sure to save your changes. You’re all set — you now have access to automatic updates on all your sub-sites.