Guides · License and plans

Activate your license

How to activate your license after purchase, what happens with renewals, how to move the license to another site and what happens if it expires. All the information you need, no surprises.

6 min read Commercial information
01 — What it unlocks

What changes when you activate your license

When you activate your license, the plugin goes from the Free version to the full version according to the plan you purchased (Starter, Pro or Agency). This means the premium modules are unlocked and the Free limits are removed.

What gets enabled:

  • AI content generation: full articles with customizable tone, structure, length and style.
  • Semantic linking via embeddings: the plugin detects real thematic relationships between your posts, not just keyword matches.
  • Knowledge bases: verified information the AI consults before writing to avoid making up data.
  • AI image generation: original featured images for every article.
  • Multilingual translation: translation of posts into multiple languages while preserving SEO.
  • Automation: complete pipelines with no daily intervention.
  • Automatic synonyms in the linking rules.
  • Unlimited pillars and rules (limited to 2 and 5 in Free).
02 — Before you start

Your license key

After making your purchase at 4linking.com you'll receive a confirmation email that includes two things:

  • A download link for the plugin's paid version.
  • Your license key, a unique alphanumeric string that identifies your purchase.

If you already had the plugin installed in its Free version, you don't need to download anything new: just activate the license in your current installation. If it's a new installation, download the plugin from the link in the email, upload it to your WordPress and activate it before continuing.

Email didn't arrive? Check your spam or promotions folder. If it doesn't appear after 15 minutes, write to support. Never share your license key with anyone: it's personal and tied to your account.
03 — Activation

Activate the license step by step

  1. Open the plugin settings In your wp-admin, go to 4Linking → Settings.
  2. Go to the "License" tab You'll see a tab dedicated to managing your license.
  3. Enter your key Paste the license key you received by email into the corresponding field. Make sure not to include spaces at the beginning or end.
  4. Click "Activate" The plugin contacts the license server to verify your key. In a few seconds you'll see a confirmation message with the expiration date and the associated plan.
What happens when you activate All the premium modules are enabled instantly. If you had pillar pages or rules marked as "inactive" for exceeding the Free limit, they reactivate automatically. You don't have to reconfigure anything.
04 — Renewals

How annual renewal works

All 4Linking licenses are annual with automatic renewal. The renewal is charged automatically to the credit card or payment method you used in the original purchase, without you having to do anything to keep the service active.

If you want to cancel automatic renewal

You can do it at any time from your customer area at 4linking.com. Cancelling doesn't remove your access immediately: your license stays active until that cycle's expiration date. The only thing that changes is that it won't renew automatically when that date arrives.

Changing card or payment method

If you need to update your payment method (expired card, change of bank, etc.), you can do it from your customer area before the renewal date. If the renewal fails, you'll receive email notices and you'll have a grace period before it affects your access.

05 — Site change

Move your license to another site

Your license is tied to a specific WordPress site, but you can move it whenever you want. The process is simple and doesn't involve contacting support:

  1. Deactivate the license on the current site Go to 4Linking → Settings → License and click "Deactivate". Confirm the action. The plugin frees up your license slot on the server and that site moves to the Free plan.
  2. Activate the license on the new site Install the plugin on the new WordPress (if it isn't already). Go to Settings → License and paste the same key. The license becomes tied to the new site.
What happens to the old site when you deactivate When you deactivate the license, the old site automatically becomes a Free user, with the free plan's limitations (2 pillars and 5 active rules, no premium modules). Your previous content and configuration aren't deleted: the Free limits simply apply.

Plans with several sites

The Pro (5 sites) and Agency (25 sites) plans let you activate the same license on several WordPress sites at the same time, without needing to deactivate one to activate another. Each activation takes up a slot of your plan; when you reach the maximum, you'll need to deactivate one to free up the slot.

06 — Expiration

What happens if your license expires

Your content and your data are never deleted Only the ability to create new content with the premium features is paused. When you renew, everything works again exactly as you left it, with nothing to recalculate.

What stays and what gets paused

Stays

Your work and your data are safe

  • AI-generated articles stay published
  • Generated images stay in the media library
  • Translations stay as independent posts
  • Rules, pillars and exclusions keep being applied
  • Generation templates are kept in read-only mode
  • Knowledge bases are kept complete
  • KB embeddings and semantic linking intact in the database
  • Link map works normally
Paused

Creating new content with premium modules

  • AI article generation
  • AI image generation
  • New translations
  • Creating bases or adding entries
  • Computing new embeddings
  • Scheduled automation jobs
  • Automatic synonyms in rules
  • Rules and pillars that exceed the Free limit become inactive (but kept)

The expiration cycle

We don't want you to lose the service from one day to the next. That's why we apply a grace period after expiration:

Expiration day

Your license reaches its expiration date

The plugin detects that the license has reached its expiration date. A banner appears warning of the status. Everything keeps working normally.

Days 1-7 · Grace period

Everything keeps working for 7 more days

For one week you keep full access to all the features. It's your margin to renew without surprises if the automatic charge failed or you need to update your payment method.

Day 8 onward · Expiration applied

The restrictions apply

The premium modules switch to read-only mode. The Internal linking core keeps working with the Free plan's limits. Renew at any time to reactivate everything instantly.

If you exceed the Free limits at expiration

If your account had more pillars or rules than the Free version allows (more than 2 pillars or more than 5 rules), they aren't deleted. They're marked as "Inactive (exceeds Free limit)". The first 2 pillars and 5 rules (in order of creation) stay active. When you renew, they all reactivate automatically without you having to do anything.

Renewing is always simple

No matter when you renew, your data reactivates exactly as you left it:

  • Before expiring: the new 365 days are added to your current expiration date. You don't lose a single day for renewing early.
  • During the grace period: the license reactivates instantly. The new date counts from the renewal day.
  • After expiration is applied: same flow. KB, embeddings, templates and excess rules reactivate instantly. No recalculating, no reconfiguring.
07 — Issues

Common errors when activating

"Invalid key" when you click Activate

Check that you copied the full key with no spaces at the beginning or end. 4Linking license keys are long and usually contain hyphens. The safest way: copy from the email with right-click → copy, not by selecting manually.

"This license is in use on another site"

Your plan allows a specific number of simultaneous active sites (1 in Starter, 5 in Pro, 25 in Agency). Deactivate the license on the site you no longer use before activating it on a new one, or upgrade to a plan with more slots.

"Connection error with the license server"

Your host might be blocking outbound calls to the license server. Ask your host to allow HTTPS connections to 4linking.com, or try temporarily disabling security plugins like Wordfence during activation.

The email with the key doesn't arrive

Check spam and promotions. If it doesn't appear after 15 minutes, write to support including the purchase email: we'll resend the key manually.

"Your license has expired" but I just paid the renewal

Activation after renewing can take a few minutes to propagate. If the notice is still there after 10 minutes, click "Deactivate" and then "Activate" again in the License tab. That forces the plugin to check the updated status.