Update Terms
What “lifetime updates” should mean, and how to put it in writing
Lifetime of what? How to write clear update and support terms for templates, plugins, and digital downloads, with plain-language examples you can adapt.
Quick takeaways
- “Lifetime updates” is a promise with no definition until you write one down.
- Clear terms answer four questions: what counts as an update, what does not, for how long, and what support is included.
- The terms a buyer agreed to should stay attached to their purchase, even if you change your terms for future buyers.
Lifetime of what?
“Lifetime updates” is one of the most common lines on a template or plugin listing, and one of the least defined. Lifetime of the buyer? Of the product? Of this major version? Does a complete rebuild count as an update?
Most of the time nobody asks. Then you ship a v2 that took months, and a buyer from two years ago reasonably points at the word “lifetime.” Writing down what you mean protects both of you.
Answer four questions
Good update terms are short. They answer four things a buyer would otherwise have to guess:
- What counts as an update: fixes, compatibility changes, and improvements to the current version.
- What does not: a new major version, a separate product, or new volumes sold on their own.
- For how long: for as long as you sell this version, or for one year from purchase.
- What support is included: none, 30 days, 90 days, a year, or for as long as updates last, and how buyers reach you.
Plain-language examples you can adapt
You do not need legal language. You need sentences a buyer can read in ten seconds.
- “Includes all 1.x updates: fixes, compatibility changes, and new pages added to this edition. Version 2 will be offered to existing buyers at an upgrade price.”
- “Includes one year of updates from your purchase date. After that, you keep everything you downloaded.”
- “Includes 90 days of email support for setup questions.”
A note for Notion and other duplicated templates
When a buyer duplicates a Notion template, their copy is independent of yours, so no platform can update it for them. For these products, an “update” usually means a new duplicate link plus a changelog that explains what changed and whether the buyer needs to move their data.
Say that in your terms. Buyers are fine with re-duplicating when they know it is coming and you tell them exactly what changed.
Keep the terms with the purchase
Terms change. You might move from lifetime updates to one year as your product grows, and that is reasonable for new buyers. The buyers who purchased under the old terms should keep them.
In Go!BrightCart, you choose lifetime or one-year updates and a support window on each product. Those terms are saved with every purchase and shown in the buyer’s Locker next to their files, so a buyer two years from now sees exactly what they were promised.