Frequently asked questions
Getting started
Is Ultimate Watermark really free?
Yes. The core plugin is GPLv3-or-later, lives on WordPress.org, and ships text & image watermarks, conditional rules (post type + image size), originals backup, right-click protection, and one watermark template out of the box.
Do I need Ultimate Watermark Pro?
Only if you need any of: unlimited templates, dynamic placeholders ({{date}}, {{user}}, {{ip}}), on-the-fly frontend rendering, WooCommerce integration, advanced conditional rules (file type, dimensions, file size, orientation, aspect ratio, date range, categories), or background batch processing.
The free plugin already covers most blogs and portfolios.
Does Pro work without Free?
No. Ultimate Watermark Pro requires the free plugin to be active — and at minimum version 2.0. Activating Pro without Free auto-deactivates Pro and shows an admin error.
Versions & compatibility
What WordPress / PHP versions are required?
- WordPress 5.0+.
- PHP 7.4+.
- GD or Imagick PHP extension.
Does Ultimate Watermark support multisite?
Yes — install network-wide and activate per site. Each site has its own watermarks, settings, and license activation. Pro license seats count individually.
Block editor / Gutenberg compatible?
Yes. Watermarks apply during attachment metadata generation, which fires regardless of the editor. There's no Gutenberg block to insert — the plugin operates on uploads, not on content blocks.
Elementor / Divi / Beaver Builder?
Same — watermarks apply at upload time. Whether you place the image via Elementor, Divi, or any other page builder doesn't affect watermarking.
Image formats & libraries
Which image formats are supported?
| Format | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG | ✅ | ✅ |
| PNG | ✅ | ✅ |
| GIF | ✅ | ✅ |
| WebP | ✅ | ✅ |
| TIFF (Imagick only) | ✅ | ✅ |
| BMP (Imagick only) | ✅ | ✅ |
| SVG (as watermark, Imagick only) | ✅ | ✅ |
| AVIF | ⚠️ companion | ⚠️ companion |
| — | — | |
| Video | — | — |
What about AVIF?
WordPress generates AVIF subsizes on capable hosts. Ultimate Watermark watermarks the JPEG sibling that WP generates alongside; the AVIF stays in sync. There's no dedicated AVIF rendering branch — AVIF is treated as a companion file.
GD or Imagick — which should I use?
- If both are installed, Ultimate Watermark uses Imagick automatically (better quality, more formats).
- If only one is installed, it uses that one.
- You can't override the choice in settings.
My host doesn't have Imagick
That's fine — GD covers JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP. You'll just lose TIFF/BMP/SVG support.
Originals & data safety
Are my original images safe?
Only if you enable backups. The free plugin defaults to backups off in the form (and the activator seeds defaults that may differ). Open Watermark → Settings → General → Enable backup functionality and turn it on.
When backups are on, the original is copied to uploads/ulwm-backup/YYYY/MM/ before the watermark is applied. You can restore via Bulk → Remove watermark.
⚠️ With backups off, the watermarked file is the only copy. There's no undo.
What if I want to never modify originals?
That's exactly what Pro's on-the-fly (OTF) display does. The original stays untouched on disk; visitors see a watermarked version that's rendered at request time and cached.
How big can my image be?
GD limits:
- Up to 15 000 px per side.
- Up to 50 MB file size.
Imagick obeys your policy.xml and PHP memory_limit.
For larger images, see Performance.
Watermarking behaviour
Will old uploads be watermarked automatically?
No. Watermarks apply only to new uploads. To watermark existing media, use Media → Library → Bulk action → Apply Ultimate Watermark.
Will every image size be watermarked?
By default, yes — if your watermark's Rules → Image size field is empty. Limit to specific sizes by populating that field.
Can I have different watermarks for different content types?
Pro Yes — Pro removes the one-template limit. Create one template per use case and use Rules to scope each.
Multiple watermarks per image?
Yes — every active template that matches the rules gets applied in sequence (sorted by post ID ascending). Useful for stacking a logo + a "DRAFT" diagonal stamp.
On-the-fly (OTF) PRO
How does OTF differ from burned-in?
Burned-in watermarks modify the file on disk. OTF leaves the file unchanged and renders the watermark at request time, caching the output.
Trade-offs:
| Aspect | Burned-in | OTF |
|---|---|---|
| Original safety | Only safe if backups on | Always preserved |
| Edit watermark, refresh updates | No (need bulk re-apply) | Yes (cache invalidates) |
| First-render latency | None | Yes (one-time) |
| CDN compat | Native | Native (URLs are static after render) |
| Subsequent loads | Native speed | Native speed (served from cache) |
Does OTF work with my CDN?
Yes. The cached watermarked file lives at wp-content/uploads/ultimate-watermark-frontend-cache/ — a regular path that CDNs cache like any other static file. Just remember to purge the CDN folder when you change watermarks.
Why is srcset stripped on OTF?
OTF renders one watermarked image at the size the page requested. Serving alternative resolutions via srcset would mean rendering each alternative — costly. The plugin strips srcset and serves only the OTF version.
Right-click & drag protection
Does it actually stop people from saving images?
It stops casual right-click-save and drag-save. A determined visitor can still:
- Open DevTools → Network tab → find the image URL.
- Take a screenshot.
- Print the page.
For real protection use OTF watermarking (Pro) — even if they save, your watermark is on the file.
Does it break logged-in editors?
By default no — the Enable protection for logged-in users toggle is off, so editors can right-click normally. Turn it on if you want everyone (including admins) to face the protection.
License & updates
Does Ultimate Watermark phone home?
Only Pro, only for license activation and update checks (against https://store.mantrabrain.com/edd-sl-api/?). The free plugin makes no outbound calls.
Why doesn't my Pro update show?
Three causes:
- License is expired or inactive.
- Outbound HTTPS to
store.mantrabrain.comis firewalled. - WP transient cache hasn't refreshed yet (try
wp transient delete --all).
See Troubleshooting → License.
Multisite
Is each subsite licensed separately?
Yes — Pro license seats are tracked per site. A 1-seat license = 1 site, 5-seat = 5 sites, etc. Each subsite needs its own activation.
Large libraries
I have 50 000 images — how long will the bulk apply take?
Free's bulk action processes synchronously: ~1–5 seconds per image, roughly 12 hours for 50K. Pro's batch processor (10/pass, scheduled) handles it without blocking the admin — typical throughput is 10K–20K per hour on a healthy host.
Will it kill my server?
Process during off-peak hours. Lower the chunk size if you see CPU spikes. See Performance → Tuning checklist.
Where to go next
- 🛠️ Troubleshooting — fixes for common issues.
- 💎 Pro features — full Pro catalog.
- 💬 Get support — how to reach us.