Installation
New to WordPress? Read Your WordPress admin right after install — it maps every menu item under Watermark to the page in these docs.
Requirements
- WordPress 5.0+
- PHP 7.4+
- GD or Imagick PHP extension (most hosts ship one; Imagick is preferred when available)
- For Pro: an active Ultimate Watermark Pro license from your MantraBrain account
Ultimate Watermark Pro requires the free plugin to be active. Activating Pro without Free triggers a
wp_dieand auto-deactivates Pro — seeultimate-watermark-pro.php:45–59,157–165. Pro also enforces a minimum free version (ULTIMATE_WATERMARK_MIN_VERSION2.0).
1. Install the free plugin
The free plugin is the foundation. Install it first.
From WordPress.org (recommended)
- Open Plugins → Add New.
- Search for Ultimate Watermark by MantraBrain.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
From a ZIP
- Download
ultimate-watermark.zipfrom wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-watermark. - Open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Choose the ZIP, click Install Now, then Activate.
You should see a new top-level Watermark menu item in the WordPress sidebar.
2. Install Ultimate Watermark Pro (optional)
Pro is delivered as a separate plugin ZIP from your MantraBrain account.
- Sign in at mantrabrain.com/account.
- Download ultimate-watermark-pro.zip from Downloads.
- In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Upload the ZIP, click Install Now, then Activate.
Activate your Pro license
- Open Watermark → License.
- Paste your license key (from your MantraBrain account → Licenses).
- Click Activate.
The license activates against https://store.mantrabrain.com/edd-sl-api/? (item_id 36499) — see Troubleshooting if your host firewalls outbound HTTPS.
3. Verify your image library
Open Tools → Site Health → Info → Server and check:
- PHP image processing: should show GD or Imagick (or both).
If both are present, Ultimate Watermark uses Imagick (better quality, more formats). Otherwise it falls back to GD. See LibraryDetector.php:47–60.
| Library | Pros | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Imagick | Better quality, supports TIFF / BMP / SVG inputs, smarter font scaling. | Heavier on memory. Some hosts don't ship it. |
| GD | Universal — every host has it. Fast for typical JPEG/PNG. | No SVG support. JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP only. |
No GD or Imagick? Contact your host or install one before activating the plugin.
4. Verify the install
Quick sanity check:
| Check | Where | Pass |
|---|---|---|
| Free plugin active | Plugins → Installed Plugins | "Ultimate Watermark" listed and active |
| Top-level menu | WordPress sidebar | "Watermark" visible with submenus |
| Image library | Site Health → Info | GD or Imagick (or both) |
| Pro active (if installed) | Watermark → License | Status: Active |
| Test upload | Media → Add New → upload a JPEG | Watermark applied (after first template is built) |
5. Build your first watermark
You haven't created any watermarks yet. Continue to Quick start — it walks you through:
- Choosing text or image watermark type
- Picking position, size, opacity
- Setting which post types and image sizes get watermarked
- Triggering bulk apply on existing media
Updating
- Free: WordPress.org auto-updates apply via Plugins → Installed Plugins.
- Pro: After license activation, Pro updates show up in the same Plugins screen. The license must be active for update notifications to appear.
Where next
- 🚀 Quick start — your first watermark in five minutes.
- 🧭 Your WordPress admin — what every menu item does.
- 🖼️ Watermarks — text and image watermark fields explained.