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WordPress theme by WordPress.org

Twenty Twelve

The 2012 default WordPress theme: a simple, light, one-column blog with a clean header and an optional sidebar.

Official demo Get it on WordPress.org

GPL-2.0 Free for commercial and client use. Keep the license file; no visible credit needed.

Twenty Twelve on a desktop screen
Twenty Twelve on a phone
GPL-2.0

The license in plain words

The license almost every WordPress theme uses. You can use and change it for any site, including client and commercial sites. If you give or sell the theme, or your changed copy, to others, it has to stay under the GPL with its source code. Running it on your own or a client's site is fine.

  • Commercial and client sitesYes
  • Change the code and designYes
  • Visible credit requiredNo
  • Keep the license text in the filesYes

Checked on October 29, 2026 from the License line in the theme's style.css on WordPress.org ("GNU General Public License v2 or later"). Full text: GNU General Public License v2 or later. The license file that comes with the template is what counts. This is not legal advice.

Who it suits

BlogPersonal site

Good to know: Made by the WordPress team.

How to use it

This is a WordPress theme, so it runs inside a WordPress site rather than as plain HTML files. Most web hosts install WordPress in one click.

  1. Install it from your dashboard. In WordPress go to Appearance, then Themes, then Add New Theme, search for "Twenty Twelve" and click Install, then Activate.
  2. Pick a starting look. Open Appearance, then Customize (or the theme's own setup screen) to choose a layout, colors and fonts, or import one of its starter sites.
  3. Add your pages and posts. Write them in the block editor and add them to your menu.
  4. Know what is free. Everything shown in the theme's preview is free. Under the GPL you can use it on as many sites as you like, including client sites.

Want a site with no WordPress to keep updated? Try our originals or a plain HTML template.

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