[DEPR]: Drop `ENABLE_MKTG_SITE` flag and legacy static templates

[feanil]

RFC Start Date

2025-07-22

Target Plan Accepted Date

2025-08-05

Target Transition Unblocked Date

Replacement Already Available - 2025-07

Earliest Breaking Changes Unblocked Date

2025-12

Earliest Open edX Named Release with Breaking Changes

Verawood - 2026-04

Rationale

We currently have two ways of overriding some historic static content, one of which relies on using the legacy comprehensive theming. This is no longer the preferred way to do it and an alternative way to mange this is already in place via MKTG_URLs lets you provide any valid URLs for setting these values in legacy headers.

Removal

• The ENABLE_MKTG_SITE flag will be removed and we will retain the code as if this flag is set to true.
• The MKTG_URL_LINK_MAP will be removed. Use MKTG_URLS instead.
• The following static templates will be removed:
  • lms/templates/static_templates/news.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/privacy.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/about.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/jobs.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/media-kit.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/faq.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/blog.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/donate.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/help.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/press.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/honor.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/contact.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/tos.html
  • lms/templates/static_templates/sitemap.xml
• URL and view functions pointing to these templates will be removed.

Replacement

Moving forward the MKTG_URLS setting should be used for providing this information.

Your settings should look something like this to transition today:

ENABLE_MKTG_SITE = True
MKTG_URLS = {
    'ABOUT': '/about-us',
    'CONTACT': '/contact-us',
    'FAQ': '/student-faq',
    'COURSES': '/courses',
    'ROOT': 'https://www.edx.org',
    'TOS': '/edx-terms-service',
    'HONOR': '/terms',
    'PRIVACY': '/edx-privacy-policy',
    'WHAT_IS_VERIFIED_CERT': '/verified-certificate',
}

MKTG_URL_LINK_MAP = {}

After Ulmo is cut, the ENABLE_MKTG_SITE setting and the MKTG_URL_LINK_MAP setting will no longer exist and can be removed from your config.

Deprecation

No response

Additional Info

• https://discuss.openedx.org/t/depr-drop-enable-mktg-site-flag-and-legacy-static-templates/16574

[robrap]

@feanil: [inform] From what I’ve been told, ROOT is required, but if supplied with the LMS root it gets into a redirect loop. A workaround is to supply an empty string.

UPDATE: Ignore this for now. My understanding is that there is an issue, but I’m not clear on the workaround, and it may be that empty string does not work.

[robrap]

@feanil: [inform] A PR will be coming to proposal a solution to the redirect issue.

[robrap]

@feanil: I moved this back to Plan Accepted from Transition Unblocked, because we need your help landing the following PR so that Transition can be fully unblocked again. Thank you.

• fix: improve the redirect mktg url logic #37404
  FYI: @ktyagiapphelix2u

[robrap]

@feanil: I moved this back to Transition Unblocked with your PR. However, more work is needed if you ever want to also delete the fallback code that follows: https://github.com/openedx/edx-platform/blob/a0ab48921f016a47ecd3429c590632771e7e6af5/lms/djangoapps/branding/views.py#L65-L85.