What happened
Liquid Web (parent of Nexcess) has announced it’s retiring the StellarWP brand and folding many of those plugins into a smaller Liquid Web Software suite. That means several formerly independent products will be rebranded or absorbed into core offerings while four products become the flagship suite: Kadence, LearnDash, The Events Calendar, and Give (formerly GiveWP).
What Liquid Web announced (practical summary)
– Four core products: Kadence, LearnDash, The Events Calendar, and Give.
– Several smaller brands and plugins are being merged into those offerings (examples below).
– Liquid Web says current plans, pricing, and access remain intact as long as subscriptions remain active.
– Important caveat: if your subscription lapses, you cannot reactivate the old legacy plan—you’ll need to buy one of the new Liquid Web Software plans to regain access.
– Critical security fixes for absorbed brands are being provided through April 2027.
Which brands move where (high level)
– SolidWP (security & backup) → folded into Kadence Security
– IconicWP (WooCommerce add-ons) → folded into Kadence Shop Kit
– Restrict Content Pro (RCP) → folded into Kadence Memberships
– MemberDash → absorbed into LearnDash
– GiveWP → rebranded as Give under Liquid Web
– LearnDash and The Events Calendar → continue as core Liquid Web offerings
– Kadence → expanded as the flagship suite
Immediate actions for site owners
– Confirm auto-renew is enabled on any legacy StellarWP subscriptions you want to preserve. If a subscription lapses you lose legacy pricing and must buy a new plan.
– Nothing breaks immediately if you’re current: licenses and updates continue while your subscription is active and supported.
What to expect over time (common acquisition patterns)
– Roadmap priorities can shift. Smaller products absorbed into a suite often get deprioritized in favor of the parent brand’s roadmap.
– Support and community structures can change, moving from founder-led channels to centralized support queues.
– Pricing incentives may steer customers toward bundled or higher-tier plans. Legacy pricing protection only lasts while you keep your subscription active.
If you want alternatives (trusted options)
If this consolidation makes you nervous or you were already considering a change, here are independent alternatives WPBeginner recommends for each category affected:
– Donations / fundraising (instead of GiveWP): Charitable. Built specifically for nonprofits, offers recurring giving, peer-to-peer, Stripe/PayPal, and a one-click GiveWP importer.
– Online courses & memberships (instead of LearnDash + MemberDash or RCP): MemberPress. Single integrated system for LMS features, memberships, drip content, quizzes, and migration support for LearnDash users.
– Memberships / gated content (instead of Restrict Content Pro): MemberPress. Deep restriction rules, payment support, member management.
– Popups & onsite marketing (instead of Kadence Conversions): OptinMonster. Mature A/B testing, exit intent, advanced targeting, and many campaign types.
– Backups & migrations (instead of SolidWP backups): Duplicator. Popular, robust migrations and scheduled cloud backups in Pro; pair with a dedicated security plugin for protection.
– Security (instead of SolidWP security): Sucuri or Wordfence. Dedicated security/firewall/malware scanning solutions are generally stronger than bundled modules.
– Event calendars (instead of The Events Calendar if you prefer alternatives): Sugar Calendar. Lightweight, fast, and featureful for most small-to-mid organizations.
– WooCommerce add-ons (instead of IconicWP / Kadence Shop Kit): Merchant (aThemes). Bundles many conversion-focused modules; free and pro tiers available.
– Themes (instead of Kadence theme): aThemes’ Sydney or Botiga for multipurpose or WooCommerce-optimized alternatives maintained by an independent team.
Migration notes
– Charitable includes a GiveWP importer to move donors, donations, and campaigns—verify Stripe/PayPal webhooks after migrating.
– MemberPress and other LMS plugins provide migration guides for moving courses, lessons, quizzes, and student progress—test on staging first.
– Backups and migrations should always be verified on a staging site before switching production.
FAQ (short answers)
– Will my existing license keep working? Yes, while your subscription remains active. If it lapses you’ll need to buy a new Liquid Web plan to regain access.
– What if I miss a renewal? Legacy pricing and reactivation are not available after a lapse. Enable auto-renew if you want to preserve legacy access.
– How long will security updates continue for absorbed products? Liquid Web committed to critical security patches through April 2027 for the absorbed brands.
– Is GiveWP shut down? No—GiveWP is rebranded as Give and remains a core Liquid Web product, but the standalone brand identity is ending.
– Should I switch The Events Calendar? The Events Calendar remains a flagship product; if you’re happy, there’s no urgent need to move. If you find it slow or bloated, consider Sugar Calendar.
Final thoughts
This change is significant for users of the absorbed brands, but it isn’t an immediate emergency if your subscriptions are active. The two most important practical steps are to confirm auto-renew on legacy subscriptions you want to keep and to start planning now if you prefer to move to independent alternatives.
Historically, smaller specialized teams often deliver faster feature development and more personalized support than large bundled owners. If long-term independence, focused product roadmaps, or predictable pricing matter to you, consider migrating to one of the recommended alternatives while you have time to test and plan.
If you need help evaluating a migration path or choosing replacements for specific plugins on your site, describe your setup (plugins, hosting, number of users/donors/customers) and I can suggest a tailored plan and next steps.