Liquid Web Ends Optional Plugin Migration, Moves Customers to Bundle From $350

In May, Liquid Web described the move to its new WordPress plugin plans as “completely optional” and “not a forced migration.” From November 16, subscriptions to LearnDash, The Events Calendar and Give move at renewal to a single package that also includes Kadence, with prices starting at $350 a year for one site.

The company, which One Equity Partners acquired in 2023 and which offers the plugins under its Nexcess brand, no longer sells a premium version of any of the four products separately. “Individual plugin subscriptions are being retired as licenses renew,” its guide to the change reads, and the rate a customer pays now lasts through the current billing term. Existing Kadence subscriptions and lifetime licenses are among the exceptions.

The Package Costs More Than Essentials, Less Than Pro or Elite

According to the company, every plan includes LearnDash, The Events Calendar, Give and Kadence with every premium feature, and the price depends only on the number of sites. Kadence Security is sold separately.

The effect depends on what a customer pays today. In August, Liquid Web listed LearnDash and The Events Calendar at $259, $399 and $599 a year for its Essentials, Pro and Elite tiers, and Give at $199, $399 and $599. Those tiers date only from May, when Liquid Web folded separately sold add-ons into single products with three plans. Against the August list prices, the one-site package costs more than Essentials and less than Pro or Elite: $91 more for LearnDash or The Events Calendar and $151 more for Give. The comparison uses list prices, not features or individual renewal bills, and older plans may differ.

What Happens at Renewal

Customers need not act: “Do nothing and we’ll move you to the package at your next renewal.” They receive an email with their plan, sites, price and renewal date, and a reminder 30 days before the charge. A customer with several affected subscriptions moves to the package at the first renewal, and the other affected subscriptions are canceled.

Customers can turn off auto-renewal or cancel before the renewal date. A site keeps working without a renewal, but “you will no longer receive support, automatic updates, or security patches.” A lapsed subscription cannot return to its old terms: the May announcement required a new plan to reinstate access, and the package is now the only one on offer.

Besides existing Kadence subscriptions and lifetime licenses, the change does not apply to unlimited-site licenses, The Events Calendar Multisite licenses, accounts with more than 100 active licenses, and products such as Iconic, Restrict Content Pro and LearnDash Cloud.

From “Completely Optional” to a “Single Standard Offering”

The May announcement narrowed the company’s WordPress software to four core products. For customers who stayed on existing plans, its wording was: “Your pricing, renewal process, plans, and tools stay the same.”

The guide now calls the package “our single standard offering” and presents it as a matter of focus: spreading “our people across dozens of products, tiers, and versions doesn’t help.” In a town hall recap, the company adds that a single version of each product means updates and fixes, including vulnerability patches, can reach customers sooner.