Tips Tuesday – WordPress 7.0, Kadence Owner Changes, OpenAI Privacy Lawsuit
Tips this week include:
- WordPress 7.0 release
- Kadence under new management – sort of
- OpenAI hit with privacy lawsuits
WordPress Tips
WP 7.0 Upcoming Release
WordPress 7.0 is scheduled to be released tomorrow on the 20th.
Even though they removed the Real-Time Collaboration, there are still a couple of things I want to test hard before we update.
I’ll have a What’s New post for you soon, maybe next week.
Kadence Under New Management – Sort Of
Liquid Web is consolidating software companies they own, including Kadence.
Okay, follow along as we try to make sense of this chain of custody.
Liquid Web is a cloud hosting provider, much like Amazon Web Services, which is the hosting company that maintains the hardware and some of the software management for cloud hosting resellers, like many of the companies we do business with.
Liquid Web is also the parent company of many WordPress software brands that we use.
Many of them were under the umbrella company of StellarWP, like
- GiveWP
- The Events Calendar
- LearnDash
Others include:
- SolidWP (formerly known as iThemes)
- IconicWP (for Woocommerce)
In April 2021, Liquid Web acquired Kadence. They first included it under the iThemes family of products, but later rebranded iThemes as SolidWP and then moved Kadence under StellarWP.
On May 12, 2026, LiquidWeb dissolved StellarWP.
And now they have consolidated the following under one management interface:
- Kadence (website builder + security)
- LearnDash (e-learning)
- The Events Calendar (event management)
- Give (fundraising)
Here’s what they say about the new interface:
“Instead of navigating separate websites, checkouts, portals, and experiences, customers can now purchase any combination of these software tools directly on the Liquid Web by Nexcess site—with unified access on a single portal.”
Here’s what they say about the other software products:
“SolidWP, Iconic, Restrict Content Pro, and MemberDash are no longer being sold as standalone products. Their features are now incorporated into either the new Kadence or LearnDash.”
Here’s where the features from each brand now live:
- SolidWP → Kadence Security (built into Kadence)
- Iconic → Kadence Shop Kit (built into Kadence)
- Restrict Content Pro → Kadence Memberships (built into Kadence)
- MemberDash → LearnDash (built into LearnDash)
Who Do We Pay for What?
Here’s what they say:
“For existing customers, you keep your current features—though you might see them in your portal as part of the new products above.”
And then:
“Switching is optional. Your current plan, pricing, and tools remain the same unless you choose to upgrade. This is a new option for customers who want more, not a forced migration.”
In the announcement, I saw no mention of the Kadence Block plugins, but I assume they are included in all things labeled “Kadence”.
So, if you’re already using the paid version of any Kadence product, it looks to me like nothing is going to change for you except the name at the top of the page where you pay for it.
Here’s more on the Kadence plans and options.
Why Do This?
Support is super expensive. So is R&D.
It just makes sense for bigger companies to buy up smaller, successful ones and put a bigger team behind them.
And it makes sense to combine the winners in a way that they seamlessly work together to provide a full solution.
And it makes even more sense to consolidate payment and support for all of them under one central portal too.
Going forward, I’m not sure what “built into Kadence” means. I just hope they keep all the “extra” stuff optional for turning on, or as a separate plugin, which is what they are now.
I know for a fact that I don’t want anything to do with whatever evolved out of the iThemes security crap, now labeled as SolidWP.
So, we’ll see how it evolves.
Backlash Over the Surprise Changes
This move by Liquid Web is not without controversy.
The fact that they just did it before they told anybody that it was coming has caused a lot of confusion and false rumors.
So, be careful what you read and check your sources.
And then there are folks like Syed Balkhi, of the WP Beginner family of plugins, who is trying to capitalize on this momentary confusion (read Rayhan’s defense against this, which I applaud).
AI Tips
OpenAI Hit With Privacy Lawsuits
The minute that ChatGPT released, I told y’all to be super, duper careful about what you shared with it.
And I believe all of you heeded that warning.
But, lots of other folks didn’t.
“According to the complaint, ChatGPT is routinely used to discuss “sensitive and personal topics” such as finances, health, and legal issues, with some estimates suggesting that a significant portion of company data pasted into ChatGPT is confidential.”
And now it seems that OpenAI didn’t consider any of that privileged info.
The gist of the lawsuit hinges on “wiretaps” by Meta and Google:
“Under CIPA Sections 631 and 632, they characterize the Meta Pixel and Google Analytics tags—as well as the associated cookies and servers as “machines, instruments, or contrivances” used to read or learn the contents of communications and to eavesdrop on confidential sessions without all‑party consent.”
I guarantee you this lawsuit will drag out for years. Not only is the damage already done, but it will continue to be done until this is settled.
