What happens when a WordPress plugin gets acquired?
Once a parent company takes over, basic infrastructure like license authentication and file downloads frequently break while support tickets go unanswered for weeks. Without access to necessary add-ons or technical help to launch their projects, developers are forced to eat the cost and rebuild client websites from scratch using different tools.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 93.0× more often in r/Wordpress than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Rebuilding websites or parts of websites from scratch using alternative pluginsDid this help you?
- 2Choosing not to update existing installed plugins to avoid breaking site functionalityDid this help you?
- 3Switching to alternative platforms like Mission donation platform for GiveWP featuresDid this help you?
- 4Reaching out to sales teams via website chat to get updates on unanswered support ticketsDid this help you?
- 5Canceling product evaluations or refusing to purchase software after acquisitions.Did this help you?
- 6Switching to alternative products like Avanan.Did this help you?
- 7Using real-time chat support instead of opening email/portal tickets.Did this help you?
- 8Keeping a log of support ticket response times and resolution rates to justify switching vendors.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“One of our websites is ready to be launched, however we realised we need to install an add-on (only accessible when a license is validated). Well, Liquid Web changed the way license is authenticated, but did such a crap job, we cannot add the license. We opened a support ticket two weeks ago - 2 weeks - and haven't had a response.”source ↗
“We are now in a position where we need to rebuild a big part of the website for free, as we don't feel it's fair to charge the client again - but we also have no confidence in the plugin anymore and their support.”source ↗
“I’ve been going through this with them as well! About to go live with a site using flux checkout and considering pulling it. Also, I have The Events Calendar on several sites. Liquid Web is an absolute train wreck right now. I can’t even get downloads off my purchases.”source ↗
“I bought a lifetime licence a few years back (I dealt with Ben the founder at the time) and a number of my websites use Kadence products, but since I leaned about the acquisition I've not updated any of them and now I'm facing the hard reality that I'll have to rebuild these websites from scratch.”source ↗
“I have had nothing but problems with GiveWP since Liquid Web acquired them. Everyone should definitely avoid.”source ↗
“My issue is that I make heavy use of kadence features, specifically hooked elements. As I do my website myself, I worry about breaking my currently functioning site trying to run away from this potential problem.”source ↗
“As predicted, Inky has gone to sh!t since the K-hole took them over. Their support used to be top-notch. Not it is all but nonexistent.”source ↗
“I remember my 4th of July vacation getting demolished to deal with the fallout. So yea nothing these fuckers build, buy, operate, or own will ever be involved within 10 ft of anything I use.”source ↗
“We were right in the middle of talks with inky, then we got the email that Kaseya acquired them and immediately I emailed the rep we were working with something along the lines of “In light of the recent news regarding Inky being acquired by Kaseya, we have no intentions of continuing to move forward with our evaluation””source ↗
“The sales guy went from "try it as long as you like" to "need a decision today" pretty quick. I passed.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7Why does every software platform keep shoving AI down our throats?
- 2Why are software implementation partners so bad at configuring systems?
- 2Why is rushed custom software so insecure?
- 15Why is enterprise work software so frustrating to use?
- 13Why is keeping up with software updates so exhausting?
- 39Why does every software update make things slower and harder to find?