I\u2019ve been watching the StellarWP situation unfold for months now, and honestly, last week\u2019s news was not a surprise to anyone who\u2019s been paying attention. But it still landed hard.<\/p>

WHAT'S INSIDE<\/p>\nToggle<\/span>

What happened to LearnDash?<\/a><\/li>
Is LearnDash going away?<\/a><\/li>
What happened to StellarWP?<\/a><\/li>
What does this mean if you use MemberPress + LearnDash?<\/a><\/li>
What does this mean if you only use LearnDash?<\/a><\/li>
The best LearnDash alternative for WordPress<\/a>
- 1. It\u2019s already included in your MemberPress plan<\/a><\/li>
- 2. It covers everything you\u2019d expect from a serious LMS<\/a><\/li>
- 3. Everything lives in one place<\/a><\/li>
- 4. Voted #1 Membership + Courses plugin<\/a><\/li>
- 5. We\u2019re independent, growing, and not going anywhere<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How to migrate from LearnDash to MemberPress Courses<\/a>
  - Step 1 Install MemberPress and activate the Courses add-on<\/a><\/li>
  - Step 2 Run the LearnDash Migrator<\/a><\/li>
  - Step 3 Set up your rules and memberships<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
  - What I\u2019d do if I were you<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
    If you\u2019ve tried visiting LearnDash.com recently, you\u2019ve probably noticed it redirects to LiquidWeb. That\u2019s not a glitch. On April 22, 2026, LiquidWeb put out an official announcement<\/a> confirming what the WordPress community had been bracing for: StellarWP is being dissolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The entire portfolio of plugins they spent years acquiring has been collapsed into just four products, all rebranded under \u201cLiquid Web by Nexcess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    StellarWP owned LearnDash, KadenceWP, GiveWP, SolidWP, Restrict Content Pro, MemberDash, Iconic, and The Events Calendar. Most of those brands are now gone or rolled into something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    If your course business runs on LearnDash, you deserve a straight answer about what this means. Here\u2019s what I know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    <\/span>What happened to LearnDash?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    LiquidWeb acquired LearnDash back in 2021 and tucked it under the StellarWP umbrella. At the time, StellarWP was growing fast and had real momentum in the WordPress space. That changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    As of April 2026, StellarWP is gone as a brand. LearnDash.com redirects to LiquidWeb\u2019s site. LearnDash still exists as a product, but it\u2019s now one of only four things that survived the cuts. The team and organization that built it look very different from what they were a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Here\u2019s the timeline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    - Late 2025: Benjamin Ritner, founder of KadenceWP, leaves StellarWP. Matt Cromwell, co-founder of GiveWP, gives notice. Devin Walker<\/a>, another GiveWP co-founder who had already left, wrote publicly: \u201cPrivate equity often takes a hard edge, putting profits over people and disregarding morale. The truth is that happy teams create great products.\u201d
      <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    - April 22, 2026: LiquidWeb publishes \u201cIntroducing the new software by Nexcess,\u201d officially folding roughly 10 StellarWP brands into 4 core products: Kadence, LearnDash, The Events Calendar, and Give. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      The StellarWP brand that WordPress users knew and trusted has been shut down. LearnDash survives as a product name, but under a completely different corporate structure, with a much smaller team and no independent brand.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n<\/span>Is LearnDash going away?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      Not entirely, but the LearnDash that most people know and trust is already gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      The plugin will still get updates. LiquidWeb has promised critical security patches for retiring features through April 2027. But a lot has already changed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n
      The StellarWP team that built and maintained LearnDash has been largely disbanded or departed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      LearnDash\u2019s own Product Owner was laid off in November 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      LearnDash.com now redirects to liquidweb.com. The independent brand is gone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      MemberDash, StellarWP\u2019s membership plugin, has been killed as a standalone product and folded into LearnDash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Several add-ons and features are being retired. Critical security patches only through April 2027.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      For anyone who built a course business on LearnDash, the real question isn\u2019t whether the plugin will still activate on your WordPress site. It\u2019s whether the roadmap will stay on track, whether support will be responsive, and whether LiquidWeb will actually invest in a product that\u2019s now just one of four in a trimmed-down portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Based on what I\u2019ve seen from private equity plays in the WordPress space, I wouldn\u2019t bet on it getting better from here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      <\/span>What happened to StellarWP?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      StellarWP is done as a brand. LiquidWeb\u2019s April 2026 announcement retired the umbrella entirely. Here\u2019s where everything landed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n
      SolidWP: absorbed into Kadence as \u201cKadence Security\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Iconic: absorbed into Kadence as \u201cKadence Shop Kit\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Restrict Content Pro: absorbed into Kadence as \u201cKadence Memberships\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      MemberDash: absorbed into LearnDash, membership features bundled in<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      LearnDash, Kadence, The Events Calendar, and Give: the four that survived<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      Old portal links like my.solidwp.com now redirect to a new unified portal at software.liquidweb.com. The reaction from the WordPress community has not been positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      The Post Status Slack and WordPress Twitter filled up with job posting threads as former StellarWP employees tried to help laid-off colleagues land somewhere new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      <\/span>What does this mean if you use MemberPress + LearnDash?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      You\u2019re running a split setup where one side just got a lot more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      MemberPress handles your memberships, subscriptions, content protection, and payments. That\u2019s not changing. We\u2019re independent, we\u2019re focused, and we\u2019re not subject to the kind of portfolio rationalization that just wiped out half the StellarWP catalog. Your membership side is solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      But your LMS is now inside a reorganized company with a smaller team, a less certain roadmap, and a parent company that has already shown what it does with acquired products when it needs to cut costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      The good news is you don\u2019t have to stay there. MemberPress Courses is a full-featured LMS, it\u2019s already included in your plan, and it takes one click to activate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      We also built a LearnDash migrator<\/a> directly into MemberPress that moves your content over automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Already a MemberPress customer? You may be paying for a LearnDash license you don\u2019t actually need anymore. MemberPress Courses is already part of your plan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n<\/span>What does this mean if you only use LearnDash?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      If you\u2019ve been running LearnDash without MemberPress, maybe with MemberDash handling your membership layer, the situation is more pressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      MemberDash is gone as a standalone product. Existing customers can keep their current plan at current pricing for now, but new customers can\u2019t buy it separately anymore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      If your subscription ever lapses, you may need to buy into one of the new LiquidWeb bundled plans to get access back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      This is a good time to ask whether you want your whole course and membership setup sitting on a platform that\u2019s being managed by a team focused on trimming costs, not growing a product. There are better options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      MemberPress gives you both sides covered: the most trusted membership plugin for WordPress, with a robust LMS built right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      <\/span>The best LearnDash alternative for WordPress<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      There are other LMS options out there<\/a>. But if you\u2019re already on MemberPress, or if running memberships and subscriptions is central to what you do, MemberPress Courses is the obvious move. Here\u2019s why I think so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      1. It\u2019s already included in your MemberPress plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      MemberPress Courses isn\u2019t a separate purchase. It\u2019s a free add-on that comes with every MemberPress plan. If you\u2019re already a customer, you turn it on with a single click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      2. It covers everything you\u2019d expect from a serious LMS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
      Drag-and-drop Curriculum Builder<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Progress tracking for students and admins<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Built-in quizzes: multiple choice, true\/false, short answer, essay<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Certifications with expiration and completion dates<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      ReadyLaunch templates so your course pages look great out of the box<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      AI Course Generator that builds full curricula through a conversation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      AI Lesson Assistant and AI Quiz Builder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      <\/span>3. Everything lives in one place<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      With MemberPress and Courses together, your memberships, subscriptions, content protection, and LMS are all in one ecosystem. No separate license keys, no mismatched renewal dates, no splitting support tickets between two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      <\/span>4. Voted #1 Membership + Courses plugin<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      MemberPress was recognized as the #1 Membership and Courses plugin at the WP Awards and has earned High Performer badges on G2. Our customers voted for us, and we take that seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      5. We\u2019re independent, growing, and not going anywhere<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      MemberPress is not owned by private equity. We\u2019re not cutting our product team or folding brands into each other to hit a quarterly target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      And here\u2019s the thing: while LiquidWeb has spent the last year consolidating, eliminating, and rebranding, we\u2019ve been shipping. We launched ClubSuite\u2122<\/a> in Q4 2025, a major release that pushed MemberPress well beyond what any single plugin can offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Then last month we launched ClubConnect\u2122<\/a>, a significant update to ClubSuite\u2122. MemberPress is a complete creator platform now, and it keeps growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n $\"ClubConnect$ <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
      That contrast matters. Private equity shops are under pressure to extract value from the assets they already own. We\u2019re under pressure from our customers to keep building things they love. Those two motivations produce very different roadmaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      I\u2019ve been at MemberPress long enough to say with confidence: we\u2019re here for the long haul, and we build for the people who use our product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      <\/span>How to migrate from LearnDash to MemberPress Courses<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      I know \u201cmigration\u201d sounds like a big project. In this case, it\u2019s genuinely not. MemberPress has a LearnDash Migrator built right in. It\u2019s not a third-party tool or a workaround. It\u2019s native, it\u2019s one click, and it handles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n
      Courses<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Lessons and Topics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Quizzes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Course Categories and Tags<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      User Progress<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Quiz Attempts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      Materials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      Your LearnDash content stays untouched during the migration, so you can check everything before you make the switch official. Nothing gets deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      <\/span>Step 1: Install MemberPress and activate the Courses add-on<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      If you\u2019re not already a MemberPress customer, choose a plan here<\/a>. Every plan includes the Courses add-on and the LearnDash Migrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      <\/span>Step 2: Run the LearnDash Migrator<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      Inside MemberPress, go to Courses and open the migration wizard. Choose whether you want to bring over user progress and quiz attempts, then hit Start Migration. Stay on the page while it runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      <\/span>Step 3: Set up your rules and memberships<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      Once the migration finishes, set up your MemberPress rules to protect your courses and connect them to your membership levels or products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Want the full step-by-step? Read the migration guide here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      What I\u2019d do if I were you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      LearnDash the plugin still works. But the team that built it with care, the founders who believed in it, and the brand identity that gave people confidence in it are gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      What\u2019s left is a product being managed inside a cost-cutting restructure by a company whose actions over the last year have not inspired a lot of trust in the WordPress community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Your courses are your business. The content you\u2019ve built, the students who\u2019ve enrolled, the progress they\u2019ve made, that\u2019s all worth protecting, and it deserves to live on a platform with a stable team behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      We\u2019ve built MemberPress Courses for exactly this situation. And we keep building. ClubSuite\u2122. ClubConnect\u2122. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
      A platform that grows with you. If you\u2019re ready to move, we\u2019ve made the migration as painless as we could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      \n\t
      \n\t\t
      \n\t\t\t $\"cta$ \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
      \n\t\t\t
      Get MemberPress Today!<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
      Start your migration from LearnDash today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tGet MemberPress Now\n\t\t\t\t\t $\"arrow\"$ \n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t See All Features<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      On April 22, 2026, LiquidWeb officially dissolved StellarWP and folded its entire plugin portfolio into four products. If you\u2019re running courses on LearnDash, here\u2019s a straight answer about what changed, what\u2019s at risk, and what your options are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59227,"featured_media":80639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_strive_editorial_status":"complete","_strive_copy_of":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_strive_checklists":"\"\"","_strive_active_checklist":"62291e2bb2422","_strive_post_notes":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[446,19,1562],"tags":[513,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-80632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-announcements","8":"category-news","9":"category-wordpress","10":"tag-lms-plugins","11":"tag-wordpress","12":"entry"},"acf":{"plans":["scale"],"is_featured":false,"download_source":"none","mothership_slug":"","download_url":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t