iThemes, one of the oldest brands in WordPress that originally launched around theme products nearly 15 years ago, is rebranding to SolidWP. Over the years, the company’s products became increasingly centered on plugins, yet the old brand had so much name recognition that its leadership was not quick to change it.
“iThemes is known today for security, backups, and site maintenance – none of which are well-represented in the name ‘iThemes,'” StellarWP Senior Director of Ops and Marketing Matt Cromwell said. “Additionally, the brand evokes the early 2000’s Apple era of technology, and we want to look toward the future.”
This week the company kicked off a “rebrand in public” approach to updating its identity to be more aligned with promoting iThemes’ key offerings – its security, backup, syncing, and educational products. They will all be rebranded to the following:
- Solid Security
- Solid Backups
- Solid Central
- Solid Academy
“This shift in branding signifies our renewed focus on providing a solid foundation for every WordPress website,” Cromwell said. “Our whole team, as well as our products, will pivot to focus on security, backups, site maintenance, and training as we enhance and improve our solutions for all of our users.”
The rebranding is a massive undertaking, as the company’s products have millions of users and years worth of articles, webinars, eBooks, and tutorials. SolidWP will present reworked pricing and retire some legacy products in the process.
“Currently on ithemes.com you’ll find a lot of products that are either part of a bundle, or sold on other websites in a variety of ways,” Cromwell said in the FAQ section of the announcement. “Some products will continue to thrive on their own, and others will be retired. We plan on reviewing publicly the complete inventory of our current products and bundles and working with the community to shape what the future plan is for each.”
The company is not planning to increase prices on its products at this time but Cromwell said they reserve the right to adjust pricing as needed. iThemes will also be consulting its community regarding products that are slated to be retired.
“We will continue to support any and all who land in our support queue with our best efforts and service,” Cromwell said. “The official end-of-life for the products being sunset will be discussed with the community and decided on before the full launch of our new brand.”