The official continuation of WP Ultimo
WP Ultimo is now Ultimate Multisite
If you landed here looking for WP Ultimo, you’re in the right place. The plugin lives on as Ultimate Multisite — community-maintained, open source, free on WordPress.org, and actively developed in 2026.
Is WP Ultimo dead? No — it’s right here.
Some competitor blog posts will tell you WP Ultimo has been abandoned and you should rebuild your business on their proprietary platform instead. The reality is simpler: the original brand was discontinued, the codebase was forked under a new name, and a community has shipped releases on it ever since. Your existing WP Ultimo install upgrades cleanly. Your customers don’t have to move. Your data stays where it is.
From WP Ultimo to Ultimate Multisite — the timeline
Eight years of continuous development, one rename, zero gaps in the community fork.
2018
WP Ultimo launches
Arindo Duque releases the original Website-as-a-Service plugin for WordPress Multisite. It quickly becomes the standard for agencies running hosted-website businesses on WordPress.
2022–2023
Development pauses
Active development on WP Ultimo pauses. Commercial sales wind down and the wpultimo.com site eventually goes offline. The plugin’s installed base — running on agency networks worldwide — keeps operating, but without new releases or official support.
2024
Community fork ships
The codebase is forked, renamed Ultimate Multisite, and published on WordPress.org and GitHub under an open community organisation. Existing installs keep working — the upgrade path is in-place.
2026
Active development
Ultimate Multisite 2.4.10 ships in January 2026 with stronger password handling. A public roadmap, community check-ins, and 25+ official add-ons round out the platform. Releases continue on a regular cadence.
Migrate from WP Ultimo in 5 minutes
Ultimate Multisite is the same codebase under a new name. Your settings, plans, customers, sites, and add-ons all carry over. Test on staging first, but the path is straightforward.
- Back up first. Database snapshot plus a copy of
wp-content/plugins/wp-ultimo. If you use WP-CLI:wp db export. - Deactivate WP Ultimo. In Network Admin → Plugins, deactivate the legacy plugin. Your data stays in the database; only the plugin code is paused.
- Install Ultimate Multisite. From Network Admin → Plugins → Add New, search for Ultimate Multisite and install. Or via CLI:
wp plugin install ultimate-multisite --activate-network. - Run the upgrade routine. The plugin auto-detects existing WP Ultimo data on first activation and migrates settings, plans, and subscriptions in place. Walk through the set-up wizard to confirm.
- Reactivate add-ons. Replace any legacy WP Ultimo add-ons with their Ultimate Multisite equivalents from our shop. Most add-ons retain their settings.
- Smoke-test on a single subsite. Place a test order, verify the sign-up flow, check Stripe / PayPal webhooks. Then you’re done.
Need a hand? The support team handles WP Ultimo migrations regularly. The getting-started guide covers fresh installs.
What changed when WP Ultimo became Ultimate Multisite
A short, honest summary of what’s different and what isn’t.
| Aspect | WP Ultimo (legacy) | Ultimate Multisite (today) |
|---|---|---|
| Brand & site | wpultimo.com (offline) | ultimatemultisite.com |
| Source | Closed commercial | Open source on GitHub |
| Distribution | Direct sales only | Free on WordPress.org + paid add-ons |
| Maintainer | Single commercial entity | Community organisation (Ultimate-Multisite on GitHub) |
| Release cadence | Paused 2023–2024 | Regular releases through 2026 |
| Your data | — | Stays where it is. In-place upgrade. |
| Your customers | — | Don’t need to do anything. |
| Your hosting | Bring your own | Bring your own (same) |
| Addon ecosystem | ~10 first-party add-ons | 25+ add-ons; all-addons bundle at £49/yr |
| License cost | From £49/yr | Plugin is free; add-ons optional |
Frequently asked questions
Is WP Ultimo really discontinued?
The original commercial brand and site (wpultimo.com) is offline, yes. But the plugin itself was forked into Ultimate Multisite and continues to receive updates, security fixes, and new features. If you’re running WP Ultimo today, you’re running software that has a living, active successor — you just need to install it.
Will my existing WP Ultimo install break?
No. Ultimate Multisite is a renamed continuation of the same codebase, not a rewrite. On first activation it detects your existing WP Ultimo data and migrates plans, subscriptions, customers, sites, and settings in place. We always recommend a database snapshot before any plugin change, but the upgrade itself is straightforward.
Do my customers have to do anything?
No. The migration happens at the network admin level. Customer-facing sites continue to work, sign-ups continue to function, and existing subscriptions keep billing as configured. End users won’t notice the change.
What about my paid WP Ultimo add-ons?
Most legacy WP Ultimo add-ons have a current Ultimate Multisite equivalent in our shop. Where add-ons have been renamed, settings carry over. The All Addons Bundle at £49/year is the cheapest way to cover everything.
Why open source instead of another paid SaaS?
Because you already lived through one platform abandonment. Open source means the code can never disappear behind a closed door. If a maintainer steps back, the community continues. If you outgrow our add-ons, you can fork. If you want to audit security, every line is on GitHub. That’s the long-term insurance policy you’re entitled to as someone running a hosting business on this platform.
Is multisite the right architecture in 2026?
Yes — for the use case Ultimate Multisite serves. WordPress.com runs hundreds of millions of sites on multisite-style infrastructure. For an agency hosting client sites that share a stack, multisite is dramatically cheaper to operate than spinning up a separate full WordPress install per customer: one database, one set of plugin updates, shared object cache. Competitors selling “isolated installs” market that as a safety feature; the trade-off is you pay per-site fees forever. With multisite you pay once for the host.
Ready to keep going where WP Ultimo left off?
The plugin is free. The community is active. Your business doesn’t have to move.