Automatic.css Acquires Well-Loved “Plaster” Add-On

Breaking news from Automatic.css and Plaster.

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Published on

May 8, 2023
BlogCSS Frameworks

May 1st, 2023: Plaster Plugin has been acquired by Automatic.css, and its core functionality has been natively integrated into v2.5.

An ACSS user created Plaster Plugin as an enhancement to Automatic.css. It adds contextual menus, an interactive cheat sheet, live style previews, and additional quality-of-life improvements to Automatic.css and supported page builders.

Plaster quickly gained support in the Automatic.css community and was highly recommended by users. While Plaster is helpful for everyone, it’s especially helpful for beginners as it helps flatten the learning curve.

Our options as a company

Plaster’s features have always been on our roadmap. So, once Plaster was released, we had a decision to make. The two options were:

Option #1: Continue with our plan of developing these features internally.

Option #2: Acquire Plaster and officially bring its lead developer on board.

It was an easy decision

Option #1 was not a viable decision in our estimation. Developing these features internally, rendering Plaster obsolete, and leaving its lead developer, Christoph, out to dry wasn’t a palatable option.

Option #2 allowed us to reward Plaster’s developer. It also presented the opportunity to bring Christoph aboard to ensure ongoing innovation.

The second option was the outcome we wanted and hoped for. And, thankfully, it’s the one we were able to secure.

With that said, we’re proud to announce the official acquisition of Plaster Plugin.

What’s next?

Since the acquisition, we’ve been busy behind the scenes making some UX/UI changes and doing some efficiency refactoring. Plaster’s core functionality is now available natively inside Automatic.css v2.5, and we’re confident it’s an even better experience than before.

Please be aware that this new functionality is not being sold as an add-on, and we are not increasing the price of Automatic.css to include it. Thanks to this acquisition, all ACSS users can enjoy new functionality and an improved user experience at no additional cost.

This isn’t all. We have many new ideas that we’ll work hard to implement over the coming months. And now that Christoph is working with us officially, his contributions can extend well beyond Automatic.css enhancements into other important areas.

This move should excite all ACSS and Frames users!

To Plaster’s buyers

Purchasing any third-party add-on like Plaster comes with the risk of that functionality being added natively by the main platform. Some will view this as unfortunate, and others as great progress.

The undeniable reality is that Automatic.css is better off because of the creation of Plaster. And we made it a point to ensure the creator of Plaster was rewarded for his efforts.

If we were going to continue selling Plaster as an add-on, this would be an easier situation. That’s not the vision we had for this functionality, though. We want everyone to enjoy these quality-of-life improvements without additional costs going forward.

We know a 100% happiness rating among Plaster’s former user base is likely impossible. However, we hope to maintain the positive vibes and vision created by this acquisition and have put a plan in place for everyone who purchased a Plaster license.

If you are a plaster license holder, email your name and license key to [email protected] for a list of options.

The deal will end on July 1st.

Thanks to the entire ACSS community

Automatic.css is consistently voted the #1 utility framework for WordPress page builders. Our amazing community is a big reason for that. We can’t thank you enough for your continued support as we work to improve and innovate ACSS every month.

This is truly an exciting time for both ACSS and Frames. The vision for these tools extends far beyond the public roadmap. What we will accomplish over the next 1 to 3 years can’t be overstated. So, kick back and enjoy the show :).