--- title: "How to Activate a Unified License and Add a Product" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/accounts-licensing/how-to-activate-a-unified-license-and-add-a-product/" description: "The Unified License Key is a single key that activates all Unified products in your plan. Instead of tracking a different license key for each plugin or product…" vertical: "Software" area: "Accounts & Licensing" date: "2026-08-31" last_modified: "2026-09-03" --- # How to Activate a Unified License and Add a Product The Unified License Key is a single key that activates all Unified products in your plan. Instead of tracking a different license key for each plugin or product, you simply copy one key and use it everywhere. Once your license key is activated, you’ll then be able to connect your site to the purchased product such as Kadence, The Events Calendar, LearnDash, Give, etc… In this example, we’ll walk through purchasing and activating a **Kadence Essentials** bundle. ## Step #1: Purchase a Product If you don’t already have a Liquid Web Software account, you can purchase your subscription directly from the Liquid Web website. To purchase a product from the Liquid Web Customer Portal, see [this document](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/accounts-licensing/how-to-add-a-new-product-to-your-account/). For a first-time purchase, start by clicking one of the links below: - [Kadence](https://www.liquidweb.com/software/kadence/) - [LearnDash](https://www.liquidweb.com/software/learndash/) - [The Events Calendar](https://www.liquidweb.com/software/the-events-calendar/) - [Give](https://www.liquidweb.com/software/give/) For our example, click on Kadence and scroll down to the Pricing section. ![Liquid Web Software - Kadence pricing](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-3.12.33-PM-scaled.png)The prices shown are per-site, annually. Click on “Get Essentials” (or whichever plan you prefer). ### Review Your Shopping Cart Make sure everything in your cart looks correct. Click “Proceed to checkout” when you’re ready. ![Liquid Web Software - Shopping cart - Kadence Essentials](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-3.15.56-PM.png)### Cart Checkout Fill out all required fields and add a payment method. When you’re ready, click “Place order” to complete your purchase. ![Liquid Web Software - Checkout](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-15-16-17-Checkout-–-Liquid-Web-Software-scaled.png)After completing your purchase, you should receive a confirmation email in your inbox. ## Step #2: Retrieve Your New License Key To retrieve your newly purchased license key, you’ll need to log into the Liquid Web Customer Portal. Initially, you will not have a password, so here are the steps to follow: 1. Go to [https://software.liquidweb.com/](https://software.liquidweb.com/) 2. Click “Sign in with a code by email” 3. Enter your account email (the one you used on your order) 4. Check your inbox (check your spam folder too!) 5. Copy the six-digit code from the email 6. Paste or enter the code on the portal login screen Here is what the initial login screen looks like: ![Liquid Web Software - Login screen](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-3.34.06-PM.png) ### Copy Your License Key Once successfully logged in, you will be presented with the Portal Dashboard. Click on **License** to view your license key. ![Liquid Web Software - License screen](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-3.37.23-PM-scaled.png)The license key will be masked for security purposes. Simply click the Copy icon on the right to copy the key to your clipboard. ## Step #3: Activate Your New Key For this step, you’ll go back to your WordPress website. Be sure to log in as an admin user! Before you continue… If you haven’t already done so, you should have installed your “pro” plugin by this point. Here’s [a link](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/accounts-licensing/download-plugin-and-theme-files/) that explains how to do that. ### The Software License Manager In WP Admin, go to **Settings** → **Liquid Web Products**. Paste your license key in the Unified License field and click **Activate**. ![Liquid Web Software License Manager](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-20-at-4.40.04-PM-1024x963.png)## Step #4: Activate Your Product Once your key is activated, you’ll now see the “Installed Features” or products page. On the left, you’ll see the available plugins for each product. On the right sidebar, you’ll see the products you’ve purchased that are awaiting activation. ![Liquid Web Software Manager - Products](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-3.52.24-PM-scaled.png)In our example, we’re going with **Kadence Essentials**. To activate the product for this site, click the **Activate** button. Tip Before clicking **Activate**, log into the Liquid Web Customer Portal in another tab. This will allow for easy access to add your site to the portal. After clicking the Activate button, a new tab will open to the Liquid Web Customer Portal, prompting you to add your site. ![Liquid Web Customer Portal - Add a site](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-4.01.20-PM-scaled.png)Click “Add site”. Your site will be activated for the product, and you will be returned to WP Admin. Your site should now show your product as active with a green dot in the right sidebar. ![Liquid Web Software - Active product](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-4.03.56-PM.png) Tip You can also manually add your site to a product in the Customer Portal and then click the Refresh icon located at the top of the right-sidebar of the Software License Manager. ![Liquid Web Software Manager - Refresh](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-21-at-4.28.31-PM.png)