Launch Frequently Asked Questions
What is Oxygen 6?
Oxygen 6 is the latest version of the Oxygen visual site builder for WordPress, completely rewritten from the ground up. This new iteration of Oxygen is a monumental leap forward and leans further forward into our developer-first roots. Key improvements in Oxygen 6 include native CSS variable support, components, interactions, vastly improved CSS selector management including nested selectors, a totally new UI, and powerful workflow features and keyboard shortcuts to maximize productivity.
Read the Oxygen 6 release announcement for an in-depth look at what’s new.
Is the new Oxygen free for lifetime license holders?
Yes, of course. All our lifetime license holders will receive the completely rewritten Oxygen platform as a complimentary upgrade. The new Oxygen platform is our way of saying thank you for your continued trust and support.
Why a total rewrite?
We began our journey with Oxygen in late 2014, driven by a mission to deliver a robust, developer-first visual builder for WordPress. Officially launched in mid-2016, Oxygen was initially priced at $99 for an unlimited site, lifetime license. It quickly grew in popularity, but by late 2019, it was evident that technological advancements and evolving browser and CSS capabilities would outpace the original JavaScript tech stack and architecture used in Oxygen. Our architecture had become a barrier to innovation, prompting us to reimagine Oxygen from the ground up using modern, robust libraries to future-proof our product and enhance performance and usability without compromises.
Read our full blog post on why we rewrote Oxygen from the ground up for more details.
Will Oxygen Classic continue to be developed and supported?
Yes. Our commitment to Oxygen Classic remains unwavering. Since its launch in 2016, Oxygen Classic has set a high standard with its developer-focused features, supporting over 180,000 websites.
All of the sites you’ve built using Oxygen Classic can continue using it indefinitely. Oxygen Classic will continue to receive full support from our team. Bug fixes, security updates, and compatibility enhancements will continue unabated. Oxygen Classic users will continue to receive technical support from our team. Oxygen Classic will also remain available for purchase for those who prefer its traditional interface and capabilities. There is no requirement to migrate to the new Oxygen unless you choose to do so. The dedicated Oxygen Classic website will continue to offer all the necessary resources, including tutorials and documentation.
Read more about our commitment to Oxygen Classic.
Why isn’t the new Oxygen backwards compatible with Oxygen Classic?
Breaking backwards compatibility with Oxygen Classic was the hardest decision we’ve ever made. Ultimately, it was a necessary step for us to be able to fully embrace modern web development practices and tools that the old architecture could not feasibly support. This move allows us to deliver a significantly more robust, efficient, and feature-rich platform in Oxygen 6. To understand the full context and reasoning behind this change, please read our detailed blog post.
Why are you skipping version numbers and going from 4.9.x to 6.x without a 5.x?
Because Oxygen Classic will continue to be developed, we’ve reserved the 5.x version numbers for Oxygen Classic should the need arise.
Do Oxygen & Breakdance now share the same core builder engine?
Oxygen and Breakdance are now both powered by the same core builder engine, and we are doing our best to merge the two codebases as much as possible. We are already 80% of the way there – if you open up the code, you will see a ton of stuff is shared already. This was a massive undertaking, and we may never be able to hit 100% shared code, but we have realized a huge number of benefits already. Nearly every bug we’ve addressed in Breakdance is now addressed in Oxygen. Nearly every plugin compatibility issue we’ve addressed in Breakdance is now addressed in Oxygen. In addition, this integration allows us to accelerate feature development, bring Element Studio to Oxygen, and much more. To understand how this benefits you and which builder would suit your needs better, read more about our dual-platform strategy here.
