Confused about what the word "Trellis" entails? We were too - that's why we compiled this Trellis Terminology page to explain what a Trellis theme and Trellis tech stack and Trellis subscription are.
The word "Trellis" is a blanket term for different technologies and offers.
Here are the different terms and how they relate to each other.
Trellis ad tech
The core of the Trellis framework is the ad tech, integrate into both the theme and tech stack.
The Trellis ad tech has also been fully integrated into the Feast theme and tech stack.
Trellis theme
The Trellis theme is a normal WordPress theme that controls how your site is displayed. It does not require an active subscription.
You can run the Trellis theme without the Trellis tech stack, which is enabled through the Trellis subscription.
Trellis tech stack
The Trellis tech stack includes:
- image optimization
- pagespeed optimization
The Trellis tech stack relies on third-party libraries and APIs that haven't had updates to keep up with modern alternatives. The Trellis tech stack can be replaced with:
- image optimization = Shortpixel
- pagespeed optimization = WP Rocket
Trellis subscription
The Trellis subscription grants you a Trellis license which allows your site access to the Trellis tech stack. You can manage it on TrellisWP.com
A Trellis subscription is not necessary to run the Trellis theme without the Trellis tech stack.
All active subscriptions as of October 20, 2025 will remain fully active until October 20, 2026.
Subscriptions renew at $0 as of October 20, 2025 so that users can migrate to Trellis 2.0.
Trellis license
The Trellis license is the key that you were given when signing up for your Trellis subscription. It gets added to your site to enable the Trellis tech stack.
A Trellis license is not necessary to run the Trellis theme without the Trellis tech stack.