WordPress vs WP Engine – community drama 2024

My take on the current feud (and now legal battle) between WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine (3rd-party WordPress hosting provider).

• Who are these 2 companies?
• Why are they arguing?
• What’s the background context? Who fired the first shot, and how they responded afterwards in this WordPress World War (WWW1).

Read more for some of my own side commentary and how that affects or doesn’t affect you in the greater scheme of things.

• PREQUEL 1 – what happened right before that presentation.
• SEQUEL 1 – reddit of WP Engine’s cease and desist letter to WordPress.

1. Who’s fighting? And why?

The main fight is between Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress.org (open-source web platform)…and WP Engine, a giant 3rd-party WordPress hosting company who’s parent company (Silver Lake) also owns other giant brands in the WordPress space.

For most of us all, it all started some days ago when Matt Mullenweg fired the first shots at a WordCamp event in the US. He started by offering to read from his blog post where he preached on the values of open-source, its benefits and freedom that it gives to developers worldwide. Then transitions into how WP Engine (whom he called “a cancer to WordPress”), a giant webhosting company for WordPress sites, goes against that. He further compares them to soulless corporate entities like oil companies who extract natural resources and drain the lands dry before seeking new profits elsewhere.

Matt gets into details, listing how WP Engine profits so much from the WordPress community space yet contributes so little to the open-source movement. Listing their very small code contributions in addition to their feature-limited versions of WordPress on their servers. Ultimately, his verdict is that they aren’t a true member of the WordPress community and should no longer be supported as such…both in word of respect, as well as product consumer. He urges everyone to “vote with their dollars” and take their business elsewhere.

2. Why are they fighting?

I suspect this fight isn’t a matter of principle and values, but rather of personal conflict. On the WordPress side, we have Matt Mullenweg who’s done a good job of expressing his views as being his views alone. But on WP Engine’s side…it’s Lee Wittlinger, managing director for Silver Lake who overseas the WP Engine brand.

If I had to guess, this probably came down to Matt wanting more financial support from brands who profit off the WordPress space. And/or also wanting more development support. Perhaps feeling certain things should not have to be be managed or developed by WordPress core. And he wanted the big commercial companies in the WordPress space (the ones who profit the most from it) to help contribute to improving WordPress, perhaps maximizing its features and compatibility with 3rd-party extensions. Except only, maybe WP Engine did not lend their help to the degree of Matt’s liking.

And he decided to write them off, and officially end ties with them. Clarifying any mis-affiliations between WordPress and WP Engine moving forward, making clear they aren’t the same. That WP Engine isn’t an official WordPress entity and should not be allowed to profit of it.

• Publicly, WP Engine released a post showing how much contributions they’ve given to the WordPress community in the form of event sponsorships, developing extensions and frameworks.
• Privately, WP Engine opened legal action against WordPress…presumably to defend its brand and probably seek monetary damages for Matt’s statements.

3. How do other experts feel about their stances?

Most comments I’ve seen on social media and personal blogs by developers are quite split, as expected:

• The majority feel Matt is the pot calling the tea kettle black. Everything he accused WP Engine of, he does somewhat of the same via his own WordPress.com and Automattic commercial brands in the WordPress space that benefit financially off the open-source platform. Some comments go further that he’s just jealous of WP Engine’s success or feels threatened by their size and growth.
• Many others have used this opportunity to repeat their long-entrenched hate and distrust for Matt over unrelated matters. Things like “oh he’s gone crazy like that in the past” to “I hate him cuz he forced Gutenberg on everybody”, or “remember his insistence on WooCommerce?”. Lots of comparisons about him being a tyrant forcing a close-minded view on an open-source community.
  • Somebody even made a Google doc listing Matt Mullenweg’s controversies over the years. Many noticeable patterns here…mainly being overly-protective of the WordPress trademark, and being anti-competition using the free (open-source) WordPress platform to push his paid brands to users first. Also many instances of him going to war with other big brands competing against WordPress platform or WordPress brands…(e.g. Godaddy, Wix, etc).
  • Many people continue their call for Matt to step down.
• If it wasn’t about what Matt has done in the past, it was about how he did things in the past. Many people felt him to be too irrational, unprofessional, and tyrannical. Engaging in petty wars online that made a mockery of the entire WordPress community and the many well-behaving members of it.
• Even so…there were also a handful of people who agreed with Matt. Mostly because they hated WP Engine even more. Or they felt objectively that Matt was saying all the right things, although deserves skepticism for the probable personal bias in himself running competing companies against those he criticizes.

4. My personal views?

I’m team Matt all the way on this one. But with a few clarifications & disclaimers:

• Yes, I’ve read and agree with everything bad said about Matt.
• Yes, he is kinda crazy and leads from his own views without considering others.
• Yes, he does engage in petty immature unprofessional behavior online.
• Yes, he has been numerous inflammatory wars that make WordPress look silly.
• Yes, he’s been overly protective with the WordPress trademark. At least from a legal standpoint. And although, he has a point in feeling WP Engine benefits from non-savvy end user confusion between WPE and WP… WP Engine does have a reasonable claim (by the word of law) that they aren’t actually infringing or misleading customers on the WP trademark. C’mon now, we all see and understand the points of both sides, right? Let’s not pretend.
• Yes, he’s abused the open-source WordPress.org platform and site for profit-purposes or unrelated purposes at times.
• I only partially agree with calls for Matt to step down. Or at least evolve his behavior. The other part of me isn’t so sure someone else would love or serve Matt’s baby with a better vision than his.
• I thought Matt’s callout of WP Engine at WordCamp was cringey as heck. It’s his mannerisms…the uncomfortable laughs, and timid self-commentary. The discomfort comes off as shady, manipulative, indirect behavior…as if he’s so uncomfortable and lacking confidence in what he’s about to say, like the way a politician might behave before lying on the mic. Like c’mon dude…if you’re gonna throw shade, own it! If you really believe it, then stand behind it.

But nonetheless…WordPress is still a product I use and love. I love Gutenberg as well. And while I may not agree with everything Matt Mullenweg and WordPress has done over the years, I like and agree with its direction much more than anything else. It’s like the sibling you argue the most with but turns out to be actually more like you than anyone else.

WP Engine on the other hand? FUCK WP ENGINE!

• Fuck them with a giant bomb on their house.
• They ARE a cancer.
• Their product sucks.
  • (Fancy overly-professional verbiage, while over-priced and slower performance than competitors. Customers with problems often upsold on plan upgrades.)
• I’ve hated them since the beginning of time.
• I even created my own webhosting service because of them.

WP Engine is a giant soulless leech on the WP community. A vulture hovering around other animals, hoping to steal from their hard work. Making millions (or billions?) for their investors who are not in any way connected to WordPress as a consumer or developer.

Their silly little post claiming years of support for the WordPress community is anything BUT that. Sponsoring events so more people can see your stupid brand is not community support, SORRY! All their poetry about “driving WordPress innovation” when they can’t even offer basic features like revisions, is actually just a lie. They only thing they’ve innovated is profits and Matt is very much right in calling them out for it.

Absolutely no comparison between the 2 here.

• One is an entity that runs both an open-source FREE platform with soooooo much features, benefits, and freedom for the free user.
• The other exists to make only as much money as possible.

Did you really think WP Engine could ever been compared to a company dedicating years of ongoing to development to a free open-source platform? No, no you didn’t because that’s stupid.