- WP Engine has been accused of profiteering off of WordPress without adequately contributing back.
- The company’s practices, particularly around content management, have been criticized for compromising the core values of WordPress.
- Mullenweg is urging users to reconsider their hosting provider in favor of companies that are more aligned with WordPress’s open-source philosophy.
In the ever-evolving world of WordPress, tensions often arise between different players in the ecosystem. Recently, Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator, Matt Mullenweg, made headlines with his sharp criticism of WP Engine. He went as far as calling the hosting company a “cancer to WordPress” during a talk at WordCamp US 2024. Let’s dive into what sparked this strong reaction and what it means for the broader WordPress community.
The Core of the Criticism: Profiteering vs. Contribution
Mullenweg’s main criticism of WP Engine centers around two key issues:
- Profiting Without Giving Back: WP Engine, a company that has been commercializing WordPress since 2010, has been accused of taking more from the ecosystem than it gives back. While Automattic contributes thousands of hours weekly to WordPress development, WP Engine’s contributions are significantly smaller.
- Disabling Key Features: WP Engine has also been called out for disabling essential features of WordPress, like its core revision management, which compromises the integrity of users’ content.
A Quick Overview of WordPress and WP Engine’s Role
- WordPress Powers 40% of the Web: WordPress is open-source, meaning anyone can use, modify, and distribute it freely. Over the years, numerous companies have sprung up to offer hosting and services built around the platform.
- WP Engine’s Rise: WP Engine, founded in 2010, is one of the major players in this space. It has raised nearly $300 million in funding, largely from private equity, and caters to businesses looking for managed WordPress hosting solutions.
Automattic vs. WP Engine: A Disparity in Contributions
At WordCamp US 2024, Mullenweg presented numbers that highlight a significant disparity between Automattic and WP Engine’s contributions to WordPress:
- Automattic: 3,900 hours per week of resources dedicated to WordPress.
- WP Engine: Just 40 hours per week.
While Mullenweg acknowledged that these figures might not be perfectly accurate, he emphasized that the gap is striking, given both companies have similar revenue in the range of half a billion dollars annually.
WP Engine’s Private Equity Ties: The Bigger Issue?
Another important part of Mullenweg’s criticism centers around WP Engine’s main investor, Silver Lake, a private equity firm managing over $100 billion in assets. Mullenweg argues that the firm’s involvement reflects a greater focus on profit than on supporting open-source values.
- Profit Over Principles: According to Mullenweg, private equity firms like Silver Lake aren’t invested in the ideals of open-source. Instead, they are focused on maximizing returns, often at the expense of the community.
- A Call to Action: Mullenweg urged the WordPress community to reconsider their hosting provider when contracts come up for renewal. He pointed to other hosts such as Hostinger, Bluehost Cloud, and Pressable, as potential alternatives that could provide better performance while also contributing more meaningfully to the ecosystem.
The “Cancer to WordPress” Remark
In a follow-up blog post, Mullenweg reiterated his concerns, labeling WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress.” He warned that unchecked, companies like WP Engine set a dangerous precedent for others to follow.
- Confusion and Exploitation: Mullenweg also highlighted how WP Engine’s branding confuses consumers, many of whom mistakenly believe WP Engine is officially associated with WordPress. This confusion allows WP Engine to profit off of WordPress’s reputation while offering a substandard product.
- Inferior Service: One specific point of contention is WP Engine’s disabling of WordPress’s revision history feature. By doing so, users lose the ability to easily revert to previous versions of their content, undermining one of WordPress’s core strengths — content management.
A Time for Reflection and Action
Mullenweg’s public attack on WP Engine is more than just industry drama—it’s a call for the WordPress community to reflect on where their money is going and whether it supports the long-term health of the ecosystem.
As the WordPress community continues to grow, it’s essential for users, developers, and businesses to support companies that truly invest in the platform’s future. When the time comes to renew your hosting contract, will you stick with the status quo or make the switch to a provider that better aligns with WordPress’s values?
