For the larger part of internet life, WordPress has been the OG of website builders. Whether you’re building a blog, an online shop, or a portfolio, WordPress gives you the tools, templates, and plugins to do it all—no coding expertise required. The technology is free and open source, powering about 40% of the internet. Websites can either run their own WordPress setup or use services like Automattic or WP Engine for an easy, ready-to-use plugin option.
When WordPress cofounder Matt Mullenweg criticized WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting provider, in a blog post, calling it a “cancer” to the community, he cracked open a public dialogue around the ethos of open source. Following the blog post, WP Engine customers were caught in the crossfire and cut off from accessing WordPress.org’s servers.
“What WP Engine gives you is not WordPress, it’s something that they’ve chopped up, hacked, butchered to look like WordPress, but actually they’re giving you a cheap knock-off and charging you more for it.”
Mullenweg criticized the hosting service for disabling the feature that lets users view and track the revision history of their posts, which he sees as essential for protecting user data. Mullenweg further accused them of turning this feature off by default to cut costs. He also pointed out that WP Engine’s investor, a private equity firm Silver Lake, doesn't support the open-source project enough and mentioned that WP Engine's use of the "WP" brand misleads customers into thinking it’s part of WordPress.
“The abbreviation ‘WP’ is not covered by the WordPress trademarks, but please don’t use it in a way that confuses people. For example, many people think WP Engine is ‘WordPress Engine’ and officially associated with WordPress, which it’s not. They have never once even donated to the WordPress Foundation, despite making billions of revenue on top of WordPress,” The WordPress Foundation stated in its recently updated Trademark Policy page.
Contrary to Mullenweg’s allegations, WP Engine contributes through sponsorships and promoting platform use. Mullenweg, who is also CEO of Automattic, another hosting provider, sees the former as a business that mooches off open-source code without giving anything in return. However, WP Engine follows the rules of WordPress' open-source license, which means it's free to use, and they aren't obligated to give back to the WordPress community just because they profit from the open-source code. It would be nice if they contributed, but there’s no legal bind for them to do so.
After a heated round of cease-and-desist exchanges, WP Engine stated that Mullenweg had misused his control of WordPress to block WP Engine customers from accessing WordPress.org.
“Matt Mullenweg’s unprecedented and unwarranted action interferes with the normal operation of the entire WordPress ecosystem, impacting not just WP Engine and our customers, but all WordPress plugin developers and open source users who depend on WP Engine tools like ACF,” WP Engine shared in a post.
On September 27, WordPress.org temporarily lifted the ban, allowing WP Engine users to access resources until October 1, 2024.
Mullenweg has since clarified in a blog post that the conflict is solely with WP Engine over trademarks. Automattic has attempted to negotiate a licensing deal, but WP Engine has not been cooperative. The WordPress community is concerned this could affect them too and is seeking clarification from Automattic on using the "WordPress" trademark. Additionally, the WordPress Foundation has filed to trademark "Managed WordPress" and "Hosted WordPress," raising fears among developers that these could be used against them.