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WordPress drama: Matt Mullenweg vs WP Engine

14 November 2024 in Web Development

What does the feud between Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine mean for my WordPress website?

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, has been at odds with WP Engine, one of the largest WordPress hosting providers, for several weeks now. What started as a conflict between one person and one company is now affecting millions of WordPress users. In case you missed it, here’s a brief summary:

  • Mullenweg accuses WP Engine of profiting from the open-source WordPress software without contributing enough to the WordPress community. During a conference, he called WP Engine a “cancer” to WordPress.
  • WordPress.org subsequently banned WP Engine from the platform, preventing WP Engine users from automatically updating their plugins and themes.
  • Last Saturday, WordPress.org took control of the popular Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin, which was owned by WP Engine and is used by more than 2 million websites. Mullenweg claims the takeover was done for security reasons, but WP Engine sees it as a hostile takeover.

I’m no expert in open-source software, but I can understand why Mullenweg thinks WP Engine should contribute more to the WordPress community. What I completely don’t understand, however, is how Mullenweg is fighting this conflict in public. His behavior on X (formerly Twitter) and in the WordPress Slack, both through his personal account and the official WordPress account, is childish, unprofessional, and seems designed to divide the community.

The way Mullenweg took control of ACF, I find bizarre. I understand that he would like to see a plugin like ACF under the management of the open-source community, but a forced takeover like this is not the way, in my opinion. The takeover shows that Matt Mullenweg can make unexpected decisions on his own.

It says enough that 159 Automattic employees resigned after Mullenweg gave them the choice: $30,000 to leave if they disagreed with him. He seems determined to force people to pick a side.

Tips for WordPress users:

  • Do you have a simple website? Then you might consider switching to a CMS like Ghost or Statamic.
  • Do you have a WooCommerce store or a large website? Don’t panic. There’s a good chance you can weather this storm. Just keep an eye on the news.
  • New project? Think carefully: Consider whether it’s wise to build a new WordPress site at this time, or whether it might be smarter to choose an alternative.

I hope this conflict will be resolved quickly, so that as few users as possible are affected. Do you have a WordPress site and are you curious about what this situation means for you? Or do you want advice on what’s best to do? Feel free to let me know!