then 'Add to home screen'
then 'Add to home screen'
Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and co-creator of WordPress, recently sparked debate at WordCamp US 2024. He referred to WP Engine, a major WordPress hosting provider, as a “cancer to WordPress.” His criticisms are rooted in accusations that WP Engine profits from the open-source WordPress project without adequately contributing back. Mullenweg called on the WordPress community to consider alternative hosting solutions.
WP Engine’s Rise and Automattic’s Diverging Vision
Founded in 2010, WP Engine has quickly become a leading name in managed WordPress hosting. The company has raised nearly $300 million in funding, including a notable $250 million investment from Silver Lake, a private equity firm. On the other hand, Automattic, the company Mullenweg leads, has taken a different path by investing in and acquiring WordPress hosting providers like Pressable and GridPane.
Despite WP Engine’s success, Mullenweg’s concerns focus on its limited contributions to the WordPress open-source community. Automattic reportedly donates around 3,900 hours per week to WordPress development, while WP Engine only offers 40 hours, despite both companies being similar in size and revenue.
Profit vs. Open Source: The Debate Over Private Equity
Mullenweg’s most pointed criticism targets WP Engine’s majority investor, Silver Lake, which manages $102 billion in assets. He argues that the firm’s focus on maximizing profits conflicts with WordPress’s open-source principles. In his view, the community should rethink their support for WP Engine. He posed the question, “Are you giving your money to a company that nurtures the ecosystem, or one that extracts value until it withers?”
Mullenweg’s Call for Users to ‘Vote With Their Wallets’
Mullenweg urged WordPress users to explore other hosting options such as Hostinger, Bluehost Cloud, and Pressable. He emphasized that migrating websites has become simpler, encouraging users to switch hosting providers when their WP Engine contracts expire.
Concerns Over Content Integrity and Product Quality
One of Mullenweg’s key grievances with WP Engine revolves around its approach to WordPress’s revision system. While WordPress typically stores all content changes, allowing users to revert to previous versions, WP Engine disables this feature by default. Customers are limited to just three revisions, which are deleted after 60 days. Mullenweg believes this cost-cutting measure undermines WordPress’s core promise of content protection and management, stating, “They disable revisions because it costs them more to store the history of changes in the database… breaking the core promise of what WordPress does.”
The Future of WordPress Hangs in the Balance
Mullenweg’s remarks represent a broader push for the WordPress community to stay true to the open-source ideals that made the platform successful. By comparing WP Engine to a “cancer,” he highlights the potential threat of unchecked commercialization to WordPress’s future. Mullenweg’s message is clear: users should reconsider their hosting choices to ensure WordPress thrives through community-driven collaboration and responsible management.
