A hot potato has been tossed into the world of WordPress, the open-source platform that powers many websites globally. Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress, took a hard stance against WP Engine during his WordCamp US 2024 talk in Portland. He later reinforced his position in a blog post, further escalating the tension.
WP Engine is a major WordPress hosting provider that has been commercializing the open-source WordPress project. Mullenweg didn’t hold back, outright calling WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress,” and accusing them of profiting from user confusion about the open-source project while disabling core functionality that protects user content.
Mullenweg compared the “Five for the Future” investment pledges from Automattic and WP Engine to support WordPress’ growth. According to Mullenweg, Automattic pledges a substantial amount of hours per week, while WP Engine contributes significantly less.
Mullenweg also pointed out that WP Engine disables WordPress’ revision history functionality, which allows users to revert content changes. WP Engine only allows a maximum of three revisions, which are automatically deleted after a certain period. Mullenweg claims they do this solely to save on database storage costs, compromising a core WordPress feature that protects user content.
WP Engine has sent Automattic a cease-and-desist letter refuting Mullenweg’s allegations and requesting a retraction. The company stated that the attacks are “clearly designed to harm our business,” but emphasized that they “will not slow us down.”
Mullenweg urged the WordPress community to vote with their wallets, implying they should switch to hosting providers like Hostinger, Bluehost Cloud, or Pressable when their contracts with WP Engine expire.