During WordCamp US 2024, Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic and co-creator of WordPress, did not hold back on his criticism of rival firm WP Engine, calling it a “cancer to WordPress.”
Mullenweg accused WP Engine of profiteering without giving back to the community or contributing to the open-source nature of WordPress. He highlighted the disparity in contributions between Automattic and WP Engine, with the former committing significantly more resources to the WordPress project.
The core of Mullenweg’s criticism revolved around WP Engine’s lack of support for key WordPress features, such as post revisions, which are crucial for content management and protection. He urged WordPress users to reconsider their hosting choices, pointing to alternative hosting providers like Hostinger, Bluehost Cloud, and Pressable as viable options.
In response to the backlash, Mullenweg reiterated his stance in a follow-up blog post, emphasizing that WP Engine is not synonymous with WordPress and warning of the dangers of unchecked profiteering in the ecosystem. He criticized WP Engine for misleading customers and disabling critical WordPress features to save costs.
Mullenweg’s call to action urges WordPress users to support companies that prioritize the ecosystem and provide value back to the community. He underlined the importance of data liberation and encouraged users to consider their options when renewing contracts with WP Engine.
TechCrunch has reached out to WP Engine for comment on the matter.
