Matt Mullenweg Declares War on WP Engine: "Cancer to WordPress"
In a scathing attack, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg unleashed his wrath on rival WP Engine, calling it a "cancer to WordPress" and accusing the company of profiteering without giving back to the open source community.
WP Engine: The Great Deceiver
Mullenweg targeted WP Engine’s shady practices, claiming the company deliberately confuses users between its managed WordPress hosting service and the actual open source project. "My own mother was confused and thought WP Engine was an official thing," he joked.
Disabling Core Features for Profit
The WordPress co-creator lambasted WP Engine for disabling essential features, such as post revisions, to cut costs and maximize profits. "They disable revisions because it costs them more money to store the history of the changes in the database," he revealed. "It strikes to the very heart of what WordPress does, and they shatter it."
A Warning to Users
Mullenweg explicitly called on WordPress users to vote with their wallets and support companies that truly nourish the ecosystem, not just exploit it. He suggested that users consider boycotting WP Engine or switching to other, more trustworthy hosts like Hostinger, Bluehost Cloud, or Pressable.
A Cancer Spreading Its Reach
In a chilling warning, Mullenweg likened WP Engine to cancer, claiming that unchecked, it would spread its poisonous influence to other companies. "WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is okay to replicate," he wrote in a follow-up blog post.
The Fight for Open Source Integrity
This intense confrontation marks a new frontier in the ongoing battle between open source champions like Mullenweg and profit-hungry corporations like WP Engine. The fate of WordPress and its users hangs in the balance.
