WordPress and WP Engine Battle It Out: What Went Wrong?

What’s Going On?

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Here’s a quick timeline of the events so far:

• WP Engine is accused of trademark infringement but doesn’t comply with the demands from WordPress
• Mullenweg makes negative comments towards WP Engine at WordCamp US which causes backlash
• WP Engine sends a cease and desist letter to Automattic following Mullenweg’s statement
• WP Engine and its users are banned from using WordPress resources
• WP Engine files a federal lawsuit on October 2nd against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg
• Automattic pays employees who disagree with the company’s battle against WP Engine to leave – roughly 8.4% of the company have taken the deal (either $30,000 or six months of pay)

You can watch the full WordCamp stream in the video below to see where it all started – Mullenweg’s keynote speech begins at roughly the 7:08:10 mark:

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The WordPress community is uneasy following the back-and-forth, with many arguing that Mullenweg’s actions are harmful and unnecessary. WordPress has maintained its position, declaring that WP Engine has profited off WordPress and its open-source project since many users believe the two are linked. An easy mistake considering the similar names and the fact that Automattic has previously invested money in WP Engine.

WP Engine has spoken out against Mullenweg’s claims, with the cease and desist letter being sent to demand that “Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg stop making and retract false, harmful and disparaging statements against WP Engine.” The letter, available to read online, claims:

“In the days leading up to Mr. Mullenweg’s September 20th keynote address at the WordCamp US Convention, Automattic suddenly began demanding that WP Engine pay Automattic large sums of money, and if it didn’t, Automattic would wage war against WP Engine.”

WP Engine continues to fight back following the ban, describing on X that the company remains “steadfastly committed to supporting WP Engine customers, users, and the entire WordPress community.”

Does This Affect Your Site?

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Should you boycott WP Engine? Do you need to choose an alternative hosting provider? During this turbulent time, WordPress has made it pretty clear that you shouldn’t rely on WP Engine for your hosting needs, particularly because WP Engine disables revisions. In fact, a recent post from its blog stated:

“If you want to experience WordPress, use any other host in the world besides WP Engine. WP Engine is not WordPress.”

WordPress has advised that any WP Engine customer who needs support should reach out to WP Engine directly.

With the issues ongoing, it’s unclear what will happen between WordPress.org and WP Engine. For now, the mood remains heated.