WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg: Overview of the Situation

The WordPress ecosystem has recently been abuzz with discussions surrounding WP Engine, one of the leading managed WordPress hosting providers, and Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress. The tensions between Mullenweg and certain commercial players in the WordPress ecosystem, including WP Engine, have sparked conversations around open-source licensing, proprietary technologies, and the responsibilities of businesses that profit from open-source software.

This article will explore the situation between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg, focusing on both the general concerns and the specific claims made during a keynote address by Mullenweg. The goal is to provide a neutral, comprehensive understanding of the issues at play and their implications for the WordPress community.

WP Engine: A Leading WordPress Host

WP Engine, founded in 2010 by Jason Cohen, has established itself as a prominent provider of managed WordPress hosting services. The company offers premium hosting solutions tailored specifically to WordPress, focusing on speed, security, scalability, and performance optimization. WP Engine is widely used by large enterprises, developers, and agencies.

Given that WordPress powers over 43% of all websites globally, WP Engine’s business model has flourished within the ecosystem, leveraging WordPress’s open-source nature while offering specialized services. The company’s success is deeply intertwined with the growth and ubiquity of WordPress, which remains free and open-source under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Matt Mullenweg: Champion of Open Source

Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Jetpack. Mullenweg has been a key figure in shaping the future of WordPress, ensuring its ongoing development aligns with open-source principles. He has consistently advocated for WordPress to remain community-driven, flexible, and open for all users to modify and distribute under the GPL.

Mullenweg’s influence extends not only to WordPress development but also to the larger ecosystem of businesses and developers that have emerged around the platform. He has frequently emphasized that companies building products and services around WordPress must respect the GPL and actively contribute to the growth and improvement of the platform.

The Tensions: Mullenweg’s Concerns with WP Engine

The tension between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg stems from differing perspectives on how commercial companies, particularly hosting providers like WP Engine, should operate within the WordPress ecosystem. The crux of the issue revolves around open-source licensing, proprietary modifications, and the extent to which these companies contribute back to the WordPress project.

Licensing and the GPL

WordPress is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute the software, provided that any derivative work remains under the GPL. Mullenweg has been a vocal proponent of businesses respecting this license, ensuring that their products or services built on WordPress adhere to its principles.

While WP Engine complies with the GPL, Mullenweg has expressed concerns that some WordPress-based businesses, including hosting providers, are not contributing enough to the WordPress core or community. His view is that companies profiting from WordPress should do more to support its development and uphold its open-source values, either through code contributions, financial resources, or community engagement.

Proprietary Technologies and Fragmentation

Another issue that has come to the forefront is the use of proprietary features or systems by managed hosting companies like WP Engine. Mullenweg has voiced concern that such companies are building proprietary solutions that only function within their infrastructure, potentially leading to fragmentation within the WordPress ecosystem.

For example, if hosting providers develop unique, closed-source tools that work exclusively with their platform, it could create incompatibility issues or lock users into specific services. Mullenweg sees this as contrary to the spirit of WordPress, which is meant to be flexible, interoperable, and free from vendor lock-in.

The Keynote Incident: Public Warnings and Community Reaction

The tension reached a peak during a keynote address by Matt Mullenweg at WordCamp US, a major event for the WordPress community. In this speech, Mullenweg issued pointed remarks, which many interpreted as warnings to hosting companies like WP Engine. While he did not explicitly name WP Engine, the content and tone of his comments suggested that he was addressing companies profiting from WordPress without adequately supporting its core development or respecting the GPL principles.

Mullenweg’s keynote focused on the following concerns:

• Forking and Proprietary Versions: He warned against the practice of forking WordPress—creating modified versions that deviate from the core project—without contributing those modifications back to the community. Forking can fragment the ecosystem and weaken the collaborative development model that WordPress depends on.
• Proprietary Layers on Open Source: Mullenweg criticized companies that build proprietary, closed-source layers on top of WordPress, suggesting that this undermines the platform’s open-source nature. While the GPL allows for-profit use of WordPress, Mullenweg believes that creating locked-down services contradicts the platform’s philosophy of freedom and openness.
• Under-Contribution to WordPress: Mullenweg expressed frustration that some hosting companies were not contributing enough to WordPress core or community projects, despite profiting significantly from its widespread use. He hinted at possible consequences for those who continue to profit from WordPress without investing back into its development, which some interpreted as a veiled threat of public reprimand or exclusion from official WordPress events.

Community Reaction

The keynote sparked mixed reactions from the WordPress community. On one hand, many community members supported Mullenweg’s call for greater adherence to open-source principles and stronger contributions from commercial entities. These supporters echoed Mullenweg’s view that businesses profiting from WordPress should play a more active role in maintaining and improving the platform.

On the other hand, some critics felt that Mullenweg’s comments were overly aggressive and potentially damaging to the collaborative spirit of the WordPress community. They argued that his remarks could be seen as a form of intimidation, using his influence to pressure companies into compliance with his vision of how WordPress should operate.

WP Engine’s Position

Despite the controversy, WP Engine has maintained its stance as a committed supporter of WordPress. The company emphasizes that it abides by the GPL and that its proprietary technologies are designed to enhance user experience, not to fragment the WordPress ecosystem. WP Engine points to its contributions to WordPress plugins, security enhancements, and event sponsorships as evidence of its investment in the community.

WP Engine has also underscored that its innovations and hosting solutions are intended to complement WordPress’s flexibility and performance, providing enterprise-level services that are not readily available in standard hosting environments. The company, however, has refrained from direct confrontation with Mullenweg, choosing instead to focus on its positive impact within the ecosystem.

Implications for the Future of WordPress

The ongoing situation between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg highlights a critical issue for open-source projects as they grow: balancing the interests of the community with the realities of commercial success. As WordPress continues to dominate the web, the interplay between its open-source values and the businesses that profit from it will remain a delicate and important subject.

Mullenweg’s advocacy for GPL compliance and his push for commercial companies to contribute more to WordPress core reflects his desire to preserve the platform’s long-term sustainability. At the same time, companies like WP Engine must navigate how to innovate and compete in a crowded marketplace while respecting the principles of the open-source community.

Conclusion

The tension between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg serves as a reminder of the complexities that arise when open-source projects like WordPress become the foundation for profitable businesses. While both parties ultimately share a common interest in the success of WordPress, their differing views on open-source ethics and responsibilities have led to public disagreements.

As WordPress continues to evolve, the broader community will need to find ways to ensure that businesses can thrive without undermining the platform’s open-source foundation. By fostering collaboration and dialogue between commercial players and open-source advocates, the WordPress ecosystem can continue to grow while staying true to its core values.