And the WP drama continues: This is a quick article based on the ongoing WordPress vs. WP Engine feud. As most people in the WordPress ecosystem know, this is causing turmoil among users, especially WP Engine users, but also in the broader community. People are divided, with some supporting either party, while others remain neutral and focus on relevant issues such as WordPress governance, the state of the GPL, and what it means in this situation.
WP drama or WP rights?
This is the core of the question. I’m not a lawyer, so I’ve been confused by the various layers of legalities. However, from what I understand, there are two main perspectives: what we could call “the Mullenweg take” (and note I don’t say WordPress) and the “WP Engine take,” which is shared by other companies and VCs.
The Mullenweg take
Simply put, Mullenweg called out WP Engine for profiting substantially without giving back (whether in terms of hours of work or 5% of revenue). It started there, but Mullenweg also raised concerns about the improper use of the WordPress brand and trademark.
I have a few thoughts on both points.
First, assuming Mullenweg’s claims are true, then we contribute more to the WordPress community than WP Engine does—plain and simple.
Now, we do this because we believe in open-source philosophy and giving back, but this is the first time I’ve realized it might be somewhat obligatory for big brands. I always thought it was voluntary. So, I can’t say whether WP Engine’s stance is correct or not, regardless of whether Mullenweg is right or wrong. I simply don’t know.
Also, the WordPress Foundation move is not an attack on WP Engine (only). WordPress sued FestingerVault, a website that resells WordPress themes and plugins, abusing the GPL license. Here’s what you see if you visit their website:
Second: It’s easy to see that WP Engine is abusing the trademark—it takes about 5 seconds to figure that out, starting with the name itself. The WordPress engine is built on PHP and it powers the WordPress CMS; however, WPE co-opted the name for their own purposes. Let me explain: most users only see the tip of the iceberg, building their websites using different tools, builders, plugins, etc.
But all of that operates on what was always called the WordPress engine. This term is mostly familiar to WordPress developers (like us) who build custom themes, as we work directly with that engine. In other words, we don’t rely on builders or plugins but use the hooks available in the engine.
Now, after WP Engine adopted that name, there was a period of confusion, and now we refer to the engine as “WP core.” And guess what? WP Engine has just named one of its hosting plans… CORE WordPress! Come on!
Just in case, a quick Google search will show this clear trademark abuse in terms of SEO, something no company in the world would ever allow:
Please note that I’m oversimplifying things, as I’m not a legal expert and I’m discussing nearly two decades of history.
The WP Engine side
Now we get to WP Engine’s perspective. Their stance is mostly unclear; they’ve only made mild complaints about Mullenweg being unfair. They haven’t denied Mullenweg’s claims, but this could be a legal strategy since the matter has gone to court.
But yesterday, I had a discussion with Trent Lapinski on Reddit but the thread dissapeared. I initially thought he did it (maybe for legal reasons), but he claims the r/Wordpress admins deleted the post.
Why do I mention this? Because in that post, Lapinski mentions a series of things that could help analyze this issue. First and foremost, it was a sheer attack on Mullenweg (as expected). Every time Lapinski speaks about Mullenweg (and he has done it a lot of times), he starts with “I respect him a lot but…” and then begins his diatribe.
However, in this post I mention, he brought up what I think is the core of the issue: Corporations vs Open Source. He literally said that “Mullenweg is not money savvy” (sic), “WP Engine is a great company because they make millions with less investment” (sic), “WP Engine supported me when I started, so it’s not true they don’t support WordPress” (he was a theme developer), and then wondered why anyone should give anything back to the WordPress Foundation. Now, aside from the fact that he builds companies to resell them (nothing wrong with that), and he’s deeply involved in the financial side of things (he shills his crypto consultancy every time he can, and again, nothing wrong with that, but it helps understand his position), what he basically says is: WordPress should be for-profit, managed by a for-profit company, and abandon its open-source principles.
I don’t have any proof, and maybe he wrote this because of his eternal hatred of Mullenweg, but it certainly felt like an unofficial response by WP Engine, even in the language.
May the WordPress drama have more implications?
This is the million-dollar question, and the answer is “Yes, of course.” What we’re looking at is not just a colossal fight between corporations, but a discussion on the Open Source model, GPL licenses, WordPress governance, and what to expect as a private company making money with WordPress. I’m pretty sure most big WordPress players like Elementor, Elegant, Kinsta, WP Beginner, and so on must be asking their lawyers what to do. For now, they all remain silent, as expected. But I’m sure they must be wondering.
Back to what matters: Should We Move Out of WP Engine?
Sorry about the digression, I’ll focus on the topic now!
The reason for this article is that we had inquiries from our clients using WP Engine regarding whether to move away from WP Engine or not. This includes us since we also have accounts with WP Engine.
We have 17 clients who are WP Engine clients as well, and we are also clients of WPE. Counting all accounts (since both we and some of our clients have more than one account), it amounts to 29 accounts. Nothing in the big scheme of things, but still…
And what did we recommend them? We just provided all the info we had, including the long post I wrote when the whole WP drama started and that is updated daily. With that info, they can do whatever they want, and we’ll support whatever decision they make.
So far, only one client decided to move away, mostly on ethical concerns about WPE not giving back (this client runs a non-profit NGO, so he has a strong view on ethics and giving back), and one is undecided. But everyone else (including us) has decided to stay put and wait to see what happens.
I made a quick graph to help you visualize the impact, which is negligible at our scale.
The total number of accounts willing to move out is 1 out of 29, which amounts to 3.45%. Granted, this is a very small sample since we’re not a giant like WP Engine.
But let’s assume this percentage applies similarly to WP Engine and their 1.2 million websites, and the ratio between clients and accounts is comparable to ours. That would represent 58.6%, or 703,440 real accounts. If they lose 3.45%, like in our case, they would lose a bit over 24,200 accounts. At $20 for their cheapest plan, this would mean over 5 million dollars annually. For a company with 250 million dollars in revenue per year, it’s not a huge hit, but it makes you wonder why they wouldn’t just pledge the requested 5% and be done with it.
However, still speculating, let’s assume 60% of their accounts are on the $20/month plan, 30% on the $400/month plan (the next tier, WP Core), and 10% on their most expensive plan at $2000/month. In that case, WP Engine could be facing a $96,412,800 loss—basically, half of their revenue.
Again, this is all speculation, and we don’t know the real numbers, so consider this an exercise in imagining possible scenarios.
What to Do if You Want to Move Out of WP Engine
As I mentioned in the previous section, we think there’s no need to rush. However, if you absolutely feel the need to move, there are several options:
- Matt Mullenweg announced that Pressable (in which he has a stake) will buy your WP Engine contract.
- Move your site yourself by choosing a host with similar features, ideally one that offers an automatic import tool. You’ll still need to handle DNS and possibly some email setup.
- Hire a WordPress development agency to handle the migration for you.
Wrapping Up
Well, the quick article became a long one as usual, sorry about that!
But just in case, the TL;DR answer would be: we recommend to stay put and wait. Time will tell.
Final note: sorry for the AI image on the cover, I have no graphics software in the computer I’m using right now.
Key Points from WP Drama: Should I Move Away from WP Engine?
Don’t want to read everything? Here are the takeaways!
Core Conflict
- Debate over contributions, GPL, and trademark use.
- Mullenweg accuses WP Engine of profiting without giving back.
Trademark Issues
- WP Engine’s use of “WordPress” and “Core” seen as abuse.
Community Impact
- Raises questions on governance and open source principles.
Client Reaction
- Only 1 of 29 accounts moved (3.45%); most stayed.
Options if Leaving
- Pressable buyout, self-migration, or agency help.
Takeaway
- Best approach: wait and see.