A disagreement between web publishing platform WordPress and web hosting service WP Engine has caused major disruption for thousands of businesses worldwide. As one of the biggest web publishing platforms, used to power around 40% of the world’s websites, WordPress is crucial to the internet. However, as its actions have a big ripple effect online, the ongoing row with WP Engine is causing disruption to the huge number of businesses that rely on them to keep their websites running.
The row between WordPress and WP Engine is based on the fact that WordPress has two sides, its non-profit organisation, called WordPress.org, and its profit-making arm, called Automattic. WordPress.org’s source code is open, meaning anyone can use it to create and redistribute their own tools for free, as WP Engine does to run a web hosting service. However, in return for the source code, WordPress expects those who use it to contribute to its maintenance.
WordPress accused WP Engine of failing to contribute to its maintenance, calling the company “a cancer to WordPress.” As a result, WordPress banned WP Engine from using key parts of its platform, a decision that is affecting countless websites and blogs that rely on both companies’ services. WP Engine has rejected the accusations, claiming in a post on Twitter to be proud of its extensive contributions to the WordPress ecosystem.
The dispute between the two sides has entered the courtroom, with WordPress.org arguing that WP Engine should pay to use the WordPress trademark in its marketing tools. WP Engine has filed a legal case against WordPress and Automattic, alleging extortion, libel, and a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The number of cancellation requests WP Engine has received has reportedly increased by 14% compared to normal trading as a result of the disruption, and it is losing out on potential new customers due to uncertainty over its future access to WordPress products.
The row underscores how important the open source principle is to the online economy, with WordPress being a big player in that world. If it makes changes to its tools, they are felt by users everywhere and often impact hosting, plugins, and web standards across the internet. Caught in the middle of this dispute are businesses like Tricia Fox’s, who relies on a WP Engine subsidiary to host the websites her company serves and is “almost certain” to migrate her websites to a different host, a decision she estimates is worth tens of thousands of pounds over the next few years
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