What Do You Think About WPEngine v. Wordpress?

[UnusualSubstance]

For those that don't know, there is some juicy drama going on between WPengine and WordPress/Automaticc.

Here is a great read TechCrunch: The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained | TechCrunch

 

[johnlavapie_SEO]

It is definitely concerning - but not enough to panic. I am sure they will sort it out, but if they don't - I would only assume WP Engine can provide a solution to move to another hosting provider.

The only issue at the moment is we can't download new plugins or update new plugin. We tried to manually update them - and it still works.

 

[Conor Treacy]

I can see both sides, but going public with it in an attempt of public shaming, and then saying things along the lines of 'vote with your dollars. do you really want to support someone that doesn't support you' (not a direct quote - a summary of what was said.

In the end, blocking WPEngine from accessing wordpress.org is a mistake - users who don't update their plugins and themes and rely on auto-updates are the real ones hurt on this. And insecure plugins and themes is just an insane idea. But it does go to show just how vulnerable the entire system is if someone decides to pack up their toys and not share.

WPEngine has workarounds already in place - but it's just such an unneeded issue. Yes money is involved, and it's not just a few hundred thousand either.

There WILL be a compromise of some sort. Who will cave first remains to be seen, but there will be a resolution. I don't think either side is winning anyone over right now.

Filing for the trademark of "managed Wordpress" is going to hurt more than just WPEngine also - pretty much every web designer out there has verbiage like that, so I don't know how the USPTO will say "YES" to a filing - but if they did, the enforcement would be a nightmare project!

 

[JoyHawkins]

The fact that this is so public makes both parties look pretty childish in my opinion. If someone attacked me like this publicly (which I've experienced before), I would say the best option is to resolve it offline and privately.

 

[Conor Treacy]

Well, it's been escalated now.

WP Engine is officially suing Automattic et al. Matt posted the terms sheet for what they demand, such as payment, specifications not to fork software, etc. It's almost like he hasn't read his own GPL in a while.

Cloudflare jumped into the mix, too, offering to host the bandwidth for the WordPress.org plugins, themes, etc., but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

This is beyond the popcorn stage.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I feel like the only winners here are gonna be the lawyers.

 

[Tony Wang]

I feel like the only winners here are gonna be the lawyers.

That's usually the case. I should have been a lawyer, lol.

It's definitely not good for anyone in the wp world, regardless of who "wins".

 

[JS Girard]

I have absolutely no horse in this race, but I am curious: if some of exodus (even if limited) happens, who's the more likely winner(s)? Who is or should be trying to attract the attention of current wordpress users?

 

[TheSearchSherpa]

@JS Girard There is no shortage of wordpress alternatives, however the most predatory "host and web design platform" of all seems to be targeting wordpress users with their deeply engaged army of clients who resell its software as "white-label SaaS resellers" or "partners." GoHighLevel has a seemingly exponential number of "partners" who literally do not know what URL stands for, out there posting youtubes and hiring VA's to cold call trades people all over the country to sell them a "Custom designed website and fully integrated marketing system"
It feels like every kid who did not want to go get a communications degree at community college decided to join a team of resellers. I am probably just bitter that I can't bring myself to mass market an inferior productized white labeld version of something that people can have for free. Because now GoHighLevel now offers the capability to create and manage unlimited websites, depending on the plan. Their "Truly Unlimited Plan" at $497/month allows for unlimited website hosting through integrated WordPress hosting, ideal for agencies managing multiple client sites. This plan includes features like automatic backups, extensive storage, a global CDN for fast loading, and a staging environment for development. Additionally, GoHighLevel provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop website builder with customizable templates, which allows agencies to quickly scale their online presence without added costs per site. I feel like a luddite speaking badly about such a seemingly robust platform that has exploded in popularity over the past few years.
As is the nature of humans to ruin good things, offering a weighted reward in a highly lucrative affiliate model tends to lead to the least informed people pushing products they don't understand, on people who trust them to be "professionals" I see kids on the internet who joined 3 days prior spitting the same script as the kid who signed them up not even realizing they are selling a wordpress solution. So i have strayed... but to answer your question, since 2018 Gohighlevel has risen to nearly the same number of end users. wpengine has like 1.5 million sites and go high level has like 1.2 million users and ads 3,000 new customers a month.