Something is Brewing in the WordPress World

WordPress is a system that enables millions of people to easily and quickly build websites. We also use WordPress for many of our client projects. But behind the scenes, something is brewing, and we wonder: should we still use WordPress this way?

To explain this, I need to elaborate:

What is WordPress?

Most people who have ever dealt with websites are familiar with WordPress. It is a widely used blogging and content management system (CMS) that allows users to easily and flexibly create and manage websites. It was launched in 2003 by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little and has since become one of the most popular platforms for web development. The company Automattic, founded by Mullenweg, plays a central role in the ongoing development of WordPress and offers numerous services related to the platform, including hosting and premium plugins.

One reason for the widespread use of WordPress is its user-friendliness, which allows even less technically skilled individuals to create and edit appealing websites. Over time, thanks to the work of thousands of developers, a vast selection of themes and plugins has emerged that expand the functionality and design of websites. The community around WordPress is very active and contributes to the continuous improvement and updating of the system. This flexibility and constant development have led to over 40% of all websites on the internet being powered by WordPress today.

A Blog System or a CMS?

Initially, WordPress was developed as a simple platform for creating blogs. Many fundamental features that characterize a modern content management system (custom content types and fields, multilingualism, clearly defined user roles, etc.) are still missing today. While all these functionalities exist in very good extensions, the fact that they are not included by default makes it difficult to distinguish between a blogging platform and a full-fledged CMS in WordPress.

Therefore, it is particularly important not to underestimate the significance of plugins in WordPress. Plugins are extensions to the system, mostly created and maintained by independent developers in their spare time. They are just as much a part of the WordPress ecosystem as those who provide translations or documentation, fix bugs, and promote WordPress. This ecosystem, the vast global community, is the main reason why WordPress has been so successful and is used for a wide range of purposes, from personal blogs to complex corporate websites.

Open Source and the Importance of "Giving Back"

The WordPress community, like the world of open source in general, is based on the belief that everyone benefits when they invest their time and talents for the public good. Previously, a group of developers (e.g., in a company) was paid to develop a system, and this system was then sold at a high price. In this resulting proprietary software, the source code is not publicly accessible, and its use, modification, and distribution are restricted by licensing agreements. In this model, a company or organization controls the development and distribution of the software, often leading to higher costs for users, potential security issues, or limited adaptability.

Open source, on the other hand, is based on the openness of the source code, allowing anyone to use, modify, and share the software. This transparency fosters collaborative development, where developers worldwide work together to improve the software. The benefits for participants include the opportunity to enhance their skills and save costs, while the general public benefits from innovation, competition, and digital sovereignty. Overall, open source strengthens the community and enables broader access to high-quality software solutions.

WordPress is also open source. Anyone can view, copy, modify, and publish its source code under the same conditions. At the same time, WordPress, with its global significance, is a field where a lot of money can also be made. From hosting companies to plugin developers who release paid pro versions with more features, to creatives and companies like us that earn their living by creating (among other things) WordPress websites.

The "Five for the Future" Program

Open source projects thrive on the active participation of their community. Moral considerations of fairness dictate that those who benefit the most from the projects should be particularly encouraged to contribute. This can happen through the investment of time and skills (e.g., for development and documentation) or in the form of financial support and donations. You are probably familiar with the annual donation banners on Wikipedia. This is the idea: the project itself is freely accessible and sustained by thousands. But the millions who benefit from it can and should contribute a small amount in return.

For WordPress, there is the "Five for the Future" program. It encourages companies, developers, and individuals to invest five percent of their working time or resources into the development and support of WordPress. The goal is to promote the sustainability and growth of the WordPress ecosystem by actively involving the community in improving the software and its features. However, it is noteworthy that only contributions to the WordPress core system itself are counted, not the countless hours that people invest in the development, maintenance, documentation, and translation of plugins. This is important to keep in mind.

The Drama Begins: Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine

After this somewhat lengthy introduction, we begin to describe the current drama. Two influential protagonists in the WordPress world play a role here. On one side is the company WP Engine, which was founded in 2010 and primarily earns its money through WordPress hosting. Additionally, it released a plugin called "Advanced Custom Fields" (ACF), which makes WordPress a true CMS by allowing the easy integration of custom content types and fields. For this plugin, WP Engine offers a paid pro plugin with extended functionality, but even the free basic version is exceptionally well programmed and sufficient for most use cases.

On the other side of the drama stands Matt Mullenweg, the founder and one of the leading figures of WordPress. He has long been troubled by the fact that venture capitalists have invested in WP Engine, whose main focus, in his opinion, is on quick profits rather than the sustainable development of the WordPress ecosystem. He has accused WP Engine of not paying for the commercial trademarks of WordPress and WooCommerce and generally not doing enough for WordPress, especially not within the framework of the "Five for the Future" initiative. He demands from WP Engine 8% of their revenue or 8% of their developers' working time for the WordPress core (or a combination of both amounting to 8%), as well as the cessation of what he considers unlawful business practices.

ACF Becomes SCF

In the course of this feud (legal claims have already been exchanged), and to emphasize his demands against WP Engine, access to WordPress.org, the official WordPress platform through which security updates for almost all plugins, including ACF, have been running, was recently cut off for the developers of WP Engine. Millions of ACF users suddenly had no way to receive security updates from WP Engine. The developers were not given the opportunity to officially inform them or provide alternative update paths.

In a second step, Mullenweg went even further and simply seized the ACF plugin from WP Engine—under the pretext of security concerns, as no security updates could be applied anymore (how could they?). On WordPress.org, instead of the previous plugin "Advanced Custom Fields," there is now only a plugin called "Secure Custom Fields," with exactly the same functionality as the previous ACF, even with the same formatting and the ACF logo in the banner. Instead of developing a fork (which is common in the open source world) and starting from scratch, Automattic has simply seized one of the most well-known (and in our opinion, best) plugins. This is a unique occurrence not only in the WordPress world.

Just the Beginning?

Statements from Mullenweg suggest that the seizing of ACF may not be the end, but rather the beginning of a larger initiative to integrate popular plugins with essential CMS functions into the WordPress core at some point. Why develop everything anew when the code is freely available? But these are speculations.

It is evident to us that Mullenweg and Automattic are now carrying the conflict on the backs of helpless users and creating a terrible precedent that has nothing to do with the idea of free code. Who would still have an interest in investing their time, skills, and effort into a plugin, only to be effectively expropriated overnight in the event of success? The impact of such an action on the WordPress ecosystem is unpredictable.

What's Next for Us and Our Customers?

As an agency, we currently find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. We have happily used the ACF plugin as one of the best and most helpful plugins for WordPress and have, of course, implemented it in client projects. We cannot confirm that the quality or support for these plugins has suffered since venture capitalists invested in WP Engine in 2018—in fact, quite the opposite. However, due to the changes at WordPress.org, the ACF plugin has now been automatically replaced overnight in all our projects with Automattic's SCF alternative.

This change does not have immediate acute effects, and we are closely monitoring the situation. Personally, I expect that the SCF plugin will be integrated into the WordPress core in the medium term—but that is pure speculation. We are offering our clients the option to switch back to the original ACF plugin for free, for which there are now alternative update options available. However, because the developments are still too fresh and we do not know how everything will evolve, we are currently (still) not explicitly recommending this step, although such a switch would be principled and a form of protest for some.

We deeply regret these developments and are considering what this means for us as an agency. WordPress is by no means the only system we use for client projects. The specific system used in each case always depends primarily on what our clients need. However, we are keeping an eye on developments in the WordPress ecosystem, and it is likely that alternatives to WordPress will be used more frequently in the future than before.