WP Engine escalated its Federal complaint by citing Automattic’s publication of the WP Engine Tracker website as evidence of intent to harm WP Engine and exposing customers to potential cybercrimes. The updated complaint incorporates recent actions by Mullenweg to further strengthen their case. A spokesperson for WP Engine issued a statement to Search Engine Journal … Read more
WordPress has released version 6.7, codenamed Rollins. This update introduces better font controls, a new default theme, enhanced design tools for easier page creation, 65 accessibility improvements, and performance optimizations. Version 6.7 focuses on making it easy to build attractive, high-performance websites. Twenty Twenty-Five Theme Twenty Twenty-Five is the new default theme that ships with … Read more
Wordfence issued an advisory on a vulnerability patched in the popular Happy Addons for Elementor plugin, installed on over 400,000 websites. The security flaw could allow attackers to upload malicious scripts that execute when browsers visit affected pages. Happy Addons for Elementor The Happy Addons for Elementor plugin extends the Elementor page builder with dozens … Read more
In an ironic twist to the ongoing dispute between Automattic and WP Engine, a newly published website on WPEngineTracker.com is displaying a protest message against CEO Matt Mullenweg. Copycat Domain Name Registered Someone registered the domain name WPEngineTracker.com using the words that Automattic’s WordPressEngineTracker.com domain uses to describe itself (WP Engine Tracker) . If people … Read more
Automattic’s WP Engine Tracker website was temporarily blocked by Cloudflare over the weekend as a suspected phishing site, sparking cheers from members of the WordPress subreddit. Meanwhile, someone registered the typosquatting domain WPEngineTracker.com to protest against Matt Mullenweg. Automattic, presumably under the direction of Matt Mullenweg, recently created a website called WP Engine Tracker on … Read more
Automattic appears to have created a site that draws attention to the number of customers that have left WP Engine for another web host. The site includes a searchable database of websites hosted on WP Engine that can also be downloaded as a CSV spreadsheet. The name of the website is WP Engine Tracker, it … Read more
Lawyers for Matt Mullenweg and Automattic filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit from WP Engine, offering a different perspective on the dispute’s underlying causes. The motion to dismiss claims that the one causing harm isn’t Mullenweg and Automattic but WP Engine, asserting that WP Engine is compelling the defendant to provide resources and support … Read more
This post was sponsored by Kinsta. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Managing client sites can quickly become costly in terms of time, money, and expertise, especially as your agency grows. You’re constantly busy fixing slow WordPress performance, handling downtime, or regularly updating and backing up ecommerce sites and small blogs. … Read more
Matt Mullenweg portrayed himself as a victim in his dispute with WP Engine, claiming in a tweet and blog post that they are ‘trying to curtail’ his free speech. Social media responses ranged from polite debunking of his First Amendment claim to accusations of hypocrisy. TL/DR Of Dispute With WP Engine Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of … Read more
Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg announced a new Executive Director for WordPress.org after the previous director’s resignation. Social media reactions, while generally positive, were notably subdued, with many comments focused on the recent WordPress controversy. New Executive Director Mullenweg announced that Mary Hubbard, was hired as the new Executive Director. Hubbard was formerly … Read more
Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of the WordPress Project, officially announced her resignation, ending a nine-year tenure. This comes just two weeks after Matt Mullenweg launched a controversial campaign against a managed WordPress host, which responded by filing a federal lawsuit against him and Automattic. She posted an upbeat notice on her personal blog, reaffirming … Read more
WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO announced today that he offered Automattic employees the chance to resign with a severance pay and a total of 8.4 percent. Mullenweg offered $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever one is higher, with a total of 159 people taking his offer. Reactions Of Automattic Employees Given the recent controversies … Read more
WP Engine, the managed web host recently banned from WordPress.org, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging attempted extortion as well as seeking relief from trademark infringement claims. The goal of the federal lawsuit is to stop Mullenweg from continuing to “harm” WP Engine and the WordPress ecosystem as … Read more
Matt Mullenweg posted on WordPress.org that WP Engine users have been granted a reprieve from the block on the WordPress plugin and theme repository until October 1st, allowing them to access updates as usual. WordPress Versus WP Engine Matt Mullenweg and popular web host WP Engine have been locked in a conflict for the past … Read more
Joost de Valk, co-founder of the Yoast SEO plugin, published an article calling for more equitable contributions from large WordPress companies, greater financial transparency, and a new board that represents the voices of contributors and companies. Joost de Valk Supports Matt Mullenweg Joost de Valk’s article is supportive of WordPress and agrees with Automattic’s CEO … Read more
WordPress banned WP Engine, a managed WordPress web host, blocking thousands of websites from adding or updating plugins and themes. Technology writer Robert Scoble described the decision as “universally hated in tech” and that out of hundreds of posts on the subject almost none was on Mullenweg’s side on the issue. What Happened Matt Mullenweg, … Read more
The WordPress Foundation applied to trademark ‘Managed WordPress’ and ‘Hosted WordPress’ for software and hosting services. If approved, this would limit commercial use of these terms by web hosts and even plugins without prior permission. Trademark Applications Filed By WordPress The trademark applications for the two hosting related phrases are dated July 12, 2024 and … Read more
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic announced on Reddit that WP Engine initiated legal action against WordPress, Automattic, and Mullenweg himself. Mullenweg wrote that WordPress is countersuing. WP Engine is a leading managed WordPress host provider that Mullenweg alleges is violating the WordPress trademark. Mullenweg’s comments came in a Reddit thread titled … Read more
