WordPress Ownership: Tested
If you’ve built your world on WordPress, the past few weeks might feel like the ground shifting beneath you. The Matt Mullenweg vs. WP Engine & Silver Lake drama has cast a long shadow, challenging our basic assumptions about open-source.
If there was one Turing test for being a “WordPress expert”, it was knowing the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. We’d explain it to clients and write blog posts about it full-chested.
Turns out? We were as good as them. We were all wrong.
The dust is yet to settle, but there’s one question that matters most: Did your WordPress developer lie to you?
Who I Am and Why I’m Writing This
I’m not a WordPress purist or an insider from day one. Seven years ago, at 16, I got into WordPress to start a blog. One blog turned into a side gig building sites for clients during college, and after graduation, a full-time career working on WordPress products as a developer.
In the past few years, I started getting to know people on the “Contributor” side of WordPress through Twitter. I wanted to understand who’s behind this platform that’s become my bread and butter, and how it all really works. Until then, like most users, I didn’t know who ran WordPress or what kept it going.
It’s also worth mentioning that I’m not affiliated with Automattic or WP Engine, and this piece isn’t about weighing in on their dispute.
I’m writing this piece for those who, like me before, don’t know much about who’s behind WordPress and are only now learning about it through recent events. Maybe you’re wondering if you made the wrong choice. Should you have gone with Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow instead? Did your WordPress developer lie when they said WordPress gives you ownership of your site?
Thought Experiment: Could You Be Cut Off?
This situation with WP Engine has never happened before in 21 years of WordPress. But let’s stretch this current situation to a fictional extreme and see just what Matt, Automattic, and the WordPress Foundation could really do.
Let’s imagine a scenario: You’re not WP Engine; let’s say you’re a small, independent media group, and you’ve published something that “hits a nerve” with Matt.
Perhaps you released a “study” claiming that Gutenberg causes 50% more carpal tunnel syndrome, citing the “unnecessary strain” of block-editing for simple text. Hypothetically, Matt reads this and doesn’t approve. What can he do?

- Block Access to WordPress Plugins and Themes
Okay, so he blocks your site from the WordPress.org repository, leaving you without the usual one-click updates. Annoying, yes. But guess what? You can still grab those plugins and themes manually. Like the good ol’ times. I’m not even going to get into setting up proxies to bypass the ban. - Restrict Core Updates
Next, he blocks your core WordPress updates. You could handle updates manually, and while it’s not ideal, you still own your code. As long as you have that, no one’s taking your site down yet. - Login to WordPress.org? New “Security” Questions
When you try to log in to WordPress.org for support, suddenly there’s a new list of ridiculous checkboxes to confirm before accessing the repository:

Sigh, okay… plugin & theme support through the WordPress repository is off the table. We’ll have to rely on direct support from the vendor.
- Host Control? You Can Switch
What if your hosting provider is owned by Automattic and they decide to shut you down? Fine, you switch providers. Repeat as necessary. Imagine Matt’s friends with every host in the industry (okay, except WP Engine, there’s still that), but even then, you can always set up your own server if things get ridiculous.
In other words, while you may jump through hoops, as long as it’s WordPress, you’re not out of the game. Now let’s imagine the same scenario on a proprietary CMS.
Proprietary CMS: One Step from Instant Lockout
Say you’re on a closed-source platform instead. In this world, things are much simpler: if you’re out, you’re out. One click, and they could cut your access. Best case? You get static files of your content in some unknown format and a headache trying to import it elsewhere. Good luck piecing your site back together. What you don’t get is the freedom to keep running your site on your terms. Boom, business over.
Closing Thoughts
Your WordPress developer may have been wrong about wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org distinction, but they weren’t wrong about the heart of WordPress: data ownership. The freedom to own your code, manage your data, and run your site as you see fit isn’t just a talking point; it’s a promise WordPress keeps, quirks and all.
This piece is for WordPress end users. For vendors and contributors, the risks are different. Building WordPress products carries a distinct set of risks, and if this situation discourages developers, we may see fewer contributors over time. Fewer contributors could impact WordPress’s future and open the door to alternatives. But for now, these shifts are slow-moving, years in the making, and end users won’t feel their effects anytime soon.
That’s a discussion for another time. For now, despite the turbulence, I still believe WordPress delivers what matters most: the ability to own and control your site.