I spoke yesterday at WordCamp about how Lee Wittlinger at Silver Lake, a private equity firm with $102B assets under management, can hollow out an open source community. (To summarize, they do about half a billion in revenue on top of WordPress and contribute back 40 hours a week, Automattic is a similar size and contributes back 3,915 hours a week.) Today, I would like to offer a specific, technical example of how they break the trust and sanctity of our software’s promise to users to save themselves money so they can extract more profits from you.
WordPress is a content management system, and the content is sacred. Every change you make to every page, every post, is tracked in a revision system, just like the Wikipedia. This means if you make a mistake, you can always undo it. It also means if you’re trying to figure out why something is on a page, you can see precisely the history and edits that led to it. These revisions are stored in our database.
This is very important, it’s at the core of the user promise of protecting your data, and it’s why WordPress is architected and designed to never lose anything.
WP Engine turns this off. They disable revisions because it costs them more money to store the history of the changes in the database, and they don’t want to spend that to protect your content. It strikes to the very heart of what WordPress does, and they shatter it, the integrity of your content. If you make a mistake, you have no way to get your content back, breaking the core promise of what WordPress does, which is manage and protect your content.
Here is a screenshot of their support page saying they disable this across their 1.5 million WordPress installs.
They say it’s slowing down your site, but what they mean is they want to avoid paying to store that data. We tested revisions on all of the recommended hosts on www.ads-software.com, and none disabled revisions by default. Why is WP Engine the only one that does? They are strip-mining the WordPress ecosystem, giving our users a crappier experience so they can make more money.
What WP Engine gives you is not WordPress, it’s something that they’ve chopped up, hacked, butchered to look like WordPress, but actually they’re giving you a cheap knock-off and charging you more for it.
This is one of the many reasons they are a cancer to WordPress, and it’s important to remember that unchecked, cancer will spread. WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is ok to replicate. We must set a higher standard to ensure WordPress is here for the next 100 years.
If you are a customer of “WordPress Engine,” you should contact their support immediately to at least get the 3 revisions they allow turned on so you don’t accidentally lose something important. Ideally, they should go to unlimited. Remember that you, the customer, hold the power; they are nothing without the money you give them. And as you vote with your dollars, consider literally any other WordPress host as WP Engine is the only one we’ve found that completely disables revisions by default.
]]>There’s even more packed into the conference schedule this year, with the collaborative spirit of Contributor Day and the introduction of Showcase Day to kick things off.
New this year: Showcase Day
Showcase Day will spotlight innovative and impactful projects built on WordPress. Through a curated series of presentations, attendees will gain insights into how WordPress drives success across diverse industries, including enterprise-level implementations for clients such as Disney Experiences, The New York Post, CNN Brazil, Vox Media, and Amnesty International.
Keynotes, presentations, and more
Following Showcase Day, two programming days on September 19-20 will feature notable keynote speakers, including OSS Capital Founder Joseph Jacks and TIME CTO Burhan Hamid.
A roster of highly anticipated presenters will also speak on a wide range of WordPress topics, from business strategy to technical insights on WordPress Playground and the Interactivity API. Attendees can learn from case studies across sectors like education and nonprofits and get inspired by the WordPress Speed Build Battle. All the presentations will be live streamed throughout the conference on the WordPress YouTube channel.
A Networking Block will also offer opportunities to connect and explore potential collaborations within the WordPress ecosystem.
Closing session with Matt
WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg will close the conference with a live question-and-answer session. You can watch Matt’s Q&A on September 20, 2024, streaming live on the WordPress YouTube channel starting at 3:45 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (10:45 p.m. UTC).
Need help getting WordCamp-ready??
- Get your WordCamp US tickets (if you haven’t already)
- Check out the full schedule of events
- Listen to Executive Director Josepha’s tips for WordCamp first-timers
Don’t miss any of the action—follow WordPress on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram. And when you’re sharing highlights, tips, videos, and photos from the conference floor, remember to tag #WCUS (and #WordPress) to bring everyone along for the experience.
Whether you’ll be joining us in person in Portland or watching online from elsewhere, we’ll see you very soon!
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From June 13-15, 2024, WordPress enthusiasts from across the globe gathered in Torino to explore and celebrate the world’s most popular web platform. A dedicated team of 250 volunteers, led by WordCamp veterans Wendie Huis in ‘t Veld, Juan Hernando, and Takis Bouyouris, organized and produced the event.
Impact in Action on Contributor Day
Contributor Day brought together 726 contributors working across 25 teams to support the WordPress project. Their accomplishments included translating 79,059 “strings” for the WordPress user interface across 29 languages, updating documentation for the forthcoming 6.6 release, onboarding new contributors for the support forums and testing teams, and identifying ways to improve plugin security.
Sustainable open source is the future
Joost de Valk and Juliette Reinders Folmer delivered the event’s opening keynote address on sustaining open source software projects. Their keynote covered funding open source, contributing beyond code, and convincing buyers in commercial enterprises that open source is a viable alternative to proprietary platforms.
Two days of engaging sessions
Friday and Saturday saw 60 presentations and workshops held across three tracks. Topics included WordPress development, accessibility, design, business, community, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
A youth workshop gave younger attendees hands-on opportunities to build WordPress websites, explore new tech, and learn about internet safety. Meanwhile, a wellness-themed track included yoga lessons and walking tours of Torino, encouraging attendees to step away from their screens and explore the beauty of this year’s host city.
Mid-year project update
WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg shared a mid-year project update on WordPress and concluded by fielding questions from the audience on various topics, from Gutenberg Phases to the WordPress Playground, and acknowledging a request to escalate a bug fix.
Matt’s presentation highlighted the success of the contributor mentorship program and WCEU Contributor Day, demoed Translate Live, and shared an update on the Data Liberation initiative.
Matt also covered the latest innovations with WordPress Playground, highlighted performance gains, and previewed features anticipated in future releases, like rollbacks for auto-updates and zoomed-out view.
Acknowledging an exciting new trend in the WordPress community, Mullenweg discussed “speed build challenges,” where onlookers watch WordPress experts build websites in real-time, showcasing tips, shortcuts, and best practices. One such event took place during a WCEU session, and in the Q&A portion of Matt’s presentation, he was invited to participate in one–an invitation he accepted!
Matt reflected on WordPress reaching its 21st anniversary since he and Mike Little launched the first version in 2003. He shared 11 things to ensure that WordPress remains sustainable for decades to come:
- Simple things should be easy and intuitive, and complex things possible.
- Blogs and dynamic sites are better.
- Documentation should be wiki-easy to edit.
- Forums should be front and center.
- Plugins and themes with community infrastructure.
- Great theme previews and diverse aesthetics.
- We can’t over-index for guidelines and requirements.
- Feedback loops are so important.
- Core should be opinionated and quirky.
- If you make WordPress, use WordPress.
- Stay close to our end-users
Closing remarks
In their closing remarks, the event organizers expressed gratitude for the endorsements of the European Parliament, the city of Torino, and Turismo Torino, the regional tourism board. The volunteer team was celebrated for their hard work in producing the event.
Closing out a robust three days of programming, the organizing team announced that WordCamp Europe 2025 would be held in Basel, Switzerland, from June 5 to 7, 2025. The announcement was met with hearty applause and plans to meet in a year’s time.
Stay connected
WordPress events enable technologists, open source enthusiasts, and community members around the globe to meet, share ideas, and collaborate to drive WordPress and the open web forward.
Mark your calendars for WordCamp US (Portland, Oregon, United States), State of the Word (Tokyo), and next year’s WordCamp Asia in Manila!
This post is a collaboration between the contributors who produce content for www.ads-software.com/news and the WordCamp Europe Communications team.
Props to the WCEU photos team for supplying the photos used for this post and to the following contributors for the work reviewing/contributing to this post: @rmartinezduque , @wmjohnston06, @angelasjin, and @cbringmann.
]]>The highly anticipated conference has a packed schedule starting with Contributor Day and will feature a notable roster of speakers. Other highlights will include engaging workshops covering a variety of disciplines (including one for youth and teens) and WordCamp Connect, a dedicated space for attendees to meet and network with additional community-led sessions.
The conference will conclude with an exciting mid-year project update from WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg, including a live Q&A session. You can watch Matt’s presentation on June 15, 2024, streaming live on the WordPress YouTube channel starting at 4:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time (2:30 p.m. UTC).
What: WordPress Project Summer Update + Q&A Session with Matt Mullenweg
When: June 15, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. UTC (Start of live stream)
Where: Lingotto Conference and Exhibition Centre
Streaming: Watch the live stream on the WordPress YouTube channel.
Have a question for Matt?
If you’re unable to attend WordCamp Europe 2024 in person, you’re welcome to email your questions instead. Given the number of questions expected both in-person and online, only some of the submitted questions may be answered live.?
Whether you’re touching down in Torino or streaming from elsewhere, see you very soon!
]]>The Asian WordPress flagship event started with a dedicated Contributor Day, followed by two days of engaging talks, panels, hands-on workshops, and networking. Notable guests, including WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy, joined the diverse lineup of speakers. Popular topics featured cutting-edge web technologies and trends, use cases, open source dynamics, and more. WordPress enthusiasts seized the opportunity to gain insights from international and local industry experts and to learn about the project’s future.
Converting walled gardens into community gardens
On March 8, Josepha Haden Chomphosy took the stage for an insightful journey comparing and contrasting the “walled” and “community” gardens in software ecosystems, drawing an analogy between closed and open source platforms. After exploring both concepts, she posed an important question to the audience.
What would it take for someone to move from a walled garden to a community garden?
Open source software, symbolized by community gardens, represents freedom from copyright restrictions and usage limitations. Unlike proprietary software (described as walled gardens), the core value lies in long-term empowerment, giving people control and ownership of their digital presence.
Acknowledging the longstanding values held by WordPress and its open source community for two decades, Josepha focused on the importance of caring for foundations that make us strong, managing what distracts us, and nurturing growth by embracing new opportunities. She celebrated the strengths of the WordPress community and how its shared ethos furthers a thriving ecosystem.
Quoting artist and activist Audrey Hepburn, Josepha expressed that, much like a community garden, the power of contributions—whether through time, knowledge, or product use— sustains and maintains shared spaces like WordPress.
In the Q&A portion of her presentation, Josepha addressed inquiries about community involvement and contributions. Highlighted resources included the WordPress job board for opportunities within the ecosystem and the Data Liberation project, emphasizing its role in fostering a more open web and helping the transition out of proprietary platforms.
Q&A with Matt Mullenweg
WordCamp Asia concluded with a live audience Q&A session featuring WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg. Attendees gained insights into the future of WordPress, including ongoing projects like Data Liberation, community inclusion initiatives, artificial intelligence (AI), and more.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement when Matt revealed that this year’s State of the Word will take place in Tokyo, Japan, on December 16, 2024.
Additional questions from this session will be addressed in an upcoming post on the Make WordPress Project blog.
Stay connected
WordPress events enable technologists, open source enthusiasts, and community members around the globe to meet, share ideas, and collaborate to drive WordPress and the open web forward.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for WordCamp Europe (Torino, Italy), WordCamp US (Portland, Oregon, United States), and next year’s WordCamp Asia in Manila, Philippines!
Thank you to the WordCamp Asia organizers, volunteers, and sponsors who made this event possible, and to @angelasjin, @dansoschin, @eidolonnight, @bjmcsherry for collaborating on this post.
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WordCamp Asia 2024 is just a few days away—starting on March 7 in Taipei, Taiwan. This unique three-day summit will feature a distinguished lineup of speakers, numerous networking opportunities, and a closing Q&A experience with WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. The live Q&A session will be streamed for WordPress enthusiasts worldwide, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Taipei Standard Time (7:30 a.m. UTC) on Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Watch the event live stream on the WordPress YouTube channel or visit the event website for more details.
What: Q&A Session with Matt Mullenweg
When: March 9, 2024 at 7:30 a.m. UTC (Start of live stream)
Where: Taipei International Convention Center
Streaming: Watch the live stream on the WordPress YouTube channel.
Have a question for Matt?
If you want to participate, please submit your question via Slido from March 7 until about 6:00 a.m. UTC on Friday, March 8. Slido is now closed.
Given the expected volume of submitted questions, only some will be answered live, while others will be covered in a follow-up post published after the event on make.www.ads-software.com/project.
See you in-person and online on March 7!
谢谢!
Thank you to @rmartinezduque, @eidolonnight, @cbringmann, and @bjmcsherry for reviewing this post.
]]>What’s Next for WordPress
Josepha launched her keynote by celebrating 20 years of WordPress and reflecting on its journey from a blogging tool to the world’s most popular community-driven web platform. On WordPress as a platform for empowerment and change, Josepha shared, “The more people that know about WordPress, the more people can access the incredible opportunities that WordPress can provide.” And that sustaining the platform for future generations ensures these opportunities will persist. She added, “We exist for as long as people want to use our software.”
The community is the key to sustaining WordPress, and Josepha touched on the importance of WordCamps, workshops, and events that create value, promote inclusivity, and spark inspiration. WordPress can be a catalyst for positive change in the life of a contributor, end user, or site builder.
Concluding her keynote, Josepha asked the audience to think about the story they’d want to tell about themselves and their time in WordPress; and the story they would want WordPress to tell the world.
What’s Next for Gutenberg
Matt began his keynote with a touch of nostalgia, referring to a comment on his personal blog in 2003 by WordPress Co-founder Mike Little, and then looked ahead to the most recent release, WordPress 6.3. As this year’s largest release, it includes new features such as the Command Palette, a quick way (?+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows) to search your site and access common commands.
Matt continued, “WordPress never rests, so right around the corner is WordPress 6.4 on Nov 7… with some cool new features.” He shared that 6.4, like 5.6, will be an underrepresented gender-led release. A new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four, is tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers. Additionally, 6.4 will feature integrated font management and Image block options to expand single images for optimal viewing.
Looking further into the future, Matt highlighted Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project, which will focus on workflows and collaboration, “moving WordPress from a single-player to a multi-player tool.” In that spirit of collaboration, a new #LMS working group will also bring WordPress learning management systems together to improve the web standards for courses and learning content.
Beyond Phase 3, Matt shared thoughts about what it means to support WordPress many years from now. A new 100-Year Plan from WordPress.com is an exploration into long-term planning for your online presence. He encouraged attendees to be inspired by the region’s history, reflecting on what it would mean to honor the past while anticipating and planning for the future.
Q&A
A Q&A session followed the keynotes, with questions submitted by the in-person audience and live stream viewers.
Additional questions will be answered in a future post on make.www.ads-software.com/project/. Join the global community making WordPress and be part of our journey toward a brighter future!
Thank you to @angelasjin, @bmcsherry, @cbringmann, @dansoschin, and @eidolonnight for collaborating on this post.
]]>The atmosphere was electric at WordCamp Europe (WCEU) 2023 in Athens, Greece, as WordPress celebrated its 20th anniversary and the opportunity to gather in person for inspiration and engagement. More than 2,500 individuals from 94 countries came together in person or through the live stream to participate in a remarkable three-day event (plus Contributor Day) filled with talks, networking, and learning opportunities. The event concluded on June 10 with a captivating keynote address by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and Gutenberg Product Architect Matías Ventura, who highlighted the advancements and upcoming milestones of the WordPress Project.
One significant update shared during the keynote was the successful reactivation of WordCamps. This time last year, we organized eight in-person WordCamps, and by the end of 2022, the number had risen to 23. Thanks to the enthusiasm and involvement of the WordPress community, we are already on track to organize 25 WordCamps in the first half of this year alone.
Josepha also emphasized the importance of the upcoming Community Summit on August 22-23. This in-person gathering brings contributors together across the WordPress open source project, fostering cross-project discussions vital for future growth and sustainability. For more information, visit the official Community Summit website.
Discussing the Five for the Future (5ftF) program, Josepha highlighted the impressive growth in active contributors and company pledges over the past year. She also underscored the expansion of the WordPress ecosystem, citing examples like Openverse, which now provides access to nearly 800 million images and audio files, all easily accessible in the Site Editor.
Another exciting addition to the WordPress repertoire is WP Playground. This new feature allows users to build WordPress applications instantly in the browser without needing a PHP server. This tool provides a swift and seamless experience, reducing the installation time from five minutes to a near-instantaneous 500 milliseconds. The application of WP Playground may seem like magic, but its practical application promises tangible and revolutionary benefits for WordPress users.
Matías Ventura then took the stage to share updates on Gutenberg. Through a visually stunning video built entirely with blocks, he showcased the six-year development journey and the transition from words to blocks to a final design. The upcoming WordPress version 6.3 will mark the completion of the first two phases of Gutenberg, consolidating all these features into a cohesive and user-friendly experience. He also highlighted the introduction of features such as the Wayfinder tool, Style Book, and the ability to save patterns, further empowering users to own their web presence and voice.
Following the keynote presentation, the WordPress leadership engaged in a lively Q&A session with the audience, further illustrating the continuous evolution within the WordPress Project. This session highlighted how the WordPress community innovates, iterates, and continually improves to create a better platform for today and tomorrow.
Join the global community and be part of the WordPress journey toward a brighter future!
Special thanks to @cbringmann and @eidolonnight for review and collaboration.
]]>Matt also opened a thread for questions on his blog, so be sure to chime in there if you have any!
]]>We’re going to explore if speakers — including myself — can do our sessions with the same content and at the same time that was originally planned, just online instead of in-person so we can achieve our goal of bringing the pan-Asian community closer together without putting anyone’s health at additional risk.
Regardless, I greatly appreciate the work everyone — from organizers to attendees, speakers to sponsors — put into making this a big success. So many people have come together to create an event to inspire and connect WordPressers, and I am confident that this passion will carry through into the event next year. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus so far, and we sincerely hope that everything is resolved quickly so that this precaution looks unnecessary in hindsight.
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