Search for alternative to WordPress surges worldwide amidst rift between WP-Engine and Matt Mullenweg
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Everyone is seeking a WordPress alternative. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Global search interest for WordPress alternatives has surged dramatically as the conflict between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, intensifies.
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Data from Google Trends noted search requests around the website builder boomed in October 2024, especially on October 8, where it reached a peak score of 100. The spike in interest signals a shift in user behavior, indicating an active search for options which align more closely with user expectations around performance, control, and transparency.
Before October 8, Google Trends data shows the search interest for WordPress alternatives was essentially dormant, with no recorded searches from October 4 to October 7. Observers attribute this surge to the escalating legal and public disputes between WP Engine and Mullenweg, who accused WP Engine of trademark infringement and compromising WordPress’s open-source ethos.
The contention centers on WP Engine’s handling of WordPress features, including limiting revision history for posts and its allegedly confusing use of the “WP” branding, which Mullenweg argues misleads users into believing WP Engine is directly affiliated with WordPress.
The tension reached new heights with Mullenweg calling WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress”. Both WP Engine and Automattic have since exchanged cease-and-desist letters, with WP Engine contesting Automattic’s claims, asserting its use of WordPress trademarks falls under fair use.
