Since you are entering this blog post, it is probably safe to assume you have your WordPress site hosted on WP Engine, and you might have heard that there is some controversy between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine.

The first and most important thing, if you are our active customer: do not worry. We are monitoring the situation to make sure it does not influence your business.

Ban on WP Engine

Apart from public denouncements and cease-and-desist letters going back and forth, one major thing that has happened was the banning of WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources. In simple terms, Users having WordPress sites on WP Engine could not update their themes or plugins via the Admin Panel (the ban has been lifted until Oct 1st to allow WP Engine to set up its own mirrors of all of WordPress.org’s resources).

ACF Plugin no longer available on WordPress.org

On 12th of October, the Advanced Custom Fields team published a post informing their Users, that their authorized version of the ACF plugin will no longer be available on WordPress.org. This is due to the fact that Matt Mullenweg has made some unauthorised changes to the plugin code, for which the ACF team does not want to be held accountable for since they no longer feel they have control over.

Xfive response and contingency plan

At Xfive, we update all WordPress websites (including those hosted on WP Engine) via the code repository, in line with the industry best practices. This means that the change/blocking of WP Engine does not affect our usual workflow. So, if you have an active Care & Growth plan (see a deck about Care and Growth here) you are on the safe side.

As for the ACF plugin updates, the team responsible for the plugin has published a 6.3.8 version of their free version of the plugin that needs to be downloaded and installed manually with a ZIP file. Here we are also able to help our ongoing Clients if they need support. For Users that have their sites hosted on WP Engine or use the PRO version of the ACF plugin, no action is needed as the ACF team still has control over the version on the software that is being installed.

Again, we are monitoring the situation and will keep you updated on any major changes. We are also preparing plans for any possible outcome.

If you would feel more comfortable migrating away from WP Engine to a different hosting platform, we can support you with that and suggest different alternatives.

Please be also aware that we are not endorsing any side of this dispute and our main goal is to keep you and your website safe.

Do you have a WordPress site and would like to have more peace of mind?

Running a successful business is already stressful - offload some of this stress knowing Xfive experts are taking active care of your online presence, making sure everything runs smoothly.

Maciej Karabon

Head of Business Development

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Agnes Kozak

The WordPress vs. WP Engine dispute