If you're a small business owner with a WordPress site, you've probably heard about the WordPress vs WP Engine dispute. If your site is hosted on WP Engine or their brother company Flywheel, you might feel confused, overwhelmed, and worried about keeping your site safe.
In this post, I'll explain the basics of what's going on, and give options for what to do to keep your website safe and running smoothly.
If you're considering moving to a different host, check out this post where I detail my experience moving to WPX Hosting in less than 24 hours.
What Caused the WordPress vs WP Engine Dispute?
WordPress and WP Engine have been beefing for a while. Automattic, the parent company of WordPress, accused WP Engine of unauthorized use of WordPress trademarks.
In non-legal speak:
- A lot of people are confused and think WP Engine IS WordPress instead of just a web host
- WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg thinks WP Engine is making a grip of money from the open-source WordPress ecosystem and not giving enough back.
This all came to a head when Matt banned WP Engine (and by extension Flywheel) from accessing WordPress.org servers that allow people to update their plugins easily. Practically, that meant that anyone with sites on those hosts lost the ability to update their plugins by hitting the little Update Now button.
Keeping plugins and themes up-to-date is important for keeping your site safe.
How Does the WordPress vs WP Engine Dispute Affect Small Business Owners?
If your website is hosted on WP Engine or Flywheel, here are the main problems you might face:
- No Automatic Updates: Normally, WP Engine handles updates for WordPress, plugins, and themes. Now, you'll need to manage these manually.
- Potential Security Risks: Outdated plugins and themes can be targeted by hackers. If you're not updating these regularly, your website could be at risk of getting hacked
- Site malfunction: If you leave your site without updates for too long, it's likely to stop functioning properly at some point.
There was such an outcry from unhappy WP Engine customers and the WordPress community in general that Matt announced a temporary lift to the ban until October 1st, to give WP Engine a chance to come up with a workaround for automatic updates.
How Do You Keep Your WP Engine Hosted Site Safe?
First, don’t panic! The most important thing is to stay informed about the situation. Keep an eye on official updates from both WordPress.org and WP Engine. Sign up for their newsletters, and check their blogs for the latest developments. If you've hired someone to manage your website updates for you, reach out to them or pay close attention to their announcements.
Learn How to Update Your Plugins Manually
If you do need to update your plugins manually, here's how to do it:
- Go to your WordPress Dashboard.
- Click on “Plugins” or “Themes.”
- Look for updates, and follow the instructions to manually download and install the new versions.
It's good to know how to do these things, but the truth is, if you're running your business, you really shouldn't be mucking around the back end of your website.
I've always recommended to my clients that they hire a company that specializes in keeping your WordPress site running smoothly and offers unlimited small tasks like updating pages, checking out errors, and even researching the best plugin options. Access WP has been my go-to recommendation for years. For $149/month they will take away all your WordPress headaches. They even have a handy list of all the tasks they can do for you.
Backup Your Website.
You should have automatic backups happening on any decent host. Download the latest one to your computer or cloud storage just in case you have to make a hasty escape. If you're not sure if your backups are happening, you can use something like BlogVault to make your backups.
Get the Hell Out of Dodge and Move to Another Web Host
If you have the time and the means, you can always skip the drama and move to any other web host besides the ones affected. As soon as I saw this post on Threads, I changed my afternoon plans and took some time out to move my 4 websites to WPX Hosting.
This was not as spur of the moment as it sounds. I've been very vocal about my love for Flywheel over the years, but I decided years ago that if things went sideways and I needed to make a move, that is where I would go.
You can check out this post for details of how I completed the migration in under 24 hours so I could publish THIS post without missing a beat.
I've been on my soapbox for years that when you make software decisions, you also need to consider what happens if you want to pick up your toys and go home. That, and the fact that I'm a former WordPress developer and professional automation service provider, made this decision and taking action easy for me.
But you don't have to be a tech nerd to move your WordPress site, which is why I detailed the whole process.
A Note to ShowIt Users
ShowIt is a WordPress SaaS (Software as a Service) that has become very popular in the last few years. Their value proposition is they give you the power of WordPress without the headaches of maintenance and upkeep. Think of it as the WordPress version of Squarespace.
ShowIt sites are hosted on WP Engine so if your site is on ShowIt, pay very close attention to how WP Engine resolves their ability to keep providing updates. Leaving ShowIt is not as easy as packing up your files and moving to a different host and you may lose some ShowIt-specific functionality and design in the process.
I understand why business owners love the ease of ShowIt and other hosted solutions. It's nice to outsource the technical difficulties to someone else. When it comes to easy vs control, I always advocate that business owners control their assets as much as possible and services like Access WP and Thrive Themes can go a long way toward giving ease while still maintaining control.
Get Professional Help
If you're out of your depth and you need personalized advice, talk to a professional. I started Automation Club to support business owners of all kinds and technical levels because you can't escape technology when you're running a business in the modern age. Inside Automation Club, I host twice monthly 2-hour coworking sessions, business workshops, and provide tutorials to help you get started with automation.
We have community spaces where you can ask tech questions and also get to know fellow members.
Automation Club members were the first to hear from me about this issue and know where I moved my sites and why. If you want a space where you can always have access to professional tech advice and strategy, come join us.
