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Try searching for a video on why WordPress is a better CMS than other alternatives for 2025 and beyond, and you might find none, you’ll be inundated with articles on WordPress alternatives promoting Shopify, WIX, Webflow and these other platforms.
To the untrained, the SERSP are dominated by videos on why the WordPress drama is getting worse, but a careful scrutiny will expose the fact that all these videos have been made by bloggers and affiliate marketers promoting these products, and plugins of the other companies.
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Interestingly, many of these contents bash the WordPress ecosystem while promoting a plugin or hosting service which will be nowhere but for the WordPress ecosystem. This is what I call the hypocrisy of affiliate marketers and their enterprise partners.
This article explores how affiliate marketers profit from WordPress’s open-source ecosystem while undermining its core community-driven values by favouring corporate interests over sustainability. As a WordPress developer, you should care because these dynamics threaten the long-term future, integrity, and collaborative spirit of the WordPress platform that countless developers and businesses rely on.
In recent years, the relationship between affiliate marketers, WordPress enterprises, and the open-source community has become increasingly fraught with tension. And it makes sense doesn’t it, just trumpet the fact that the free WordPress if ridded with bigs and problems, but your premium tool has all the solutions.
WordPress CEO vs WP Engine
At the heart of this conflict lies a fundamental clash of priorities: the financial motives of affiliate marketers and enterprises versus the community-driven, collaborative spirit of open-source development.
Nowhere is this tension more evident than in the ongoing dispute between Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress, and WP Engine, one of the largest WordPress hosting providers. This article dives into the hypocrisy of affiliate marketers, their complicity in undermining open-source values, and why WordPress developers should care deeply about these dynamics.
Affiliate Marketers and the WordPress Ecosystem
Affiliate marketers, including YouTubers, bloggers, and influencers, have carved out lucrative careers by promoting premium WordPress products such as hosting services, plugins, and themes. These marketers earn commissions every time their audience purchases a recommended product through affiliate links. While WordPress itself, as an open-source platform, does not have an affiliate program, many enterprises that build on WordPress, like WP Engine, have robust affiliate incentives.
The inherent bias in this arrangement becomes clear: affiliate marketers are financially motivated to push premium products over free or community-supported alternatives. Their content often paints free plugins and open-source solutions as insufficient, steering users toward expensive premium options. This marketing dynamic not only skews user perception but also diminishes the visibility and appreciation of the free, community-built tools that are at the core of WordPress’s success.
How Affiliate Marketers Perpetuate the Problem
When Matt Mullenweg raised concerns about WP Engine’s exploitation of WordPress trademarks and lack of proportional contributions to the open-source project, the backlash from affiliate marketers was swift and severe.
Many marketers sided with WP Engine, framing Mullenweg’s stance as an attack on their livelihoods. This reaction highlights a glaring hypocrisy: the very marketers who profit from WordPress’s open-source ecosystem show little loyalty to the platform’s sustainability when it conflicts with their revenue streams.
1. Profit Over Principles:
Affiliate marketers benefit immensely from the WordPress ecosystem but rarely advocate for its core open-source values. Instead, they align with the corporate interests of enterprises like WP Engine, even when those interests actively harm the ecosystem.
2. Misleading Messaging:
Through their platforms, affiliate marketers often amplify corporate narratives, painting WP Engine and similar enterprises as essential to WordPress’s success. This messaging misleads users into believing that premium products are the only viable solutions, sidelining the contributions of volunteer developers and community-led initiatives.
3. Economic Dependency:
Many marketers have become economically dependent on affiliate revenue from companies like WP Engine. When Mullenweg challenges these companies’ practices, marketers perceive it as a threat to their income streams and respond defensively, regardless of the ethical implications.
The Broader Impact on the Open-Source Community
The behaviour of affiliate marketers in this ongoing conflict has far-reaching consequences for the WordPress ecosystem.
1. Erosion of Trust:
Users who trust affiliate marketers for product recommendations may feel misled when they realize these endorsements are driven by financial incentives rather than genuine advice. This erosion of trust affects not just individual marketers but the ecosystem as a whole.
2. Imbalance in Contributions:
WP Engine reportedly generates over $400 million annually, yet contributes minimally to WordPress’s open-source development. Affiliate marketers inadvertently perpetuate this imbalance by driving users toward enterprises that extract value from the community without giving back proportionally.
3. Polarization of the Community:
The conflict has created deep divisions within the WordPress community. Developers and contributors who prioritize open-source values are pitted against marketers and corporate entities focused on profit. This polarization undermines the collaborative spirit that has been essential to WordPress’s growth.
Why WordPress Developers Should Care
For WordPress developers, this conflict is not just a philosophical debate—it directly impacts their future. Here are three key reasons why developers should pay close attention:
1. Sustainability of WordPress:
If enterprises like WP Engine continue to profit disproportionately without contributing back, it threatens the long-term sustainability of WordPress. Fewer contributions mean slower development, fewer updates, and an overall decline in quality.
2. Community Integrity:
The open-source community thrives on collaboration, transparency, and shared responsibility. When powerful voices, including affiliate marketers, prioritize profit over principles, it chips away at the integrity of the community.
3. Ethical Accountability:
Developers must hold both affiliate marketers and enterprises accountable. Whether through advocacy, open discussions, or choosing where to spend their time and resources, developers have a role to play in maintaining the balance between profit and community responsibility.
The Way Forward: Ethical Affiliate Marketing and Balanced Contributions
The current conflict offers an opportunity to redefine the relationship between affiliate marketers, enterprises, and the WordPress community. Initiatives like WordPress Creator Connections aim to foster ethical affiliate partnerships that align with open-source values. Developers and marketers alike must advocate for:
- Transparency in Affiliate Marketing: Clear disclosures and balanced recommendations that prioritize user needs over profits.
- Fair Contributions: Enterprises benefiting from WordPress must contribute proportionally to its development.
- Community-Centric Narratives: Marketers should support and amplify open-source initiatives rather than exclusively promoting corporate interests.
The hypocrisy of affiliate marketers in the ongoing WordPress-WP Engine conflict is not just a minor grievance—it is a reflection of deeper tensions between commercial interests and open-source principles.
For WordPress to continue thriving, all stakeholders—from developers and contributors to marketers and enterprises—must realign their priorities.
The open-source community must remain vigilant against exploitation and advocate for a future where collaboration, contribution, and integrity take precedence over unchecked profit motives.
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