The END of WordPress?  ## Metadata - Author: [[Craylor Made]] - Full Title: The END of WordPress? - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [#wordpress, #fse, #blockthemes] - #wordpress - #fse - #blockthemes Author: Keith Devon & Mark Wilkinson Source: WP Café (YouTube) Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc date created: 2025-08-22 23:59 --- # Title: WP Café #72 | Mark Builds a Website with FSE ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) --- ## 📝 Summary: In WP Café episode 72, Keith Devon and Mark Wilkinson walk through Mark’s experiment rebuilding a client site using **Full Site Editing (FSE)** in WordPress. His goal: replicate a traditionally coded site using block themes with as little custom code as possible. The discussion covers challenges with theme.json, spacing inconsistencies, the navigation block, styling limitations, and the shift from developer-driven builds to more **assembler-style workflows**. The episode closes with broader reflections on how FSE changes the role of developers, client expectations, and the evolving WordPress ecosystem. --- ## 📖 Main Content: The session focuses on Mark’s hands-on journey experimenting with FSE. He starts by setting up a block theme via the **Create Block Theme plugin**, configures fonts and color palettes in theme.json, and then recreates the client site’s layout. While the core structures were achievable without heavy coding, Mark ran into frustrations with alignment, spacing, the navigation block UI, and global styling limitations. He concludes that while FSE is powerful and fast for prototyping, pixel-perfect replications remain tricky and sometimes require fallback to CSS or PHP. The co-hosts highlight the shift: developers may no longer need to handcraft every detail but instead act as **assemblers**, guiding clients through patterns, block controls, and FSE quirks. They discuss the long-term implications for developer roles, client maintainability, and the future of scalable WordPress builds. --- ### 🗒️ Notes **[0:02–1:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=2)** Intro - Hosts return after a break, discuss gloomy UK weather. - Topic: Mark’s experiment building a client site with FSE. **[2:00–3:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=120)** Why FSE test - Client work paused, Mark explored FSE. - Aim: rebuild existing site using block theme, “no code” where possible. **[3:41–5:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=221)** Starting point - Used Create Block Theme plugin. - Provides blank canvas, theme.json, and structure. **[5:08–7:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=308)** Fonts and colors - Added Google Fonts via plugin. - Created custom color palette in theme.json. - Frustrated by theme.json complexity but improved with experience. **[7:53–10:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=473)** Header challenges - Group alignment tricky. - Removing link underlines not intuitive. - Navigation block better than older versions but still clunky. - First custom code: CSS breakpoint to adjust mobile nav. **[11:00–13:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=660)** Footer + spacing issues - Spacing inconsistencies major pain point. - Discovered blockGap but results inconsistent across block types. - Compared theme.json to Brian Gardner’s Powder theme for inspiration. **[19:00–21:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=1140)** Page templates - Struggled with spacing between header and cover blocks. - Needed CSS overrides for negative margins. - Created custom block styles for FAQs. **[23:00–24:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=1380)** Results - Side-by-side comparison: site was “impressively close.” - Achieved in ~1.5 days vs. traditional weeks. **[25:02–28:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=1502)** Reflections - Developers’ role shifting to assemblers. - Clients unlikely to do this themselves. - FSE powerful but not yet matching page builders like Elementor. **[31:00–37:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=1860)** Q&A highlights - Navigation block UI confusing. - FSE faster for 80% of design, but final 20% hard. - Locking FSE options for clients possible with theme.json. - Resources: Theme.json handbook, Brian Gardner’s Powder theme. **[37:10–40:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtwI-R5W5uc&t=2230)** Closing - Roadmap to WP 6.5 includes font library, interactivity API. - Recommended interviews: Spencer Foreman with Matt Mullenweg & Syed Balkhi. --- ## 📖 References: - WP Café YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wpcafe - Create Block Theme plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/ - Theme.json documentation: https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/json/ - Brian Gardner’s Powder Theme: https://wordpress.org/themes/powder/ - Spencer Foreman (WP Launchify): https://www.youtube.com/@wplaunchify --- ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. Original: *“I don’t think clients could or would want to build sites this way.”* Paraphrase: Mark doubts that most clients have the ability or desire to take on the complexities of FSE themselves. 2. Original: *“Developers are becoming assemblers of existing tools rather than writing everything from scratch.”* Paraphrase: The developer role is shifting from coding custom solutions to expertly combining WordPress’s evolving set of building blocks. --- ## 📰 Newsletter: 🌟 **From Code to Clicks: WordPress Full Site Editing in Action** This week on WP Café, Mark Wilkinson took on a challenge: rebuild a client site using only **Full Site Editing**. The results? Surprisingly close to the original, done in half the time—though not without spacing headaches, navigation quirks, and a few CSS fallbacks. What’s clear: FSE is evolving fast, pushing developers toward “assembler” roles—configuring blocks, patterns, and theme.json rather than writing endless custom code. Clients still won’t want to do this themselves, but it opens the door to more flexible, collaborative site-building. 🔥 Resources mentioned: - [Create Block Theme Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/) - [Theme.json Handbook](https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/json/) - [Powder Theme](https://wordpress.org/themes/powder/) Plus, check out Spencer Foreman’s sharp interviews with [Matt Mullenweg](https://www.youtube.com/@wplaunchify) and [Syed Balkhi](https://www.youtube.com/@wplaunchify)—essential WordPress viewing. --- ## ✅ Action Items: - Frame FSE as a **teaching opportunity** for onboarding contributors: “assemblers” not just “coders.” - Compare FSE workflows with **open source governance models**—documentation consistency, maintainability, and sustainability. - Position FSE lessons as examples of how **developer roles shift** in maturing ecosystems, aligning with OSPO strategy. - Explore training modules on theme.json and FSE for **new WordPress contributors**. - Connect to advocacy for **funding open source tooling**: as tools mature, sustainability matters even more. --- ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: FSE reduces build time by 50% for simple designs. - H2: Clients will still require expert guidance due to complexity. - H3: Inconsistent spacing rules are a blocker for mass adoption. ### 📊 Methodology: - Case studies comparing FSE builds with traditional custom themes. - Surveys of developers on FSE learning curve. - Usability testing with non-technical users. ### ❓ Que - Summary: WordPress tutorial: https://youtu.be/0bXy0IBrEis 5 Things To Do AFTER Installing WordPress: https://youtu.be/olY1x13gR3o James Brooks blog post: https://craylor.link/eGM7m7Y Recently, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg attacked popular web host WP Engine in a live keynote and on social media accusing them of not contributing enough to WordPress. What he did next was shocking to everyone in the WordPress community. It has many questioning, is this the END of WordPress? Here's my take. 💻 Best Web Hosting: https://craylor.link/hosting 🔒 Best VPN: https://craylor.link/vpn 🌐 Learn how to build a WordPress website for FREE: https://craylor.academy 💬 Join the Craylor Community on Discord (it's free!): https://craylor.link/discord 🧢 Get a Craylor Hat: https://craylor.shop 📞 Book a consultation (we can chat about anything!): https://craylor.link/consultation 🎥 Gear I use: https://craylor.link/kit ☕️ Like my content? You can buy me a coffee! https://craylor.link/coffee Connect with me: ➞ https://craylormade.com... - URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G_3lZQlxHQ - This might be the end of WordPress. A battle between two major corporations is threatening the future of the platform that powers over 43% of the internet. What started as a blog post has now escalated into something far bigger, potentially impacting millions of websites globally. In this video, I want to explain what's happening with WordPress, the implications, and why I still think WordPress has potential despite some believing the platform is finished. Now, before we dive into what happened, I want to explain a bit more about how WordPress gets improved and updated. If you already know how this works, feel free to skip ahead to the next chapter. But if you're new to WordPress, this will be critical to help you understand the problem. WordPress is a free and open source software. This means that the code is free, public, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the project or modify it as they see fit. WordPress has a strong community of developers behind it who either volunteer their time or receive a salary or donations from one or multiple sources to make contributions. WordPress is a massive project with over 340,000 lines of code, and it powers over 43% of the internet. So in other words, WordPress isn't just a hobbyist project that occasionally gets updates. It's a massive community effort with many developers contributing. There's no one company behind WordPress. Matt Mullenweg started the project in 2003, and in 2005 he founded Automattic. Today he's the CEO of Automattic, a for-profit company that makes products and services for WordPress. Automattic owns properties like Wordpress.com, WooCommerce, and Jetpack. And because of Matt's passion and love for WordPress, combined with Automattic's reliance on the project to make money, Automattic sponsors over 117 contributors working a total of 3,988 hours per week on the project. Though Automattic benefits directly from WordPress moving forward, they're essentially funneling money into something that anyone can use for free. You can download WordPress and run it on any server. You don't have to pay Automattic. You don't even have to buy commercial web hosting. You could run WordPress on a server in your house. Now, as you know, Automattic is not the only company making money on WordPress. There are countless web hosts like GoDaddy, Hostinger, Bluehost and WP Engine who all rely on WordPress for a significant portion of their revenue, if not all of their revenue. And that's why in 2014, Matt announced Five for the Future. This initiative encourages organizations that benefit from WordPress to contribute 5% of their resources back to the project's development. Due to the unique nature of the WordPress ecosystem, the idea is that companies like Automattic, Bluehost, and WP Engine all do their part to ensure that WordPress continues to thrive, ultimately helping each other ensure that running a WordPress business is sustainable. Alright, so now that you have an understanding of how WordPress gets updated and improved, I can explain what happened recently that has many users questioning the future of the project. It all started last month on the first day of WordCamp US, the biggest WordPress conference in North America. Matt Mullenweg published a blog post titled, "WordCamp US and Ecosystem Thinking." In his post, Matt expressed his concern for corporations hijacking and taking over open source projects. He specifically named WP Engine as a web host he feels is not giving enough back to WordPress. Matt pointed out that WP Engine is nearly the same size as Automattic in revenue, and while Automattic contributes nearly 4,000 hours per week to WordPress, WP Engine contributes just 40 hours a week. Now, before I go any further, I want to be fully transparent and disclose that WP Engine has been a sponsor of my channel. This video is not sponsored by WP Engine and no one from WP Engine or Automattic has seen this video before it's published. My goal here is to report the details of this developing story and also get my take on the future of WordPress given the conflict. So with that out of the way, let's continue with what happened after Matt's blog post. Many including myself, thought it was a bit strange that Matt chose the week of WordCamp US to publish this blog post. But despite the tension WordCamp continued, with WP Engine being one of the top sponsors of this very event. But things really heated up on the last day. In the closing keynote by Matt Mullenweg, he not only read his blog post on stage, but he doubled down on his calls to boycott WP Engine. - So it's at this point to ask everyone in the WordPress community to go vote with your wallet. Who are you giving your money to? Someone who's going to nourish ecosystem? Or someone who's going to frack every bit of value out of it until it withers? - [Interviewer] It's almost like you're calling for a strike from end users, developers, so on and so forth. - Well, I hope that we can get every single WP Engine customer to watch this presentation and that when their renewal time comes up, they think about that. - He made it clear that he wasn't able to reach a reasonable contribution agreement with the leadership at the private equity firm that owns WP Engine. And because of this, customers should consider their options when their account comes up for renewal. So basically, Matt was encouraging the audience to vote with their wallets, and if the audience believes that WP Engine isn't contributing enough to WordPress, maybe they should take their business elsewhere. It's the most interesting conclusion to a WordCamp I've ever experienced. Immediately, the audience was conflicted. Some have had great experiences with WP Engine and are appreciative of the services they provide. Yet others trust that Matt is looking out for the health of WordPress, and if he's willing to stand on stage and risk his reputation, there must be a genuine threat to the future of WordPress. After WordCamp, things heated up more. Matt continued taking shots at WP Engine on his social media, and WP Engine sent a cease and desist letter requesting that he stop making false statements about their company. In response, Automattic sent a cease and desist letter to WP Engine informing them that they violated the WordPress trademark for their use of WordPress and certain plan names. But things really reached a boiling point when Matt published a blog post on Wordpress.org titled, "WP Engine is Banned from Wordpress.org." He explained that until this conflict is resolved, WP Engine no longer has free access to WordPress.org's resources. This means that WP Engine servers could no longer access the WordPress update servers, plugin directory, theme directory, and more. Immediately, WP Engine customers started reporting error messages in their dashboards saying they couldn't update their plugins or install new ones. It was at this moment that I began to question, is this the beginning of the end of WordPress? Now, if you haven't already figured it out, WordPress is complicated. The WordPress project is free and open source, but the WordPress trademark is controlled by the WordPress Foundation. Automattic has an exclusive commercial license to the trademark with the option of sublicensing it to other brands as they see fit. Additionally, Wordpress.org is owned by Matt Mullenweg, meaning the service that hosts the plugin repository and theme repository are funded and run by Matt. So while this has never happened before, it is technically within Matt's authority to suspend the use of the Wordpress.org repository however he sees fit. This caused a lot of panic in the community wondering what would happen next. Many believe that Matt set a dangerous precedent by taking things this far. By blocking WP Engine from using Wordpress.org, this was no longer just a corporate conflict. It was something that affected the core functionality of over 1.5 million websites hosted on WP Engine. So why is this happening? Why now, and why WP Engine? I believe things have heated up aggressively because Matt Mullenweg fears for the future of the WordPress project. He knows that new adoption is slowing, and in many ways the platform feels dated and stale. He hopes that by increasing contributions, he can bring new life to the platform. Matt and Automattic are already pouring so much into WordPress. No one can deny that. So perhaps the best way to increase contributions is by other companies reinvesting some of their profits. I believe Matt targeted WP Engine because they're the biggest company in the WordPress ecosystem next to Automattic. So if anyone has funding to increase core contributions, it's WP Engine. Matt appeared on a recent live stream on the prime time and stated that WordPress would get, quote, way better with WP Engine contributing 8% of their revenue. This shows you exactly where his head is at. He wants to see WordPress improved at a faster pace, and he's targeting the biggest opportunity first. But why 8%? Isn't the entire point of Five for the Future to contribute 5%? It seems like this number was just pulled out of thin air. You can agree or disagree with Matt's charge to WP Engine to contribute more, but I think it's important to highlight that contributions to WordPress can go far beyond core development. First, WP Engine has been a top sponsor of every major WordCamp I've attended. WordCamp tickets typically cost between 50 and 100 dollars, making them highly affordable. But the actual cost per attendee is far more than this. So sponsors like WP Engine helps subsidize the ticket costs to make WordCamp accessible to as many people possible. Now, Automattic is also a major sponsor of WordCamps, but WP Engine is certainly contributing by helping bring people together for these in-person events. WP Engine also owns and maintains advanced custom fields. This is one of the most widely used WordPress plugins that's supercharges functionality, and they continue to offer a capable free version since acquiring the plugin two years ago. Also, I found it interesting that although Automattic far out contributes WP Engine when it comes to WordPress core development, WP Engine was still a top contributor to WordPress 6.6 as highlighted in this visual by RT Camp. I'm not here to choose sides and say that WP Engine is better than Automattic or vice versa. Both companies are highly valuable to the WordPress ecosystem. I've worked with some incredible employees at WP Engine, and I've also got some amazing friends at Automattic. But I ultimately believe that no matter how this situation is resolved, WordPress development won't increase all that much. On one hand, this could turn into a lawsuit between WP Engine and Automattic. And if WP Engine wins, then nothing really changes. On the other hand, if Automattic wins, theoretically core contributions will increase. But I fear this sets a dangerous precedent that will leave many WordPress developers weary of investing their time and livelihood into the platform. I'm left wondering where this ends. After WP Engine, who could be next? If web posts and plugin developers fear that they could be targeted at any time, they may ultimately lose motivation to be part of the WordPress community, ultimately stagnating growth and stifling innovation. Matt is putting his entire reputation on the line with this dispute, and the WordPress community is already starting to lose trust. Matt's decision to ban WP Engine from Wordpress.org is incredibly confusing. Matt seems genuinely committed and passionate about WordPress. He's fighting for what he believes is right to ensure the long-term success of the project. But he's pushed boundaries so far that over a million websites were handicapped just so he could make his point. And I'll be honest, I don't understand this. It's one thing to fight for what you believe in. It's another thing to cripple the very thing you believe in in the process. Matt just made his case in his blog posts last month for customers to consider their options when their plan comes up for renewal at WP Engine. Many users have annual plans that could have 11 months left, and after he just put out the call to the community for the first time, he's already doing things to affect live websites. Unfortunately, I don't believe either outcome will result in his significant increase to core contributions, and that's ultimately what's needed to modernize WordPress to better compete with closed source platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow. But hang on, is that really the problem with WordPress? Matt's belief seems to be that the slow growth of WordPress is the result of a product problem. If he can increase contributions, he can move the vision forward faster and growth will pick up. But I'm not sure that's possible. You can't have the polishing consistency of a closed source product with the benefits of open source. And that's why I believe that the real issue with WordPress is not a product problem. It's a marketing problem. I don't use WordPress because it's a shiny easy to use platform. I use it because I believe in open source. I believe in owning my data. I believe in having full control over my websites. WordPress doesn't have to compete with the features of a closed source platform because it has a major advantage. It's infinitely customizable and no one has control over my website. Even in the case of WP Engine losing access to Wordpress.org, Matt Mullenweg in Wordpress.org don't have control over your website. You can still update and install plugins and themes manually by downloading the ZIP files and uploading them to your website. When I launched Trailer Academy for my online courses, I was tempted to go with Teachable or Kajabi, something that was easy and convenient. But I stuck to WordPress because I can be fully in control of my data. I don't have to worry about my website platform randomly raising my price or customer service declining, and I have full customization to make the site my own. I don't think many people understand this massive benefit of WordPress. That's because WordPress marketing is in a bubble. Who does every web host, theme, and plugin market to? Existing WordPress users. Use our web hosting for your WordPress site. Use our form plugin for your WordPress site. Use our theme for your WordPress site. But no one is really doing brand awareness marketing for WordPress itself. Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are aggressively pouring money into influencer marketing. It's impossible to watch YouTube or listen to a podcast without hearing a Shopify ad. But when was the last time you heard a WordPress ad? Companies in the WordPress ecosystem are doing influencer marketing, but again they're just marketing to existing WordPress users. When I started attending WordCamps two years ago at the age of 21, I was shocked that I barely saw anyone my age. Most people seem to be in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s. I couldn't believe it. I thought tech was hip and cool and that I would see way more Gen Z attendees. James Brooks noticed the same thing at WordCamp US this year. He wrote a wonderful blog post about it where he stated that he only met one person at WordCamp under 25. That was me, by the way. So how do we get more Gen Z using WordPress? How do we increase the trajectory of adoption? I think it's a simple brand awareness issue. Gen Z wants to spend their money on products that align with their values. And I know personally that I would much rather invest my time into a CMS and website builder that values the freedom to do whatever I want. And that's why WordPress was created. In Matt's blog post that started this entire conflict, he said that WordPress is all about a simple yet groundbreaking idea, that software can give you more freedom, freedom to hack, freedom to charge, freedom to break it, freedom to do things he disagrees with, freedom to experiment, and freedom to be yourself. And I don't know about you, but I'm all for freedom. So is this the end of WordPress? Absolutely not. I mean, WordPress powers over 43% of the internet. So let's be real. WordPress is not going anywhere anytime soon. But is this the beginning of the end of WordPress? Possibly. But it doesn't have to be. Now is the time for the WordPress community to come together and double down on marketing. WordPress has a brand awareness problem. If we can solve that, I believe WordPress will thrive for years to come, even if the product isn't as polished as closed source competitors. Only time will tell how this conflict will play out, but I believe it's ultimately a distraction from the real problem WordPress is facing. If you're new to WordPress and want to know how to get started, check out this tutorial here., The END of WordPress?, Craylor Made, 01j974xppcwkdj9vga2n13f55e.