I’ve been thinking a lot about the dangers of becoming overly reliant on a single technology—something I experienced firsthand at my shop nGen Works and it sucked. We leaned heavily on one CMS, only to realize later how risky it was once we met the founders.
Surprise, history repeats itself!
Now, we’re seeing a similar situation with the recent dispute between Automattic (WordPress) and WP Engine. With what felt very unprofessional and barely thought through, the situation escalated to WP Engine users being blocked from critical resources, impacting a lot of agencies and their clients. Both of whom probably wonder if they should continue to use the product in the future.
This raises a question we should ask frequently when looking at our tech stacks: is it worth being loyal to one solution? Especially when an entire ecosystem can be disrupted by an emotional response to a business disagreement? Let's take a look.
The Risk of Relying on One Technology
When we rely too much on one platform, we are putting our business at risk. We saw this firsthand with the recent WordPress and WP Engine fallout. Whether it’s a technical issue or a business conflict, this kind of dependence can hit you hard if things go wrong. And it's not just WordPress. Let’s look at a few of the key risks relying on one technology can cause and how you can protect your agency from getting stuck in a similar situation or getting stuck again.
Security Gaps
The WP Engine situation serves as a reminder of how critical updates are to maintaining security. When WP Engine users were suddenly removed from plugin updates, their sites became vulnerable to potential threats. Any time you rely on a single platform for updates, patches, or security, you risk being left exposed if that platform experiences an outage or a dispute. This scenario is not unique—similar situations have played out with other major providers, such as when AWS outages disrupted operations for companies around the globe, leaving them vulnerable and scrambling for fixes.
Platform Instability
We’ve all seen what happens when a platform becomes unstable—whether it’s due to a technical failure, a business dispute, or an update gone wrong. The WP Engine debacle is a perfect example of how even reliable systems can crumble. It’s not just WP Engine, either. Remember the Fastly outage in 2021 that took down vast portions of the internet? Even the most trusted providers can fail, and if you’re too dependent on one platform, you’ll be caught in the crossfire when things go south.
Ecosystem Overlords
The WordPress/WP Engine dispute shows just how fragile an ecosystem can be when one company holds too much control. In this case, WordPress’s ability to shut down access to vital resources for WP Engine customers caused widespread disruption. This isn’t just about WordPress, though—think about the massive global impact when Google Cloud or Azure experiences outages. If one provider can singlehandedly cripple your operations, it’s a sign you’ve given them too much power over your business.
Competitive Challenges
Relying on a single platform like WordPress can limit your ability to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. While WordPress powers nearly half of the web, that also means your competitors are likely offering the same services. When the platform experiences issues—like the WP Engine debacle—you and your competitors are equally affected, leaving you without a competitive edge. This is similar to the problems during the recent CrowdStrike incident, where multiple companies were hit at once, and everyone was left scrambling for solutions.
I get it—sometimes it feels easier to stick with the tool everyone is using, and having too many options can be overwhelming to manage. It’s tempting to rely on what’s familiar and widely accepted. But the key is to be thoughtful about your choices. You don’t have to ditch the tools that work for you, but be mindful of the risks that come with putting all your trust in one platform. Make sure you’ve got a strategy in place to adapt when things don’t go as planned. A little extra preparation can save you a lot of headaches down the road.
At nGen, we realized our mistake of becoming too dependent on one CMS and started to broaden our skills and offerings. It wasn't easy, but it was necessary to future-proof our business. The situation with WP Engine should be a wake-up call for any agency built solely on WordPress. Most likely, this isn't the end of the squabble.
I'd love to hear if this recent silliness impacted you and how you're adapting your business as a result.