I've used Wordpress since 2006, when, in need of a dynamic website, and not knowing any programming language, I managed to build my own custom WP theme within a couple of weeks. WP's ease of use has always been its main asset. I've built dozens of professional custom themes for paying clients for the best part of a decade.

However, two aspects of WP that were always pain points were: local development and hosting. That's where WP Engine provided solutions.

While being more expensive than other platforms, hosting a WP website with them is a great experience, whether in terms of installing, managing, or reliability.

And recently, I had to update an old WP instance for a client. Having no local install available, I looked into new tools to setup one. Turns out WP Engine's tool called "Local" is what Automattic should have provided 10 years ago. It's a fantastic piece of software that "just works"!

It seems like Automattic feels jealous that another company managed to build upon their own open source product to provide a better experience in every aspect (development, managing, hosting) and are making bank. Good for WP Engine.