Movable Type Vs. WordPress: The Role of Hosting

Byrne Reese is a former project manager at Movable Type and current chairman of the project’s open source spinoff, Melody. Recently he wrote a controversial piece about the battle of the blogging software: How did WordPress Win?

Movable Type was WordPress’ rival, but it failed to keep pace with the fast-moving industry. In 2004, it hit licensing problems, and Automattic’s marketing made WordPress a formidable opponent. Movable Type also failed to gain traction with its users.

There may be one more factor, though: the role of web hosting providers.

How Did Hosts Fail Movable Type?

Do a Google search for Movable Type hosts. You’ll find only a few hosts that mention Movable Type, and almost none that specialise in it.

WordPress, on the other hand, is supported almost everywhere. Automattic even lists some hosts on its website.

Why did Movable Type get left behind?

• WordPress’ GPL licensing made it more suitable for use in a hosting environment. It sits naturally with other GPL software such as Linux, MySQL etc.
• PHP makes WordPress easier to install and maintain than PERL. This greatly reduces support issues for WordPress for the host, so it’s cheaper.
• WordPress can be included in Fantastico De Luxe, the most popular one-click script installer for cPanel hosts.
• Automattic has proactively promoted WordPress among hosts.

As WordPress grew, users began to demand it. WordPress became a default choice for many users, and it quickly outgrew its competition.

Hosts Have Influence

Hosting companies can make or break software, pushing one competitor and leaving another behind.

How?

• Hosts create precedents and habits. Hosts pushed WordPress, and users stuck with it.
• When a host lists a CMS in their feature list, they’re placing it at the forefront of the buying decision.
• Even if hosts don’t really support the CMS, the fact that they offer a one-click install is often enough to convince customers to use it.

People who are unaware of the technical debate are still influenced by all of these things.

The lesson is pretty clear. Software developers need hosts on-side from day one.