In a valley between the hills was the Garden of Code. At its center stood a fountain called WordPress, looked after by gardeners known as the Core Contributors.

Its water brought ideas to life. People came to plant digital seeds, and websites grew from them like flowers.

One day, merchants arrived. They saw the fountain and the people gathered around it. “We could carry this water to more people,” they said.

The Hosting Giants, as they came to be known, built pipes and reservoirs. They rented plots to newcomers and supplied them with water and gardening tools.

Millions of new plots appeared, and the Hosting Giants made a lot of money.

But as their businesses grew, the merchants sent fewer gardeners to help maintain the fountain. They occasionally threw in a coin, though they kept most of what they earned.

The Core Contributors struggled to keep up. “We need more hands,” they said. “We can’t keep this running ourselves.”

Some of the smaller plot-holders came to help. It wasn’t enough.

Bad code grew like weeds. Malware got into the garden. The fountain still flowed, but it couldn’t keep up with demand.

One dry summer, an old gardener called a meeting. The Hosting Giants reluctantly sent representatives.

“The fountain needs repairs,” the gardener said. “You’ve earned the most from it. We need your help.”

“But we built the aqueducts,” the merchants said. “We’ve brought the water to more people than ever.”

“You have,” said the gardener. “But someone still has to look after the fountain.”

The fountain sputtered. Everyone stopped talking.

One merchant stepped forward. “We should have helped sooner,” they said. “We’ll send more people.”

The others agreed to contribute code, fund security work and help the gardeners.

The Hosting Giants worked alongside the Core Contributors and the smaller plot-holders. The fountain kept flowing.

If your business depends on the garden, help take care of it.