Business

WordPress plugin businesses are incredible. I’ve seen developers code a plugin over a week, launch on the WordPress Plugin Directory for free, create a premium version, and a few months later, have a thriving business making a sizable income. These “mini tech startups” amaze me. So I decided to analyze them a bit and see just why they are the perfect business to launch…and then tell you why it may not be that easy. 1. They Are Lean Startups Eric Ries coined the term “Lean Startup”, borrowed from principles of lean manufacturing. In short, it is a set of principles […]

There are various performance indicators used to determine the success of a WordPress plugin. Most plugin developers tend to focus on distribution — i.e., how to get more installs — but forget to tackle the churn rate. And you know what, no one can blame us! How could we, plugin developers, focus on churn? Until March 2015, the only number WordPress.org exposed was the total number of downloads. A new counter was then added to estimate the number of active installs. How can plugin developers gather any valuable insight from these two numbers alone? It’s quite simple, they can’t. The […]

Looking to start a WordPress business? Not a freelancing business. One that offers a product or service (or even productized services). And that you plan to scale. If that is you, then keep reading. I want to teach you the lessons I’ve learned since starting my business a year ago (you can learn about my business by reading my author bio at the end of the article). Obviously, these lessons apply to the early stages of your company. As you grow, things will change. And parts of these lessons will no longer apply to you. So, let me teach you […]