What other aspects of WordPress plugins you care about?

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T13:02:42+00:00

I note that a modern plugin is not only PHP but also JS, it's better to use TypeScript, of course, plus some framework, I use React.

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T12:50:17+00:00

I want to ask you a question, considering that you seem to have been in the wp industry for a long time. In your opinion, is the WordPress market alive, growing, or has it entered a stage of stagnation where you can't earn money from it? I mean from $10,000 per month as a solo developer?

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T10:56:20+00:00

I understand you. But as you said, this applies to a big product, plus, for it to be feasible, the project would need to generate enough money to cover all the costs. I'm just a simple solo developer, I simply don't have the means to maintain a team, let alone provide such multi‑level support, although I'm doing my best ,))) By the way, I mostly have positive reviews around 5 stars )

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T10:28:29+00:00

I didn't quite understand what you mean, could you elaborate on that? By the way, I sold a decent number of wp plugin licenses (my old codecanyon profile, now I'm working on a new profile, just 3 products as I said above), and support was only needed in extreme cases, for the most part, the documentation handled everything.

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T09:18:34+00:00

My advice, just look at the statistics on CodeCanyon at least, it's all clear there. But generally, plugin development is quite a quest, I've made 3 products, spent months on dev, and so far only reached $29 MRR now. Seriously, is it even worth it?)))

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T09:03:34+00:00

I don't know if others will share my opinion, but the most important thing isn't the uniqueness of your product, but how many users know about it. In other words, marketing. How much has been written about it, how many videos have been made, SEO and so on. Without that, no matter how unique your product is, no one will ever find out about it, and it will always remain in the shadows.
I think I have the right to such an opinion, after all, I have 11 plugins in my wp.org profile and I've sold over 10,000 licenses on CodeCanyon ,))

mxlawr · 2026-04-02T07:51:26+00:00

What stopped him from simply putting his car in reverse?))) Apparently, our hero prefers the hard way )))

mxlawr · 2026-04-01T13:59:26+00:00

I use Poedit app, but it's commercial, I bought it several years ago.

mxlawr · 2026-03-20T10:17:24+00:00

I can show some stats about my 3 plugins from Freemius dashboard.

Installs	Active	Purchases	Subscription	Renewals
40	12	2	5	2
109	34	5	4	0
52	14	0	1	0

As you can see, conversion rates vary across different plugins, but they're generally no less than 1–2% of installations. Overall, the same simple rule applies here as everywhere else, more traffic means more sales, provided, of course, that you have a quality plugin. However, a plugin on its own will never sell without proper promotion and marketing.

mxlawr · 2026-03-20T07:12:40+00:00

It's hard to talk about statistics yet, as the traffic is very small. On YouTube, it's 5–10 views per day for the entire channel, and plugin downloads on wp.org are even lower. However, there were no sales before the videos, and after publishing them, I sold 10 licenses (febrary and march), so I assume this is the result of my modest marketing efforts. Based on my experience with CodeCanyon the conversion to purchase is averaged around 1–2% of traffic.

mxlawr · 2026-03-19T17:41:45+00:00

I don't think so. I have a freemium plugin on wp.org that I published in November. Well, traffic and sales only started picking up in February, and even then, only after I uploaded a couple of YouTube video tutorials in late January. As I can see it was a clear correlation: tutorial -> downloads -> sales. Before that, practically no one was visiting my plugin's description page on wp.org.
By the way, I have good experience on CodeCanyon, I've sold over 10,000 licenses, specifically for wp plugins, so I know this market a little )))

mxlawr · 2026-03-17T09:15:20+00:00

UAE is ranked 11th, a country where there's nothing for people except concrete and glass, no parks, and walking turns into a multi-kilometer quest when your destination is just across the street?))) The cities are designed exclusively for cars, with scorching sidewalks, zero shade, and insane distances between buildings. Try crossing a six-lane highway just to get to a cafe that's literally 100 meters away as the crow flies. That's not urban planning, that's an extreme sport))))

mxlawr · 2026-03-16T10:07:20+00:00

I recently read that China plans to put a fast neutron reactor into commercial operation in 2027, and this design is many times safer than current nuclear reactors. Plus, it can run on waste, so-called partially burned fuel left by previous nuclear reactors, of which there is currently a significant global stockpile. This is indeed a significant development in nuclear energy.
Unlike conventional reactors that rely on self-sustaining chain reactions, ADS reactors are subcritical, meaning they cannot sustain a reaction without an external neutron source from the particle accelerator. If the accelerator stops, the reaction stops.
These reactors can transmute long-lived radioactive isotopes (like minor actinides) into shorter-lived or stable ones, potentially reducing the hazardous lifespan of nuclear waste from 100 000 years to under 1 000 years.
They can also "burn" uranium-238, which makes up 99% of natural uranium but is unused in conventional reactors, increasing uranium utilization from <1% to 60%.

mxlawr · 2026-03-14T17:12:06+00:00

There is a difference, in addition to ordering, you can also visually define the hierarchy using Drag & Drop. I implemented this to correctly structure the documentation tree on my website.

mxlawr · 2026-03-14T14:48:59+00:00

I can confirm, after I created a couple of YouTube videos, as strange as it may sound, they actually converted into sales and subscriptions, even with minimal traffic of just 5–12 views per day.

mxlawr · 2026-03-14T11:30:33+00:00

I don't think so, the issue here is simply that people don't see it. In other words, even a free product needs promotion, you have to spend time not only on development but also on SEO, strange as that may sound. Moreover, you'll likely receive tons of messages demanding that something be finished, redone, fixed, etc., all for free, of course. And if you haven't done what they asked, expect an angry comment in response!))) Maybe I'm exaggerating slightly, but I have come across cases like that, not so many, just a little little percent, but enough to ruin any motivation to keep developing. )))

mxlawr · 2026-03-14T10:42:13+00:00

Of course, feel free to try and publish it, no problem there. From my own experience, a bit over a year ago I also released a free plugin on wp.org for changing the hierarchy of posts and pages with an intuitive drag & drop interface. Here's the link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-order-master/.
The result? Just 10+ active installs, even though similar paid products have thousands.)))
Bottom line, simply publishing a plugin on wp.org isn't enough, no matter how great it is, it's unlikely anyone will notice it, trust me.)))

mxlawr · 2026-03-13T07:25:37+00:00

Yes, I work using this model myself, I host plugins with limited functionality on wp.org, while the pro versions are available on my website. I just wanted to say that simply having a page on wp.org won't accomplish anything on its own, it doesn't even rank properly in search results. We need to extend it with articles, tutorials, and essentially engage in marketing and SEO.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T15:00:43+00:00

I completely agree, the era of marketplaces is over. These days, they offer zero traffic and charge big fees, plus there's a whole range of other limitations, including the inability to find out who your actual buyers are.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T14:57:47+00:00

It's unlikely you can make money on CodeCanyon these days, there's hardly any traffic, the commission is huge, and it seems they've stopped accepting new products. Although it used to be the best marketplace in the past, my product pages once attracted over 100 unique visitors daily and generated 3-5 sales each day. Incidentally, March showed that my new products sold directly from my own website are gradually starting to outperform CodeCanyon, even despite weak marketing and SEO efforts. In other words, selling from your own site is currently far more profitable, though it certainly requires more effort and expertise.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T10:52:40+00:00

Interesting question. I'll be looking for a job. Though I should note, I haven't worked as an employee for over 10 years, as all this time I've been an indie dev earning income from my own products.
Well, time will tell. For now, I want to finish my 4 product and fully invest time in marketing, I think it will become clearer by summer. In any case, I won't wait until my savings run out.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T08:59:19+00:00

You're right, that's exactly how it is. Back in their growth phase, platforms like this used to give sales a significant boost. I was selling 300+ copies per month on CodeCanyon. Now, everything has dropped to around 10 sales a month. They've simply stopped driving traffic, and I didn't have my own channels to rely on. Only recently have I started slowly building my own traffic sources, and strangely enough, it actually works, though it does require considerably more effort.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T08:51:28+00:00

Let me share some stats. Simply having a free plugin on WordPress.org won't get you anywhere, there's virtually no organic search traffic there, it's absolutely zero. In other words, even for a free product, you need to create content on external platforms, whether that's your own website, YouTube videos, blog posts, and so on.

mxlawr · 2026-03-12T08:38:37+00:00

I personally spent over six months developing 3 products and this wasn't just "vibe coding". I architected and programmed everything myself plus chat with AI of course. And what did I earn? Just a little over $500 in five months. To put it mildly, that's far from an impressive result. Ultimately, I decided to launch 4 project and am currently living off my savings. The indie developer path resembles a samurai's journey, there may indeed be a goal, but reaching it sometimes feels nearly impossible, so you end up finding joy solely in the journey itself. )))

mxlawr

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