Is developing Wordpress plugins still a good way for a solo dev to earn money? Or has the market become too crowded to succeed without spending a lot on marketing?
I wouldn’t stick only to plugins. You could also work on themes or even customize them. If you’re good at PHP, Bootstrap, and HTML/CSS, you’ll have an edge.
That said, there are tons of Wordpress sites and developers. Being versatile is a must these days.
@Sam
Thanks for the input. Though when I check sites like ThemeForest, it seems like selling themes is super competitive. Most themes are sold in bundles, which takes a solo dev ages to create. Or am I missing something?
@Jaden
Honestly, you could stand out by focusing on simplicity. Most Wordpress themes are bloated and often require loads of plugins to work. Why not aim for a super lightweight theme? There’s definitely a demand for that.
@Harley
Appreciate the suggestion. A lightweight theme sounds like a good idea. I’ll do some research and see if it’s worth focusing on.
Honestly, no. Wordpress makes it easy for non-tech users to set up a site. They load it with low-quality plugins, outdated themes, and expect everything to run perfectly. When something breaks, they’ll blame your plugin. As a solo dev, dealing with that will take all your time.
@Remington
Thanks for sharing your experience. Have you launched plugins before? I’m curious if you’ve had any success attracting paying users despite the challenges.
Jaden said:
@Remington
Thanks for sharing your experience. Have you launched plugins before? I’m curious if you’ve had any success attracting paying users despite the challenges.
Yeah, I have. It’s tough to get noticed unless you spend on ads. Even free plugins struggle if people don’t know they exist. Getting to $100k means a lot of support work, which eats up your time for development.
@Remington
Got it. Thanks for the detailed response. I’ll keep that in mind moving forward.
It could work if you find the right clients. In 2020, I made $25k for a custom plugin that took a month to build. Some clients want highly specific features for their Wordpress sites, and you can sell those as plugins.
@Blayne
Agreed. I just finished a site for $40k with custom e-commerce, user accounts, and data handling. It took two months. My agency does both small sites ($2-5k) and larger custom projects ($10-50k). The big ones are where I put my focus.
@Firth
Nice work. Tailwind and React are great tools to work with.
@Blayne
Impressive. Good to know there are still opportunities out there.
If you’re skilled with React and Gutenberg, there’s definitely potential.
Arden said:
If you’re skilled with React and Gutenberg, there’s definitely potential.
Appreciate your thoughts. Do you have any recommended resources for learning Gutenberg?
Arden said:
If you’re skilled with React and Gutenberg, there’s definitely potential.
Appreciate your thoughts. Do you have any recommended resources for learning Gutenberg?
That could be another angle—creating resources or courses to teach Gutenberg.
@Arden
True. Teaching tools always have a market.
Jaden said:
@Arden
True. Teaching tools always have a market.
For sure, always a safe bet.
