wordpress — 🌐 Justin's Blog

WordPress Plugins are in Trouble

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:59:09 +0000

Some WordPress plugin businesses won't survive this.

If you spend any time on social media, you'll see that revenue is coming down for WordPress plugin businesses, and who knows where they'll bottom out. Honestly, some of them are screwed, and it's not looking good for others.

For as long as I can remember, the defensible position for most plugins has always been:

Feature gating
Add-ons
Support

There are others to consider, but these have always been the main reasons why you'd renew a license. Today, Claude (or pretty much any AI offering) sorta makes them less critical.

For example, consider a plugin that revokes access to certain settings unless you have a valid license code. Or, one that shows a constant license nag on your dashboard. Well, now you can just whip up Claude and tell it to remove the code that does this and you're done. You don't have to be a developer, it just takes a couple of seconds.

For add-ons, it does sort of depend on the scope. Those that add simple integrations are no longer a necessary buy. Why pay extra to connect to Mailchimp when AI can just whip up a mini-plugin for you? Pretty much any connector add-on is a quick fix. Okay, it's perhaps a tad longer if you're not a developer through trial and error. But if you have a client and you're a dev, you can save your client money by just having AI build out the connection really quick.

There will always be a need for support, but less so now when you can just ask AI for help to troubleshoot something. This is especially true for plugins that are more of a utility. Now, on the other side of this is that many plugin companies are using AI to help them give better support. Of the three, this one is the area that is still a strong motivator to renew a license, plugin depending.

Now What?

You know, I don't have a definitive solution for this one. I don't think anyone does as the market sands are still shifting. AI has really challenged the status quo of tech.

For me, here are the areas I'd be thinking about if running a WordPress plugin business:

Community

AI can't recreate it. This is a wedge. This is why someone will want to renew. Many plugins have big communities but they are an afterthought. Some even consider them a burden. It's time to make it a top priority. For example, I would start evaluating the utility of adding a Slack or Discord offering. Or, potentially investing more heavily into a FB group if it already exists.

SaaS Certain Features

Look for the areas that create the most support and try to find a way to make those a SaaS to improve user experience, dependability and to reduce headaches for both you and your customers. If you're hung up on keeping that part of the code open source, you can still do so if you want (though it's not necessary).

Invest in New Marketing

Blogging is still worth it, on some level, but if that's all you do then time to move into new areas. Connection matters, and for the moment, YouTube is how you do that. I'd invest heavily into YouTube to bring about the human element in an AI world (this goes back to my first point on community).

WordPress Isn't Going Anywhere

This is not the “death” of the platform by any means. New avenues are going to open up, and that means for WordPress plugins as well. This is just a market shift, and there will be some growing pains along the way. For some, this means the end of their business. That's the nature of the free market.

#WordPress

Backend Demos in WordPress

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 14:36:40 +0000

Your sandbox demo site is not helping.

I'm aging myself here, but I remember a time in WordPress when product demos weren’t even a thing. All you had to do was show some screenshots of your settings, a screenshot or two of the frontend, and that was enough for the buyer.

Ah, the good old days.

Alas, things have changed, and in today’s WordPress business landscape, product companies need to “wow” a prospective customer. One way people are choosing to do this is by providing a demo site.

Some WordPress products even let you spin up a demo site to play around with the product. In exchange for your email address, you get a “sandbox” of sorts to see the software in action.

I'm fine with this, but only if the demo site looks good. However, almost every single one of them is a shitty experience.

I touched on this briefly in my letter to WordPress founders, but I wanted to add just a little more context.

WordPress’ Backend is a Terrible Sales Tool

Imagine you're a prospective customer of a WordPress product, but you're not overly familiar with WordPress.

You sign up for a demo, and you're suddenly dropped into the admin dashboard, filled with countless menu items, random widgets, and a slew of admin notices.

Not a great experience, right?

As a result, prospective customers may assume your product is just as confusing, and now you're facing an uphill battle.

If you then navigate to the frontend demo of the site, and it's not impressive (perhaps it's just a bare-bones skeleton theme), then the thread has been lost. There is now a massive disconnect between their experience on that demo site, and the flashy sales pages.

Which brings me to an important point: very few people get excited about the “how”, they care about the “what”. As in, what it looks like, what it could be for them. You need to show them how awesome it can be!

Focus on The Wow Factor!

Let that sink in.

If you have a product demo, does it get people excited?

Are you selling, or showing?

Because the flat-out-truth is that showing is not good enough anymore. Your conversion rates will tank. Honestly, you’d be better off with screenshots than letting someone into the mess that is the WordPress dashboard.

Always remember that your goal is to make your product shine in every aspect, to make every customer interaction as impressive as possible. You need to get prospective customers feeling positive emotions.

Does your demo do that?

#WordPress

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How I Grew LearnDash

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:03:45 +0000

Most Popular Posts of 2024

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:44:48 +0000

I wrote 36 blog posts this year - here are the most popular ones.

Writing has always been a form of therapy for me. I enjoy the reflection, the physical process, and just documenting my experiences for future reference. I write about topics ranging from personal events, entrepreneurship, WordPress, mindfulness, politics, health, and happiness.

As you would expect, some posts are more popular than others. Below are my five most popular posts in 2024 based on number of views:

Occasionally I write on Medium. Here are my top three articles this year:

Stay in The Know

While I often blog, I don't always email my list. I try to limit it to just one email a month, sometimes two. And these are typically my better posts, not my personal ones where I'm documenting my life.

If you're not already, then you can subscribe below. I don't spam my list, and I value your privacy (there is no email tracking).

Also, if you're up for it, let's connect on Bluesky!

Have a great holiday!

#WordPress #entrepreneurship

WordPress Flocks to Bluesky

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:40:42 +0000

Large portions of the WordPress Twitter community are migrating over to Bluesky.

In the past week, the WordPress community has been joining the growing “X-Odus” of users leaving X/Twitter, finding a new digital home on the emerging social platform Bluesky.

As Bluesky's growth accelerates, WordPress professionals are leveraging community-curated “Starter Packs” – curated lists of WordPress developers, designers, and community leaders that users can follow with a single click. These packs are rapidly accelerating the rebuild of professional networks that took years to cultivate on X.

A Welcomed Change

The migration appears to be driven by more than just X fatigue. Bluesky's decentralized structure, customizable algorithms, and ad-free environment are resonating with the WordPress community's open-source values.

The platform also offers the ability to fine-tune feed content and moderation settings. This, combined with high follow-back rates among WordPress professionals, is fostering stronger engagement than they've seen in recent years on other platforms.

As more of the community makes the switch, these WordPress Starter Packs are becoming valuable resources for maintaining professional connections, and they are helpful for finding folks with similar interests.

One, or Both?

Does this mean X/Twitter is no longer relevant? No, of course not.

As of today, there is still a very strong WordPress community on Twitter, and that probably isn't going to change anytime soon. Many people, myself included, are posting on both platforms.

That said, I'm more active on Bluesky than Twitter now. I'll continue to maintain my Twitter account for the time being and will assess how things play out over time. I may shut down Twitter altogether.

If you're timid about getting started, don't be! It's easy to build up a network, and you can always follow me, and I’ll gladly follow you back! 🦋

#WordPress

The Right to Remain Silent

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 14:55:12 +0000

The often forgotten protection of the First Amendment can only help Automattic.

The very public battle between Matt Mullenweg (Automattic) and WP Engine won't be ending anytime soon. From pettiness to legal challenges, to extremely questionable actions – things have been getting very messy. And not for WP Engine, but for Matt.

Given the actions of Matt over the last few weeks, WP Engine has filed an injunction. Essentially, they are trying to shut him up (and stop his actions) because of the damage he is causing to their company. The law specifically provides them with this option, and while I'm far from a lawyer, it looks to have been used appropriately. We'll see how a judge rules on the matter.

An Attack on Free Speech?

In response to this action by WP Engine, Matt wrote a blog post on how his First Amendment right has been attacked.

I can understand this reaction, on some level. No one likes to be told to “stop talking”. The emotional response is often to cite it as a violation of the First Amendment. Now, if Matt really wanted to, he could keep doing what he has been doing, but I suspect his legal team has advised against it.

The First Amendment protects free expression from government censorship or retaliation, but what people often forget is that it also inherently includes the right to remain silent.

Staying silent is prudent, and it's often underutilized. People love to spout off, and they should if they should feel so inclined. However, the sound of silence can be deafening.

The ability to not be goaded into fiery online spats and to hold your word, and peace, close to the vest is a virtue that not many people have. Very few, in fact. And it becomes exceptionally difficult when you feel like you're being attacked, personally.

Protection From Yourself

Your right to remain silent can save your ass. There's the obvious example of refraining from answering questions from the police, but its protection goes beyond just that scenario.

If you're in an ugly lawsuit, as is the case here with Matt and WP Engine, then it also protects you from yourself. Specifically, it protects you from your emotions.

Emotions aren't rational, they are jaded by your own perception. When you act out of emotion, you're broadcasting a very personalized worldview, and that worldview may be wrong in the eyes of a jury. Especially if it's emotionally charged.

Exercising your right to remain silent is honorable. In fact, I'd argue that there are times when it is more powerful than speaking freely. Matt has indicated that he will be staying silent until the judge makes a ruling on the injunction.

I hope that he sees the value in exercising this right.

#WordPress

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Blogging Alternative to WordPress

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 14:03:15 +0000

My favorite platform for blogging.

Given all the WordPress drama that has been going on, I've seen a number of tweets from people searching for other platforms to use. In light of this, I figured I'd share what I've been using for a number of years now for blogging.

To clarify, this is not a CMS, so if you are looking for a CMS replacement then this one isn't it. However, if you just want to switch over to something reliable and simple for blogging — then keep reading.

In the summer of 2021, I decided to move my personal blog off of WordPress. From a pure blogging standpoint, I'm not a fan of the writing or admin experience of WordPress. I searched around for some other open source options, and stumbled upon WriteFreely, and the hosted option, write.as. The main developer (and founder) is another Matt, but he's not involved in any public disputes.

It's simple, open source blogging software with an emphasis on the writing experience. I have to be honest, it has made blogging fun again for me. No plugins, update notices, clunky themes, or slow loading admin panels. Just a pleasant, distraction-free way to blog about my life. It's also worth noting that the platform supports the principles of the Social Web Foundation.

I am writing this blog post with the markdown editor (in dark mode, ah, my eyes feel so good). That said, there is a rich text editor as well, and their own built-in image hosting service. So, that takes care of both my words and images.

It's pretty easy to categorize posts by adding a hashtag (you can see an example at the end of this post). And to round it all out, there is a built-in email feature so that subscribers get notified of new posts.

And really that's it. That's all I need.

The Themes are... Bad

Not everything is great, though.

Coming from the WordPress world, I am used to an endless selection of themes. Well, this is one area that write.as really struggles in.

They have a list of user donated themes that are just CSS. I was able to cobble together a few things that I liked from each for my previous theme, and it worked nicely from a minimalist point of view. I did the same for my Spanish blog (where I admittedly don't post a lot). If you dig around GitHub, you can find some themes as well, like this one by Francesco.

The simple theme I created for my main site worked well for over three years, but I started to get the itch for something new and more elaborate (the theme you see now). I ended up hiring a developer on UpWork and he completed the project in about a week (which consists of CSS and JavaScript). I love how it all came out!

Of course, if you're proficient in CSS and JS, then you can just whip up something rather quickly and be good to go. That's what my fellow blogger Mark did, and I think his blog looks quite nice.

Getting Started

If you want to host the software yourself, then head on over to WriteFreely. There you can download what you need, and find the instructions for running the software. This is a good option for the nerds out there who like a good challenge.

The other option is to use the hosted service at write.as, which is what I use.

I'd recommend creating a free account on the hosted service first to see if you like the experience. There are some quirks, for sure. The support is mediocre at best, though you probably don't need much support if you're just blogging.

Just don't expect all the bells & whistles of WordPress, and you'll be fine. The platform isn't as mature, is less robust, and still has some odd bugs here or there.

#WordPress

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Matt vs WP Engine: Too Far?

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:33:34 +0000

WordPress co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, picks a fight with WP Engine, even calling them a "cancer".

Did you catch Matt's keynote talk at WordCamp U.S. this year? It was pretty boilerplate, as far as his talks usually go, but there was one part that stood out to nearly everyone, and that was his comments towards WP Engine and their lack of contribution to the WordPress project.

Matt expressed his annoyance at the contributions made by WP Engine to WordPress, comparing their 47 hours per week to Automattic's 3,786 hours per week.

“Those of us who are makers, who create the source, need to be wary of those who would take our creations and squeeze out the juice. They’re grifters who will hop onto the next fad, but we’re trying to build something big here, something long term—something that lasts for generations. Think about that next time it comes up to renew your hosting or domain, weigh your dollars towards companies that give back more, because you’ll get back more, too. Freedom isn’t free.”

Those are some pretty strong words, and I'm sure it doesn't feel good to be called out in a negative light at one of the biggest WordPress events of the year. As such, I was curious to see the response from WP Engine, as these were some harsh words from the man at the top. I put a tweet out saying the same:

That post (which cited an article on WPTavern) started a lively discussion about the point raised by Matt during his talk.

As you would expect, WP Engine wasn't far behind with their response. In summary, they said something to the effect of:

WP Engine has contributed to WordPress innovation for over a decade, advancing the ecosystem and supporting developers and millions of websites.
They invest heavily in the community through sponsorships, educational events like DE{CODE}, and development tools such as Faust.js and WPGraphQL.
WP Engine is committed to fostering creativity and empowering WordPress developers to keep the CMS at the forefront of web development.

For more, see WP Engine's article.

The Point vs The Delivery

Matt has become far more divisive in recent years. Call it the size of WordPress, or maybe just the demeanor of someone who has been the focus of so many attacks for two decades. Whatever the reason, he's clearly tired of being politically correct all the time.

What often happens is that he will make a point, people argue the point for a moment, then they start to get angry at the way the point was raised. They attack the messenger, for lack of a better term.

But it's not like it isn't warranted at times.

I've been around WordPress long enough to have seen Matt air out personal vendettas rather publicly, wrapped up in some kind of “I'm looking out for what's best for everyone” sentiment.

This actually ends up having the opposite effect in that the focus shifts to Matt (the person), not what it is he's trying to point out. Because, look, as far as I can tell there is a valid point there. This post by Noel does a pretty good job outlining that point:

I think what's pretty telling, though, is that this comment by Noel was a response to a poll that Matt ran, and it shows how the majority of folks disagree with his take on WP Engine's role within WordPress.

But it keeps going...

Matt has been popping up across various channels, seemingly defending his view and attempting to make points about WP Engine's lack of contributions despite their size and financial resources. Unfortunately, those points are now falling upon deaf ears because of the manner and frequency in which the “attacks” are coming.

Matt published this post on the official WordPress.org news about how WP Engine turns off revision history, an important feature in WordPress core, to save money. To drive home another point, he used a mini-story about his mom confusing the two brands (WP Engine and WordPress), which was the basis for the title of the post. To cap it off, he referred to WP Engine as “a cancer”. Yikes.

This made me wonder a few things:

Are a lot of people confusing WP Engine (the brand) with WordPress?
Is it ever okay to call businesses, and the people working there, “cancer”?
Should this have been posted on his personal blog, instead?

Speaking of the personal blog, Matt did write a blog post about investors, and if they are inherently “bad”. Something he likely wanted to touch on because of WP Engine's impressive investment over the years. He contends:

Investors are essential for entrepreneurship, but there are both good and bad investors. It's important to evaluate their track record and actions after investing.
Private equity investors can be beneficial, especially when they respect open-source values and support the community, as seen with Automattic's investors.
Actions matter more than words; companies should be judged based on how their behavior impacts communities and ecosystems over time.

I'm not surprised by his viewpoint given that Automattic has taken its fair share of investment, though I do take exception to his claim that investors are essential for entrepreneurship. That is not true at all.

Just speaking from my own experience, I never had a single investor, and LearnDash not only did well, it thrived. In fact, we absolutely destroyed Automattic's competing product to LearnDash (Sensei). I didn't even consider them a credible competitor.

His Mind is Made Up

Matt has always taken on the role of “open source protector”, and whenever he feels that it is being taken advantage of, he attacks — and his attacks can be quite harsh. He clearly feels that this is happening with WP Engine, though it also has an adverse effect for him in that the community starts to highlight some hypocrisy:

History has shown that when Matt makes his mind up about something, nothing will shake him from it. If anything, backlash makes him dig in further. He will go down on that ship, but he knows that the ship will never go down, because the ocean is the community that contributes to, and depends on, WordPress in their daily lives.

Qualifying Contributions is in Poor Taste

If I take the time to separate the inflammatory rhetoric and poor choice of message delivery, I do think that there is an important point that Matt is bringing to the community's attention. WP Engine indeed does have the fortunate position to contribute more to WordPress in terms of hours. What I don't like, however, is that Matt is outlining what he considers to be an acceptable contribution. Sponsoring WordCamps? That doesn't count. Not to him, anyway.

This has a way of polarizing the less visible in the community. The individual developer who has a small plugin business is proud to sponsor their local WordCamp, but the message being sent from the boardroom is that this is a “meh” form of contribution. In other words, don't feel too good about it. It's not really valued.

Matt has come down hard on WordPress hosts for some time. GoDaddy, Pagely (now part of GoDaddy), and Pantheon come to mind. I think he has a higher expectation of them than the “average” WordPress user.

And maybe we all should.

They are the ones with the money and resources to really move the needle for the WordPress project. To date, it doesn't appear like any host is living up to Matt's unspoken expectation.

Legal Updates

On September 23, 2024, not too long after this post was originally published, WP Engine issued a cease & desist against Matt and Automattic.

I must say, he does not look good, especially all the threatening texts he sent prior to starting his public attacks on WP Engine.

One day later, on September 24, 2024, Matt and Automattic issued their own cease & desist with some heavy emphasis on the use of the WordPress trademark.

This is interesting, because there are many businesses that use the “WordPress” name similarly to WP Engine. This could have some far-reaching ramifications for the entire industry, depending on how it plays out.

On October 2, 2024, WP Engine filed their official lawsuit.

#WordPress

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WordPress Pricing

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:02:19 +0000

The challenges and tribulations of pricing a product or service in the WordPress space.

Let's talk about the WordPress industry and pricing for a moment.

It's well-documented that WordPress products are underpriced because there is a certain price expectation from the community. Now, prices have slowly gone up (a good thing!) but not nearly on par when compared to other industries.

Not even close.

When I left LearnDash, the most common tier was around $199 (which would make it expensive across the WordPress space).

Teachable is like... $99/mo... for way less. And they easily make more money than LearnDash. I'm sure you can all think of 100s of other examples. But this also goes for WordPress related services.

By way of example, it's normal in non-WordPress industries for coaching to be $1,000-$2000/mo. Very normal, in fact. People pay this without blinking an eye. I could never charge this for my coaching.

And what I do charge is often met with hesitation, even though I have the background and accolades to justify charging more if I coached outside of WordPress.

The Concept of Value Fatigue

What ends up happening is prices stay low (in both products and services) and the people behind those offerings try their damnedest to pack insane amounts of value into the low price. Now, that's obviously good. But it has resulted in Value Fatigue.

All of us in the WordPress space are so used to the products and services we buy being overly stuffed with value — far beyond the price we pay — that it is driving prices down.

Newcomers go into the space (products or services) and see the main players are charging “X” for “Y”. So, they end up charging a price of “X-1” for “Y+1”.

Rinse and repeat for the next entrant. It's a race to the bottom for businesses, Value Fatigue for consumers.

I wish I had a solution for this, but it's very much intertwined with the culture of WordPress. The needle is moving up, but we are comparing that in a WordPress vacuum. By the same token, maybe it's not something that needs to be “solved”.

Maybe It’s Okay?

Maybe the way pricing is in WordPress is fine. And look, despite low prices, many WordPress businesses do very well.

WooThemes crushed it early on and sold for tens of millions.
LearnDash (to my knowledge at the time) was one of the most successful revenue generating WordPress businesses at the time of sale.
Yoast has been cookin' for years.
10up and WebDevStudios benefit from premium rates. Heck, I coach several “small” product and agency companies that are making 7-figures.

While this is great, it's important to understand that these are all the exceptions. The freelancers out there busting their ass on the product or service they are selling are unable to charge what they really should be charging if they were outside of WordPress.

I coach WordPress folks who have started to brainstorm ways to branch outside of WordPress. Not for lack of love, but the grind is considerably more challenging, especially the pressure to continually pack more and more value wherever possible, leading to frustration and ultimately burnout.

#WordPress

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Winning in WordPress

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:53:37 +0000

When I started LearnDash, I was going up against a very large competitor with deeper pockets. As time went on, the online course space in WordPress became incredibly saturated, and to stay relevant, I kept a watchful eye on my competitors, so that I could nullify any advantage.

#WordPress