The WP Minute+

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportI recently caught up with Pippin Williamson, who as many of you know was a prominent figure in the WordPress world for over a decade. He founded Sandhills Development and created popular plugins like Easy Digital Downloads before selling to Awesome Motive a couple years back. (Watch my previous interview on YouTube.)I was curious to hear what Pippin’s been up to and also get his thoughts on the WordPress ecosystem since his exit. A few things stood out that I thought would interest you all:First off, Pippin was very clear that his reason for moving on from WordPress boiled down to prioritizing time with family. After so many years of plugin development, he felt burnt out from being on that relentless “hamster wheel” of building and maintaining products. He had zero regrets about leaving.When it came time to sell Sandhills Development, Pippin made finding the right steward for his team and products a top priority over price or other factors. He felt confident Awesome Motive was the best fit given their product focus. Although he does wish there had been less team turnover resulting from the acquisition.And while Pippin keeps a very casual eye on WordPress these days, he did note how interesting it was to return to using it purely as an end user rather than a developer. Even being removed for a couple years, he immediately noticed some of the lingering friction between core, plugins, and the overall user experience.Anyway, those were just a few WordPress-related nuggets I wanted to share. Let me know if you have any other thoughts or reflections on Pippin’s time in our community!Visit Pippin’s Brewery: Sandhills Brewing ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportNorth Commerce is a new ecommerce solution built specifically for WordPress. I recently had the chance to speak with Kelley, founder of North Commerce, to learn more about his motivation for building the platform and how he aims to position it in the WordPress ecosystem.Kelley started developing North Commerce at the end of 2021 after recognizing limitations with existing ecommerce options like WooCommerce and Shopify. He was particularly inspired by the potential of the WordPress block editor and Gutenberg to enable fast, flexible ecommerce experiences.Over the past year, North Commerce has steadily built up a community of users and refined the platform based on their feedback. They now aim to be a premium all-in-one ecommerce solution for WordPress, with a pricing model starting at $99 per year. This recurring revenue will support continued development and help them deliver dedicated support and community for merchants at higher revenue tiers.Going forward, Kelley wants to optimize North Commerce as a block editor-first platform that takes full advantage of forthcoming advances like full site editing. He believes this approach will make it the fastest, easiest ecommerce solution available. At the same time, he wants to maintain simplicity and prevent “feature bloat”. Add-ons and extensions will be made available but not activated by default.Key TakeawaysNorth Commerce aims to be a simplified alternative, not a replacement, for WooCommerce. It wants to provide another competitive ecommerce option tailored for WordPress.The platform is built natively for WordPress, using PHP, JavaScript and WordPress best practices like a custom ORM system. This is to maximize flexibility, integration and avoid the limitations of off-the-shelf SaaS platforms.They chose a paid model starting at $99/year to support an all-in-one feature set and higher-touch support at higher revenue tiers. This contrasts with most free/open source WordPress plugins.North Commerce wants to be the fastest ecommerce platform by using the block editor, full site editing and modern WordPress capabilities. Simplicity is also a key goal.Links Mentioned:North Commerce site: https://northcommerce.comNorth Commerce pricing: https://northcommerce.com/pricing/North Commerce free demo: https://instawp.io/northcommerce ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportWP Minute+ News Round Table Episode 1. This will be a monthly series on WP Minute+ Podcast.Read the full shown notes: https://thewpminute.com/?p=12987Get the weekly newsletter: https://thewpminute.com/subscribeSupport the show! https://thewpminute.com/support ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportBuilding a thriving suite of digital products is no simple feat. In this episode of The WP Minute Plus, host Matt Medeiros dives into the challenges and opportunities with WordPress entrepreneur Christian Raiber.After getting his start by recognizing the potential of passive income through WordPress themes, Christian has built an impressive portfolio of niche plugins. He shares the method to his madness - how he identifies overlapping user segments to solve pressing problems. Christian also provides hard-won advice on balancing vision with user needs as products scale and evolve. Whether you're just getting started with your first commercial plugin, or looking to expand your product lineup, don't miss Christian's insights on the WordPress business landscape. Tune into the full episode to level up your product building game.Full show notes: https://thewpminute.com/?p=12929 ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportIt’s WordPress 6.4 release day, and I’m really excited for this new version of WordPress. I think it’s one of the most important releases for WordPress, especially through its new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four. I also think this is a first milestone release of an”Apple way” of releases.Meaning, just like iPhones and MacBooks, updates are iterative, and not groundbreaking at every release. I see WordPress settling into a similar feature/update cycle similar to Cupertino. So when I say it’s important, I mean, will this next year of development, building off 6.4, continue to bring WordPress into the future?Read the full blog post here. ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportKatie Keith from Barn2 joins the podcast to discuss her recents success running a WordPress & WooCommerce plugin business.Key TakeawaysTransitioning from client services to product business takes forethought about your ideal lifestyle and abilities.Know if you want to manage a team before diving in. Build a remote team culture by regularly checking in, being flexible, and celebrating shared wins – not just revenue goals.SEO success requires a balance between optimization best practices and creating content real humans love. Don’t over-optimize.Consider both logic and marketing impact before splitting brands and websites. Domain authority has tangible value.Providing bundled offerings can ease plugin pricing fatigue for customers with diverse needs.YouTube and content marketing are powerful sales drivers.Invest in what already works for your business.Chapters0:00 Intro1:00 Katie’s background3:00 Transitioning from agency to product company8:00 Remote team culture10:30 SEO strategies13:00 Document Library Pro success15:00 Evaluating business models17:00 The state of WooCommerce21:00 Matt’s SEO frustrations23:00 Marketing through content25:30 Plugin pricing and bundles28:00 Lifetime licenses debate31:00 Podcasting strategies35:00 Investing in YouTubeImportant LinksBarn2 Plugins – https://barn2.comWP Product Talk PodcastEllipsis Marketinghttps://twitter.com/KatieKeithBarn2https://thewpminute.com/support ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportIn this episode of WP Minute+, Justin Ferriman discusses his business ventures, including founding LearnDash and his latest project, BrightGrowth.We’ll also discuss GapScout, an AI tool for software businesses to analyze customer reviews, which didn’t go the way he had hoped. He’s now selling GapScout due to development hurdles and legal issues with review site policy changes, leaving him with a small taste of failure.Ferriman has pivoted to consulting, using his strengths in marketing and strategy to coach startup founders, offering personalized advice and roundtable discussions, despite the approach’s intentional lack of scalability.His key advice for WordPress entrepreneurs is to leverage personal strengths, be passionate about work, and be discerning in client and service selection for maintaining high standards.Key TakeawaysJustin explains how he is now selling his business GapScout after running into challenges building complex AI technology and changes to review site terms and conditions.The GapScout experience left Justin feeling defeated but taught him to focus on what really energizes him in business.Justin has transitioned to coaching and consulting for startup founders, playing to his strengths in marketing, growth strategies and maximizing profits.He is being very selective about who he works with through warm outreach and relationship building vs trying to scale massively.For WordPress entrepreneurs, takeaways are to focus on your strengths, cut out parts of business you dislike, and be selective about services you realistically can deliver at a high level.Justin leverages Medium for content marketing and gets great organic reach without having to worry about blogging or SEO himself.Overall it’s a story of reinvention, lessons learned from failure, and the importance of playing to your strengths as an entrepreneur.Important linksLearnDash – Justin’s previous business that was acquired: https://www.learndash.com/GapScout – Justin’s latest business that is now for sale: https://www.gapscout.com/Bright Growth – Justin’s current coaching/consulting business: https://www.brightgrowth.com/Justin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinferrimanWP Minute Slack Group: [https://thewpminute.com/supportMedium – Platform Justin is using for content marketing: https://medium.com/Pressnomics Conference – Where Justin and host previously chatted: https://www.pressnomics.com/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Aaron Edwards, an expert in WordPress with over a decade of experience and the creator of AI products DocsBot.ai and Imajinn.ai, discusses training chatbots with company data, pricing plans, surprises when selling to enterprise customers, and the ethics of competitors using your content in a podcast interview with host Matt Medeiros of The WP Minute Plus.

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportI recently had Jess Frick, Director of Operations at Pressable, on the WP Minute+ podcast. We had an insightful conversation about Pressable’s relationship with Automattic, how the company differentiates itself, and the benefits of Jetpack.I appreciated getting Jess’s insider perspective on Pressable and how they balance being owned by Automattic while still maintaining their own identity and startup mentality in the WordPress hosting space.Definitely check them out if you want managed WordPress hosting with great performance and infrastructure.Key TakeawaysPressable is owned by Automattic but operates independently with a startup mentality. They have more freedom to be “edgy” compared to other Automattic properties.Pressable builds on top of WP Cloud infrastructure created by Automattic. This gives them performance advantages that allow them to handle large websites.They work closely with Jetpack and see big value in including it for free with hosting plans. Security features are especially important.Pressable targets agencies, freelancers, and site owners who want great WordPress infrastructure without the rigidness of a company like VIP Hosting.They aim to be innovative and regularly improve the hosting experience like the recent updates to make staging -> live site migration easier.Important Quotes“We are thrilled to partner with you on this because I really believe in what you guys are doing. And I love the voice that you have in the community. It’s not like other voices.”“I think going forward, you can expect to see, more opinionated opportunities with [Jetpack] as well.” ★ Support this podcast ★

Thanks Pressable for supporting the show! Get your special hosting deal at https://pressable.com/wpminuteBecome a WP Minute Supporter & Slack member at https://thewpminute.com/supportI recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Jackson, co-founder of Forge Media and creator of the popular WordPress plugins NovaShare and Perfmatters. Brian has extensive experience building successful products and businesses in the WordPress space.In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed several important topics relevant to the WordPress community right now:Using AI to Enhance Content CreationBoth Brian and I have begun experimenting with AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard to improve our content workflows. He uses a "hybrid approach", leveraging AI to generate ideas and drafts but still adding his own personal touch. I completely agree that carefully crafted prompts are key to getting good results from AI. Neither of us is yet comfortable publishing fully AI-written content.The Impact of AI on the Future of WordPressWe speculated about how advanced AI could enable automated site building outside of WordPress in the future. However, Brian emphasized that niche complexities of WordPress will be difficult for AI to grasp anytime soon. Monetization and Support for Plugin BusinessesBrian explained why he avoids "lifetime deal" pricing for his products, despite it being common for WordPress plugins. While tempting for short-term revenue, it removes incentive for ongoing improvement. He believes subscribers should continue supporting developers to allow constant iteration. Still, he limits sales to just the major Black Friday promotion each year.Key TakeawaysAI can help generate ideas and drafts, but human refinement is still neededWordPress niche complexity means AI won't replace it soonJavaScript skills are critical for WordPress developers now"Lifetime deal" pricing removes incentive for ongoing developmentLimiting sales promotes sustainable growth over quick cash grabsQuotables"I don't think a lot of people know a hundred percent. You can't say yes or no, you know, will Google know this is written by me or not?""WordPress is just a mess, to be honest, for the people that are in the weeds every day, like grinding, like they know how messy WordPress is.""If you have a good product, like why do you need to constantly push sales? It doesn't make sense. ★ Support this podcast ★