Discussion rolls on within the WordPress community regarding the removal of active install growth data from the WordPress.org plugin repository – but still no firm resolution is in sight. As we reported last week, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg said that adding some form of stats for plugin developers is “doable”. We’ll have to wait and see where the discussion goes from here.
Meanwhile, The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack wrote about what plugin developers should realistically expect from the WordPress project and its leadership. It might be that the project simply isn’t there to help developers make money. Instead, their focus is likely trained on providing us with a platform to build upon. How a developer monetizes their product is ultimately up to them.
And Alex Denning of Ellipsis argues that WordPress.org is an ineffective place to distribute plugins. He provides some key data to back up this point. On the other side of the coin, Liquid Web’s Matt Cromwell respectfully disagrees.
Next up (listen to the podcast for more): Matt Cromwell discusses distributing plugins via WordPress.org
Matt Cromwell WordPress.org segment
The WordPress plugin directory has been a boon for the WordPress creator economy for years and years. According to Alex Dening from ellipses, it’s time as a marketing funnel machine is over. Dening argues that the plugin search algorithm puts too much weight on active install count. So new plugins have little to no chance of discovery and growth.
Instead, argue standing product owners in 2022 should ship premium only products and focus on content marketing, CPC ads, and email marketing for better results. I disagree. I’ve built an oversee premium plugins that convert up to 30% of their active install count to paying customers. Also, the code for the plugin search is public and shows how heavy the plugin title and tags factor into rankings.
I still believe in the WordPress creator economy and the freemium model is still alive and. I wrote at length about this on my blog @ mattcromwell.com.
Links You Shouldn’t Miss
Security is the focus of WordPress 6.0.3, which was released on October 17. Be sure to update your websites, as this release patches several vulnerabilities.
If you’d like a rundown of the vulnerabilities involved in WordPress 6.0.3, Patchstack offers a full analysis.
Users of the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin will also want to update to the latest version. Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports that a fix for an undisclosed security issue was recently added.
Registration is now open for WordPress Accessibility Day. The 24-hour virtual event will take place from November 2-3 and will feature a bevy of presentations that aim to demystify the subject.
From the Grab Bag
Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.
- WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 2 is now available for testing.
- Designer and software engineer Mike McAlister announced his new project, Ollie – an educational hub for WordPress creators.
- Development agency 10up has published a guide to Gutenberg Best Practices.
- Sarah Gooding provides details on the new Plugin Dependencies feature plugin that is available for testing. It’s an effort to help developers specify plugin dependencies via WordPress core.
- Devin Walker introduces himself as the new General Manager of iThemes, and hints at some changes coming to the longtime WordPress development company.
- Jetpack Social has added a paid tier to their automated social media sharing function. Free users will now be limited to 30 shares per month.
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- WebDevStudios WebDevStudios is seeking a full time, remote Engineering Manager candidate interested in joining our growing team.
- Sitewide Sales Are you literally losing sleep on Black Friday? Schedule your WordPress site’s Black Friday sale so you can sleep off Thanksgiving dinner.
- GapScout Sign-Up for Early Access – AI that scans reviews (on WordPress.org or elsewhere), revealing to you the most profitable opportunities!
- WP Mayor Reach a larger, targeted audience of WordPress users with your Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. Get them listed on WP Mayor.
New Members This Week
If you’re not a member yet, go to buymeacoffee.com/mattreport to join.
Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:
- Amber Hinds
- Eric Karkovack
- Justin Ferriman
- Matt Cromwell
That’s it for today’s episode, if you enjoyed please share it on your social media, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Don’t forget to share share share this episode with others and jump on the mailing list 👇
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