Website Plugin

4 Website Plugin Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 9th, 2024

A website plugin is a small piece of software that can be added to a website to enhance its functionality.

These plugins often serve specific purposes, such as improving SEO, adding social media buttons, or integrating e-commerce features.

Creating a website plugin business can be a lucrative opportunity as it meets the growing need for customizable and efficient online experiences. This enables website owners to enhance their sites without extensive coding knowledge.

As more businesses and individuals seek to establish and improve their online presence, providing valuable plugins can be a profitable venture in the digital market.

In this list, you'll find real-world website plugin success stories and very profitable examples of starting a website plugin that makes money.

1. Paid Memberships Pro ($1.2M/year)

After building various websites for clients, Jason and Kimberly Coleman realized the value of focusing on a niche and creating repeatable work. In 2010, they identified a need for a membership platform specifically for WordPress sites and developed Paid Memberships Pro. They launched the plugin in 2011, offering it for free with paid support plans, and eventually shifted to annual pricing to provide ongoing value to customers. The business steadily grew, reaching $100k per month in revenue by 2020.

How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 15

How We Developed A $100K/Month Paid Memberships Plugin For WordPress

Learn how two entrepreneurs developed a successful open-source membership plugin for WordPress that brought in an average of $100k per month in revenue and grew to over 100,000 sites while offering premium add-ons and support services.

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2. LifterLMS ($750K/year)

Chris Badgett noticed a problem during his time running a WordPress agency where they built high-end training-based membership sites from scratch. There wasn't an all-in-one solution that combined membership, LMS, eCommerce, and gamification functionalities. This problem became clear from his personal experience working with clients who needed comprehensive and integrated learning management features.

To validate the idea, Chris proposed the concept to his existing clients and received encouraging feedback, leading to the development of LifterLMS. They started with pre-sales and got 42 customers, including some high-end agency clients, which further validated the need. Balancing resources between client work and product development was a challenge, but they managed by reinvesting service profits into the plugin.

The key lesson Chris learned was the importance of validating the idea with real customers and being willing to invest heavily in development while keeping a close connection with the target audience's needs. This approach ensured that they were solving a genuine problem effectively.

How much money it makes: $750K/year
How many people on the team: 22

How Two Founders Bootstrapped LifterLMS to $750K ARR in Revenue

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3. Boei ($30.4K/year)

Ruben, the founder of Boei, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the shortcomings of existing live chat solutions. He wanted to create a better alternative that would make it easier for customers to connect with companies through their preferred social channels. With his programming skills and marketing efforts, Ruben launched Boei and has seen success, including a gross profit of over $20,000 in just ten months.

How much money it makes: $30.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 0

I Built A Website Chat Tool & Grew It To $30K ARR

Boei is a chat widget that integrates with social channels like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which has made a gross profit of over $20,000 in just ten months and has over 2,088 customers and growing.

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Read by 3,101 founders

4. Beam Analytics ($240/year)

JR and Leng came up with the idea for Beam Analytics when they saw that Google Analytics was deemed not GDPR compliant. They wanted to create an affordable alternative that prioritized GDPR compliance and user privacy while offering valuable web analytics. After doing extensive research and drafting a product requirement, they launched Beam in January 2023 and have been steadily attracting and retaining customers through social media, blog posts, and partnerships.

How much money it makes: $240/year
How much did it cost to start: $3.5K
How many people on the team: 0

We Launched Our Project With A Simple Tweet Thread And Grew It To 100 Users

Beam Analytics offers GDPR-compliant web analytics including funnel analysis, cohort retention, and custom event tracking, with a generous free tier and pricing starting at just $11/month, attracting over 100 users within two weeks of launching.

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Read by 3,205 founders