09 Feb Learn How to Make Money On WordPress in 2021

WordPress has always been the center of attraction for the world. It starts with the numbers first, 60 million websites, approx. 24% of the entire web utilize the WordPress platform, and that adds value to what WordPress have to offer to the economy and people surrounding the ecosystem.

With so much to offer, in terms of number, it is no doubt that WordPress also holds the potential to provide a working job to people. For example, I am an avid WordPress writer who loves WordPress and what it has to offer. It is versatile CMS with an ecosystem that bring the best out of any website.

So, the real question is “How to make money on WordPress?“. Well, there is not a single answer. There are a lot of ways one can make money using WordPress, and another good news is it you can also earn if you don’t know coding.

Exciting, right? Let’s not waste more time and get started with the options one can have of making money using WordPress as the only basis.

We recommend reading: 

• 7 Simple Ways to Monetize Your WordPress Blog (for bloggers)
• Learn how to Create and Grow your WordPress Blog Traffic (Revised & Updated)
• WordPress SEO: The Definitive Guide to Higher Ranking
• Learn How We Increased Our Email Subscribers by 1190% with Bloom

How do you make money on WordPress?

Before we start, I want to discuss on how important the ecosystem is. The ecosystem of the WordPress is mainly composed of the themes, plugins, tutorials, and developers and you name it. Without the components, WordPress wouldn’t obtain the title of the world’s most used CMS.

All the jobs or gigs related to WordPress comes directly from the components of the WordPress. They might not be directly connected, but WordPress influence a lot of jobs.

The open source features also enable the developers to contribute to the ecosystem. Most of the WordPress plugins are free to use. Which allows anyone to get started with WordPress and later on change to some premium plugins for additional functionality.

Ecommerce

If you could build something or think of selling a product, you can easily make money on WordPress! For instance, WooCommerce is a responsive and easy-to-use plugin that is ideal for listing and selling goods and services online. There are many plugins such as customer testimonial sliders; eCommerce sliders, woocommerce sliders, or MailChip emails that will help you stand out.

Also, you can use a geo-target plugin to easily market your products to potential customers in a specific location.

So, this is the best time to get creative. Below are a few products that you can sell on WordPress.

• Sculpting, digital art, art, and more
• Online courses and video lessons
• Photography
• eBooks
• Theme and plugin downloads
• Homemade products
• Wholesale products
• Reseller web hosting
• Podcasts or music
• Clothing designs

Developing Plugins and Selling Them

• Also read: How To make a Custom Widget for WordPress

If you have ever used WordPress, you know how plugins add the necessary functionality to the website. Without the plugin, it would be impossible to run a website. And, there is the first way you can start making money.

No, No! Not by installing them, but by developing WordPress plugins. If you are new, you would want to try your hands out at WordPress official plugins repository and list your plugin free of cost. Once, you have reached a comfortable position; you can try out premium platforms such as CodeCandyon and try to sell your plugins there.

Plugins will never get out as the whole WordPress depends on them for functionality and customization.

To get started, you might need to analyze what other WordPress plugin developer have done until now. Once you are sure of what you are doing, aim for premium plugins and solve problems.

Try to find a problem that most of the WordPress users go through. Once you pinpoint the problem and provide a solution in an organized manner, you can move forward and come out with the plugin.

Marketing the plugin and reaching out the audience is also as important as developing the plugin in the first place. Once you are sure about your marketing plan, publish the plugin online and wait for results to roll in.

There is one more advice, I want to give you to the budding WordPress plugin developers — never stop improving the plugin. WordPress gets updated frequently and there are many ways, your plugin can go broke in the new update. To keep it working, you need to update it accordingly. Bug fixes and new functional updates with also help gain attraction from the audience and help you reach more audience.

For free WordPress plugins, you can try WordPress repository, currently housing more than 38,000+ plugins and CodeCanyon for premium plugin marketplace.

Developing Themes and Selling Them

• Also read: How to Create a Custom WordPress Theme

WordPress “themes” is our next stop. Just like plugins, WordPress ecosystem is highly reliant on the themes as well. There is huge demand for WordPress themes in the market.

There are two ways you can get started with WordPress theme development. The first way is to look for a client who needs a custom WordPress theme for their next project. It may sound easy, but you need a working portfolio to grab the attention of the client.

Once you have the attention, you can understand his/her requirement and quote your price. The WordPress theme development is quite competitive, and you might need to pitch more before finding the right client.

The another popular way is to develop amazing looking professional themes and list them on ThemeForest. If you are trying out your skills, you can also use the WordPress official themes repository and list your theme for free.

What if I told you, there is a third way of selling themes? Well, many developers create their 3rd party website and like to sell their themes, creating a brand that they can use in future. The 3rd way is a tough task to do, but it is possible with the right strategy and execution.

WordPress Official themes repository currently offers more than 3,000 themes. ThemeForest, on the other hand, offers 4,522 themes at the sale. The competition is low compared to WordPress plugins market, and you can easily leverage the market, only if you know what you are doing. Building quality premium themes with great functionality will enable you to sell your theme to hundreds and thousands of sellers.

WordPress Maintenance and Support(WordPress Services)

• Get more ideas from; Top WordPress Maintenance Services

WordPress is an open source platform that enables anyone to take part in it. But many non-technical users would love a helping hand. And, this is where you can make money easily.

For technical users, like me, it is easy to navigate through the WordPress dashboard, install plugins, modify theme design using CSS and do other small tasks by following tutorials on the internet.

But that’s not true for everyone around us. There are non-technical business people who just wants to get the work done, and they don’t care about technical expertise. They also don’t have the time to handle all the technical complexities that come with the WordPress website handling. They have no idea on how to solve the plugin conflicts, do simple theme changes and customization and so on.

WordPress Service and Maintenance works for the non-technical clients. You can charge the client according to the complexity of the work at hand. Getting started with WordPress Maintenance and Support is easy, compared to building plugins and themes from scratch.

You can use Fiverr as the starting ground to find potential clients for WordPress maintenance and support. Many people are stuck with basic stuff and would want an expert to help them.

By helping, you can make serious money. If you find a client with an extensive website, the income out of the WordPress service is above average and would help you sustain your daily life easily.

WordPress Content Writer

Love reading, writing and WordPress. You are a perfect fit for writing content for WordPress. 85Ideas is a prime example of WordPress writing, and you can take me as an example for earning from WordPress.

Beginners are always looking for tutorials to learn from. Technical writers can also try their hands on WordPress and what it has to offer to more advanced users. 85Ideas is the hub for beginners, and you can check out the beginner’s section for some awesome tips and tutorials.

Content marketing doesn’t end here. If you are a social media geek and know how to write viral content around WordPress, you will be more than welcome in the WordPress content writing services.

Many website loves to write about new themes, plugins or anything that is related directly or indirectly to the WordPress platform. The website pays well for the content, and you can have a full-time job writing for the WordPress platform.

You can check ProBlogger Job board, Upwork, Elance, and other online freelance platforms to get writing jobs easily. Other than ProBlogger Job board, all the other platforms are also great for picking up themes/plugins work.

Using WordPress To Your Advantage

• Also read: Learn WordPress for Free in Less than a Week 

WordPress plugins, check. Themes, check. WordPress content, check. WordPress Services, check.

All the above methods are directly connected to WordPress. But, what about indirect earning? That’s possible too.

WordPress is a versatile CMS that offers great ecosystem at disposal. It also enables the business to launch their online presence in a matter of minutes. If you are thinking of starting an eCommerce, security blog, or anything that you love and relish every single minute, you can use the WordPress platform to launch your dreams.

WordPress comes with responsive and SEO support, out of the box. Building authoritative websites using WordPress is the best way to earn. You can flip the website after a year of operation and get more profit from the website. Many web entrepreneurs are looking for already established a website, and you can easily cash in a quick profit.

Training

• Also read: Our Top 10 Recommended WordPress Books 

The last nail in the coffin is WordPress training. WordPress is the best way to reach out to audience and learners. You can give live training sessions to people and earn well.

Many marketing experts make good money giving training to the big companies. Chris Lema is one of the pioneers of the WordPress training, and you can check him out here.

Where to start?

WordPress is user-friendly, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to make money with WordPress. You need to be resilient, motivated and should embrace failure to succeed in WordPress ecosystem.

For beginners, it is always a good idea to spend a good time learning the basics of their trade. If you are into WordPress plugins or themes, practice is the way to move forward.

Content writing around WordPress also spins around the same web of practice. Read widely about WordPress, what it has to offer, why it is at the top of the food chain of CMS and so on. There is no end to knowledge or learning associated with WordPress, and this is why anyone associated with WordPress should never stop.

Getting work depends on your salesmanship capability. Having a portfolio is a good start, but bidding for work is where it all starts. Once you have built a good reputation online, you can expect clients to contact you directly for work and project proposals.

One more thing that needs to be kept in mind is the slow pace of improvement. The start is the toughest part and you should be ready to churn in more hours, embrace defeats and move on to the next target.

With an increase in the number of the websites created using WordPress, it is easy to say that the ecosystem needs more freelancers and experts to handle the influx of the jobs surrounding WordPress.

So, which trade you are picking up? Plugins, themes, content writing? Let’s know through the comment section below.

And, don’t forget to share the article with your friends and peers who might be interested in learning how to earn money using WordPress.

Final Thoughts

WordPress is a very powerful platform with unlimited opportunities for pros and beginners alike. Even without any coding or programming experience, there are many ways you can make money from your WordPress website.

We’ve done our research and selected the main ways you can easily monetize WordPress. And we strongly hope there is something for every WordPress enthusiast on the list. Whether you are a coding pro, a beginner, or a blogger, you can choose a strategy that perfectly works for you.

Below is a quick recap on different ways you can make money on WordPress:

1. Building WordPress websites for customers
2. Building plugins
3. Online courses
4. Exclusive content
5. Affiliate marketing
6. Advertising
7. eCommerce

Keep in mind that regardless of whether you choose just one or multiple strategies; always ensure it perfectly plays to all your strengths.

It is unwise to try building WordPress websites for paying clients if you have not yet learned the code. However, if you are a blogger, you can try out affiliate marketing.

We strongly hope this article has inspired you to monetize WordPress website and get ready to start making some good money.