Why You Should Spend Money on WordPress Plugins
Here’s the thing: I am extremely tight with my money. Some might go so far as to call me stingy. I really don’t like spending money on things, as a rule.
On top of that, as a developer I have released plugins into the WordPress ecosystem that are free to download.
Even given those two realities, I want to encourage you that you should be spending money on WordPress plugins.
There are some great free options out there, in many cases. But as I’ve been putting together this site over the past month or so, I’ve come to the conclusion that the dollars I spent in buying solutions to problems I have been having have more than paid for themselves already, and I haven’t even made any money with them, yet.
How much is your time worth? If a plugin saves you 10 hours per month, how much is that plugin worth? If a plugin makes the transaction have less friction on your ecommerce site and results in a 30% increase in sales, how much is not having it costing you?
Here’s the factor most people are forgetting when they factor in plugin cost: support. Since purchasing several Easy Digital Downloads addons while setting up this site, I have come across a few issues massaging them into shape to do exactly what I want to do. Since I paid for them, I paid for support. In every case, my messages have been answered in a number of hours by an expert.
You should be spending money on high quality #WordPress products Share on X I’m pretty good with code, so the savings for me by paying for support are not as dramatic as they would be for someone who is just starting out in web development. Even so, it has been more than worth it to pay for that expert to look over my shoulder.
That brings up an excellent point: don’t buy plugins based on how snappy their sales page looks. Buy them based on the caliber of the developer you are dealing with. If your premium plugin is made by a developer you don’t know, ask a developer you do know to have a look at it before you buy it. (I’m happy to recommend and/or vet plugins and themes for you before you buy them)
Buy high quality plugins. They make your life easier.
