Pro Plugin Directory is for sale. I was so excited about the idea, being surprised that nobody had done it in 12 years of WordPress, that I started the project without making sure I would have time to grow it. And I don’t have time to grow it. Now I want to put it in the hands of a capable person in the WordPress community that can bring it to its full potential.

The Potential

As someone reminded me, CodeCanyon and the WordPress.org plugin directory are huge — and so Pro Plugin Directory can be huge too. There is an incredible market for commercial WordPress plugins but no central place to find them. My strategy has been first to build the directory up (get authors to list their plugins) in order to attract traffic (plugin buyers) then monetize it with display ads, affiliate links and/or sponsorships (not yet started).

The directory launched on May 30, 2023 with three plugins that I added myself and has grown to 176 in less than 6 months. Virtually all of them were added by the plugin makers themselves which has been very encouraging. Plugin authors have heard about the directory via popular blogs (WP Tavern, Post Status Notes, ManageWP.org, wpMail.me, WPMU DEV, WP Lift, WP Mayor, VaultPress Blog, WinningWP, WP Explorer, WP Shout, WPeka, Webdesigner News and others), Pro Plugin Directory blog articles (good for attention like this), lots of Twitter buzz (scroll this) and direct invitations.

The new owner will have this solid foundation to build their own marketing efforts on.

The Details

Here are details about Pro Plugin Directory.

• 176 plugins listed and 40 reviews plus 14 blog posts with 147 comments.
• There were 80 sessions daily last month (October). This has been typical since the initial launch coverage traffic settled down. Organic search traffic has been rising steadily (about half of all traffic in October), which has been very encouraging. See the screenshots below.
• It currently takes about 1 - 2 hour per week to manage the directory. This includes moderating submissions, moderating comments/reviews and answering emails/tweets. The new owner will need more time for marketing to help this project continue growing.
• @ProPluginDir Twitter account included in sale with 184 followers.
• Two mailing lists were created some time after the launch. The vendor mailing list currently has 124 subscribers. The primary newsletter has 91 subscribers and growing.
• The site is powered by Easy Digital Downloads, the Frontend Submissions extension, the Product Reviews extension and Array’s Checkout theme (using a child theme for customizations like showing categories on the homepage). A WP Rocket license is provided free in exchange for a footer link so long as Pro Plugin Directory finds the plugin useful. A WP Search license is provided free in exchange for link on search results so long as it continues to be useful for the directory.

The Analytics

Visitor Statistics

This shows visitor sessions for the full months of June through October. The higher traffic earlier was from major launch coverage. Search traffic is beginning to take over (more on that below) as launch-related articles about the directory get older.

Search Traffic Rising

Organic search traffic has been rising steadily, which is very encouraging. Plugin sellers are required to submit original content for their listings. The idea is that will attract search traffic and that seems to be working. So, as launch-related referrals wane, a more sustainable source of traffic increases.

Make an Offer

The sale price will be based on potential since monetization has not yet been attempted. The buyer is acquiring a promising turn-key project that I believe is on track for success with an ongoing commitment.

The buyer will receive the domain, website files, database dump, mailing lists and Twitter account. Easy Digital Downloads add-on licenses and Checkout theme licenses will be transferred. You will need to purchase a new SSL certificate. I am looking for a capable buyer but if you require migration assistance or technical support after the sale, I will offer my services at $200/hour (five hours max).

Please email me at work@stevengliebe.com if you have any questions or are ready to make an offer. Escrow.com will be used for the transaction with their fee split between buyer and seller (their fee is very reasonable).

If you’re not the one to run Pro Plugin Directory, please do what you can to let others know that Pro Plugin Directory is for sale — make a tweet, blog about it, etc. That would be very helpful to this project and much appreciated by me.