7 Best Services to Sell Online with WordPress

Since the dot-com bubble burst between 2001 and 2002, the global web-based service industry experienced a rapid rise in the U.S. stock market. Over time, numerous web technologies have emerged and enriched this industry. WordPress is one of them!

Although it was initially released as a simple blogging platform, today, it’s the most popular website builder and content management system. And while going through this transformation, it has created countless service-based business opportunities for both developers and non-developers.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to some of the best services to sell online with WordPress so you can kick off a service-based business right away. Before that, we’ll discuss a bit why selling online services with WordPress is profitable.

Why Selling Online Services with WordPress Is Profitable

Selling WordPress services online is profitable for many reasons. We have listed and explained some of the most crucial reasons with relevant data and statistics.

a. Large User Base

It’s difficult to say the exact number of active websites worldwide. But according to W3techs, over 43% of all websites are built on WordPress. This means- if the total number of active websites is 1.5 billion, over 640 million of which are made with WordPress. So, it’s comparatively easy to find target customers from such a huge user base and sell web services to them.

b. Low Startup Costs

WordPress is known well for its affordability, making it easy to use for all-sized enterprises. As a result, just as you can sell WordPress-related services at a relatively low charge, customers can also purchase them at their own convenience. Consider these techniques before launching your startup.

c. Diverse Monetization Options

In addition to selling WordPress development services, offer educational content like eBooks, online courses, video tutorials, etc., to guide general users. Furthermore, it’s possible to develop and sell themes and plugins on a subscription basis.

d. Grow Presence in the Marketplace

You have the opportunity to tap into vast online marketplaces with WordPress. By effectively promoting your services on popular social media platforms, attracting a wide number of users and convert them into your customers.

e. Community Support

WordPress is a community-based platform. Many of its core features were released as basic versions. But over time, they have been so enriched with community support. So, if you ever face any problem while selling services, you’ll definitely find plenty of WordPress-based communities online for necessary support.

Here’s a complete guide on how to contribute to WordPress.

7 Best Services to Sell Online with WordPress

So far, we have covered the theoretical parts of today’s topic above. Now, we’ll discuss in detail some of the best services to sell online with WordPress so it becomes easy for you to select the suitable option according to your skill set.

1. Theme Development

Theme development involves creating and designing custom layouts. It includes modifying the colors, fonts, header, footer, and many important features of a website. There are numerous themes with so many features that save you from installing and using many additional plugins.

The theme has a huge market. Because without a theme, it’s impossible to fully prepare a website. Types of themes you can develop and sell are:

• Niche-specific themes (eCommerce, agency, fashion, photography, etc.)
• Multi-purpose themes (equally usable on different types of websites)
• Custom theme development (modify one’s existing themes)
• Releasing child themes

WordPress currently has two types of themes: editor themes and full-site editing themes.

Editor themes are designed specifically for the Gutenberg block editor. After installing the theme, users have to design their web pages with the Gutenberg and custom blocks available in the block library. Popular block themes are Twenty Twenty Four, Briscky, GroundWP, and Blockpress.

Full-Site Editing themes allow you to edit almost every single part, layout, and design of your website, including headers, footers, and pages. Full-site editing themes often come with many readymade starter templates. Some popular themes are OceanWP, Astra, Hestia Pro, Blocksy, etc.

Note: You’ll find 9,500+ themes on WordPress.org alone. In addition, there are many themes on themeforest as well. Before you start developing, you must explore these repositories to find out a market gap to develop a theme that has market potential.

2. Plugin Development

The core version of WordPress isn’t enough to create robust websites with comprehensive functionalities. This is why people depend on various plugins to add functionalities to their sites as needed. So, what are plugins? They are packages of written PHP codes.

Some most popular types of plugins are:

• eCommerce (WooCommerce, Dokan, AliDropship, Easy Digital Downloads)
• Page Builder (Elementor, HappyAddons, Divi, SeedProd)
• SEO (Rank Math, AIOSEO, Yoast)
• Marketing (weMail, HubSpot)
• Office Management (WP ERP)
• Caching (Rocket, WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache)
• Membership Plugins (MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro)

In addition, there are many other plugins whose names are impossible to mention here. You’ll find 59,000+ plugins only on WordPress.org. Also, CodeCanyon is another great marketplace for plugins. Besides, many agencies sell plugins from their websites without any marketplaces.

Now, the question is – how will you sell plugin services? It’s possible in the following ways.

• Develop New Plugins – Develop brand new plugins. You may create alternatives to existing plugins as well. If you keep the price lower than the competitors and its user experience is good, you can definitely build the user base of your plugin.

• Develop Addons – They are known as extensions that expand the additional functionalities of already existing mother plugins. For example, HappyAddons is an addon of the Elementor plugin. Addon development is a big market.

• Create Integration – By integration, make your plugin compatible with other popular plugins and SaaS platforms. For example, you’ll see all the most popular WordPress themes have integration with plugins like Elementor, Divi, and WooCommerce.

• Sell Custom Plugin Development Services – There are many agencies that hire plugin developers on full-time and part-time contracts. Earn a good amount of money by selling your plugin development expertise to them as a job holder.

3. Sell Readymade Websites

Readymade websites are pre-designed websites that are ready to sell. These websites are typically designed with niche-specific features and functionalities. Below is a list of some popular types of readymade websites that are sold in the market.

• Dropshipping sites
• Affiliate sites
• eCommerce sites
• Resume sites
• Membership sites

Hope you already know what these websites are and what they do. However, two types of readymade websites are sold in the market: brand new and generating revenue.

Brand-new websites are designed with fresh content but have no sales or visitors. These websites are sold at low prices. After buying, the website owner develops its marketing strategies to bring visitors and convert them into customers.

Generating revenue websites are already selling products and have a stable monthly income. These websites are sold comparatively at a high price. This can be five to twenty times the average monthly revenue of the website.

Popular niches on which you can develop and sell readymade websites are fashion, home accessories, pet supplies, baby care, home security gadgets, cleaning items, indoor exercise items, etc.

4. Web Design and Development

Indeed, one can get ready his/her website within a few hours just by using a theme and its readymade templates. The problem is that if the same theme and its template are used by other users, it becomes difficult for that website to stand out as a brand.

This is why people love to design their web layouts from scratch. However, since it’s a time-consuming process, many tend to hire professional web designers. If you have expertise in web design and development, do marketing and sell them as services.

Fiverr and Upwork are two great marketplaces where you can publish gigs, showcasing all your expertise. If you enter Fiverr, you will see that hundreds of freelancers are already earning thousands of dollars by selling web design and development on WordPress.

Elementor is a great drag-and-drop page builder plugin to design WordPress websites from scratch without coding. HappyAddons is a powerful addon with many additional features and widgets. By utilizing both, you can do magic on your site.

Even if you are a professional web developer, this plugin can save you a huge amount of time. Because you don’t have to code everything. Around 90% of tasks can be resolved by drag-and-drop. You may need to code something only in subtle cases.

By saving so much time, you might be able to design two or three sites in the same amount of time that would take you to design one site.

5. Website Maintenance Services

Website maintenance includes a set of services required to run a website smoothly. It involves operations, like software updating, monitoring security, fixing bugs, performance optimization, problem troubleshooting, search engine optimization, etc.

Remember, when a website starts making revenue, it falls under numerous threats. Because hackers and cybercriminals mainly target those websites making good revenue. This is why many eCommerce and agency-based website owners hire web maintenance experts.

So, if you have enough skills in this department, you can join and work for various websites and agencies on full-time or part-time contracts. Plus, try to sell these services on Fiverr and Upwork by creating your own gigs and profiles.

6. Web Hosting and Domain Registration

Web Hosting and Domain Registration is a big business, which is growing bigger every single day. Because it’s impossible to create a website without a domain and hosting. As a result, you’ll find hundreds of thousands of agencies online providing these services.

You can also join this sector and sell domain registration and web hosting services. Don’t get overwhelmed as there are already many competitors in the market. By adopting some strategies, it’s definitely possible attract customers. Apply the following strategies:

• Target the local market where you are based
• Connect and appeal to audiences with local jargon and languages
• Provide some free web maintenance services (migration, security, fixing bugs, etc.)
• If possible, offer some essential plugins and a theme for free

If you follow this strategy, you may not have much profit on the first subscription. But you can keep a good amount of money as profit from the renewals.

7. Educational Courses and Coaching

As WordPress is a beginner-friendly website builder and content management system, its new user base is expanding almost every day. Hence, the number of people interested in knowing how to run WordPress, create a site, manage its security, etc., is also increasing.

See the search volume of these terms by using any keyword research tool. Take this as a business opportunity. Create online courses, coaching programs, webinars, workshops, and helpful content to educate people.

Not only general users but also you can target professional developers. Create courses like how to develop plugins and integrations, write PHP scripts, etc. Learn how to sell digital courses with WooCommerce and Dokan.

Use Appsero to Sell Themes and Plugins Online

Appsero is a powerful license management tool for WordPress themes and plugins. When a user purchases a theme or plugin, he is provided with an activation license key. Its sole purpose is to allow only authorized people to access and use the premium features of the plugin.

Without a license management tool, it’s impossible to generate and manage license keys when you have hundreds of thousands of users. Appsero is such a plugin that simplifies these tasks. If you are thinking of selling themes and plugins on WordPress, you must take a look at Appsero.

Appsero helps simplify the following things:

• Handle subscriptions, renewals, and recurring payments
• Provide real-time insight about the theme and plugin usage via analytics
• Integration with Git platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, and Gitlab
• Deploy updates to these platforms automatically
• Integration with WooCommerce, Envato, and EDD helps you sell themes and plugins

Conclusion

According to recent data, from Business Research Insights, the global market size of the web development industry in 2023 was over $6 billion. It’s expected to reach $9.5 billion by the end of 2032. So if you have enough expertise in this industry, it’s needless to say that you’ll surely be able to change your financial fortune by utilizing your talent and hard work in this sector.

Truly speaking, we have already seen so many companies and agencies around that initiated their business journey by selling WordPress services and making multi-million dollar yearly. As they have financial stability, they are now developing SaaS and AI-based products.

This can happen to you also. Hope you enjoyed this discussion. If you still have any queries unanswered, we request you to mention them in the comment section below. We’ll get back to you soon with viable answers.