Wordpress Theme

3 Wordpress Theme Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 8th, 2024

Creating WordPress themes puts you in the driver's seat of web design, without the need for coding skills. WordPress themes are pre-designed website templates that users can install and customize to fit their brand or personal style.

Imagine generating and selling attractive, functional themes that cater to various niches—from bloggers to small businesses. With millions of sites powered by WordPress, the demand for unique, easy-to-use themes is consistently high.

Starting this business involves understanding market trends, user needs, and aesthetic design principles. You'll need a bit of upfront work: researching popular features, creating appealing designs, and marketing your themes effectively. However, once established, it's a revenue stream that can grow through theme upgrades, add-ons, and customer support.

If you're keen on design and have an eye for functionality, building WordPress themes could be your gateway to tapping into the vast web development market.

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

1. UPQODE ($1.8M/year)

Nick, the founder of Qoders Family, traces his entrepreneurial journey back to his childhood experiences selling tomatoes with his grandparents. Armed with lessons in hard work, resilience, and the importance of having the best product in the market, Nick created his first profitable project, NRGthemes, generating over $20k a month in revenue. Today, Qoders Family boasts over 2,000 active customers and has generated over $3M in revenue, with plans to launch new products, increase sales, and win more design awards in the future.

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 25

How A Tomato Led Me To Build A $1.8M/Year Agency & Product Studio

This case study follows the success story of Nick, founder of Qoders Family, who has generated over $3M in revenue through his various website building services including an award-winning development design agency, custom-designed WordPress theme templates, free WordPress plugins, and a Shopify app.

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2. Zion Builder ($240K/year)

Stefan, the founder of Hogash and ZionBuilder, started his journey in the Joomla and WordPress template/plugins business in 2012. After partnering with various designers and launching the top-selling theme Kallyas, which generated $90,000 in sales in the first month, Stefan focused on improving the theme and expanding his team. In 2018, he decided to build his own site builder solution, Zion Builder, to meet his high standards of quality, code, ease of use, and performance. The product has received great feedback and continues to evolve with each update.

How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 6

I Learned To Code At 8 Yrs Old. This Led Me To Build A $240K/Year Wordpress Site Builder

Learn how Stefan, founder of Hogash and ZionBuilder, built one of the fastest site builders for WordPress, generating sales of $90,000 in the first month, and utilized community involvement to make an even better product with an AppSumo campaign, as well as his advice for future entrepreneurs.

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3. Una Vida Online ($216K/year)

Pau, the founder of Una Vida Online, came up with the idea for his business when he was looking for ways to make extra income online. He discovered the world of affiliate marketing and started creating affiliate websites. After achieving success and making more money from his websites than his full-time job, he decided to quit his job and focus on his online projects. He then created an online course to teach affiliate marketing and expanded his business to offer WordPress templates and plugins, as well as a tokenized private community for bloggers and affiliate marketers. With a strong focus on SEO, Una Vida Online has seen significant growth and currently generates about 18K per month in revenue.

How much money it makes: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1

We Make $18K/Month Selling WordPress Templates, Plugins, And Courses In The Spanish Market

Una Vida Online started as a side gig in 2018 to share knowledge on affiliate marketing and blogging, and has since grown into a business employing a full-time assistant and many freelancers with a monthly income of around 18K, offering online courses, WordPress templates and plugins, and a tokenized private community for people interested in generating income via blogging or affiliate marketing.

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Read by 2,427 founders