7 Wordpress Theme Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Create A Wordpress Theme

Here are some real life success stories of starting a wordpress theme:

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 they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
Current team size: 25

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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.

About
Nicolae started UPQODE over 8 years ago
Revenue
Nicolae grew the business to $150K/month
Costs
It cost Nicolae $25000 to start the business
Read by 5,038 founders

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 they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 6

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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.

About
Balasa started Zion Builder over 12 years ago
Revenue
Balasa grew the business to $20K/month
Read by 2,988 founders

So... can you actually make money with a wordpress theme?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

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 they make: $216K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 1

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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.

About
Pau started Una Vida Online almost 6 years ago
Revenue
Pau grew the business to $18K/month
Costs
It cost Pau $100 to start the business
Read by 1,842 founders

So... can you actually make money with a wordpress theme?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

4. WP Engine ($227M/year)

How much they make: $227M/year
Current team size: 1170

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Jason Cohen Interview On Bootstrapping To 132 Million ARR

Find out how WP Engine became a market leader, with over 85,000 customers and generating more than $227 million in yearly revenue by providing digital solutions for businesses using key takeaways like automation and proper customer support.

About
Jason started WP Engine over 14 years ago
Revenue
Jason grew the business to $18.9M/month
Read by 662 founders