35 Online WordPress Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2024]

Updated: July 24th, 2023

Interested in starting a wordpress business in 2024?

We put together 35 of the best wordpress businesses you can start in today.

For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other wordpress businesses to help you see what it really takes.

Here's the full list:

1. Start an online course sales business

Do you know you can make money selling what you are passionate about? People are making money creating courses and selling them online. Common online courses include music, cooking, coding, web design, dropshipping, etc.

Thus, you can turn it into a passive income by launching online classes if you have a skill. All you need is to choose a target audience, create the online course and choose an online learning platform where you can sell the course.

The e-learning market is expected to be worth over $645 Billion in the next few years.

How much you can make: $100 — $1,666,666/month

How long does it take to build: 190 days (?)

I Make $120K/Year With My Print On Demand T-Shirt Side Hustle

A multipreneur shares how she built a successful print on demand side hustle, generating $120,000 per year through multiple brands spread over various platforms.

About
Cinquanta started Cinquanta Cox-Smith over 14 years ago
Revenue
Cinquanta grew the business to $10K/month
Costs
It cost Cinquanta $100 to start the business
Read by 10,743 founders

2. Start a wordpress resource business

How much you can make: $800 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)

How I Started A $1.4K/Month WordPress Support Service

Work Hero is a WordPress support and maintenance service that went from working with one website in December 2019 to 13 recurring customer sites today, earning ~$1470/month with most customers paying an unlimited fee of $149/month.

About
Kevin started Work Hero over 5 years ago
Revenue
Kevin grew the business to $12.2K/month
Costs
It cost Kevin $1000 to start the business
Read by 7,152 founders

3. Start a wordpress maintenance services

How much you can make: $600 — $100,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $3,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)

How I Started A $1.4K/Month WordPress Support Service

Work Hero is a WordPress support and maintenance service that went from working with one website in December 2019 to 13 recurring customer sites today, earning ~$1470/month with most customers paying an unlimited fee of $149/month.

About
Kevin started Work Hero over 5 years ago
Revenue
Kevin grew the business to $12.2K/month
Costs
It cost Kevin $1000 to start the business
Read by 7,152 founders

4. Start a career coaching business

A career coaching business involves providing personalized guidance, support, and strategy services to help clients navigate professional transitions and growth opportunities.

As a career coach, you design custom sessions to assist with resume building, interview prep, and workplace advancement goals tailored to each client’s aspirations.

With flexibility for in-person or virtual meetings, building a client base lets you empower breakthroughs through specialized advice and accountability.

Launching a coaching practice can be a great opportunity for those with speaking talents and human resources expertise to monetize their natural motivational abilities while setting their own schedule.

How much you can make: $1,000 — $500,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $750 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

From Getting Fired At 24 To Growing A $140K/Month Online Community

Wall Street Oasis, the largest online community focused on careers in finance, has over 100 million visitors during its 14-year history and is currently receiving over 2 million visits per month, offering interview courses and mentorship services, in addition to building and investing in a thriving online community.

About
Patrick started Wall Street Oasis almost 18 years ago
Revenue
Patrick grew the business to $200K/month
Read by 20,609 founders

5. Start a niche blog

Starting a niche blog can be a great way to engage with a passionate online community by sharing your expertise on a specific topic.

The first step is to identify a profitable and underserved niche, such as fashion, video games, film reviews, cooking, and more.

Find your niche and create unique and informative content, such as articles, commentary, news, how-to guides, top product lists, convention coverage, video interviews, and spotlights.

To monetize your blog, gain visibility and followers, provide affiliate links, grow a YouTube channel, collaborate with relevant brands, and speak at events.

To succeed in niche blogging, you need to have a passion for your topic, create engaging content, and regularly engage with your followers.

How much you can make: $200 — $100,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

How I Built Starter Story

Starter Story grew to 1.4 million monthly visitors and $500,000 in annual revenue, and offers frameworks for growing your own site.

About
Pat started Starter Story over 6 years ago
Revenue
Pat grew the business to $91K/month
Costs
It cost Pat $100 to start the business
Read by 49,877 founders

6. Create an online course

An online course business involves creating and selling digital classes teaching specialized skills or knowledge to subscribed students.

As an entrepreneurial course creator, you identify educational gaps around topics you have expertise in and develop engaging video lessons and supplementary materials.

With flexibility around self-paced or cohort-based structures, building a student base provides passive income potential.

For founders who enjoy information-sharing, launching an online course platform presents a lucrative way to monetize your instructional talents with small startup costs by serving eager lifelong learners seeking convenient access to emerging subjects.

How much you can make: $350 — $3,735,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,700 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How This 28-Year-Old Couple Quit Their Jobs And Make $20K/Month Running A Blog

Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.

About
Kelan started The Savvy Couple over 7 years ago
Revenue
Kelan grew the business to $20K/month
Costs
It cost Kelan $500 to start the business
Read by 26,190 founders

7. Start an ecommerce store

An eCommerce business is a company that sells products or services online. Ecommerce businesses have many advantages over brick-and-mortar businesses, including lower overhead costs, increased flexibility and reach, and the ability to reach a wider audience.

eCommerce is booming right now because of the convenience and efficiency it offers consumers. Consumers can buy products from their favorite brands on a platform that makes the whole process easier than ever. They don't have to leave their homes or go out in public, they can just sit down at their computer, tablet or smartphone and browse through all of the options available to them.

To start an ecommerce business, you'll need to set up a website where customers can browse your inventory and purchase items, as well as payment processing software that allows you to accept credit card payments. You'll also need to choose a shopping cart software and manage inventory tracking software.

How much you can make: $450 — $62,500,000/month

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week

How I Started A $20K/Month Southern Inspired Candle Business

Southern Elegance Candle Company, founded by D'Shawn Russell, started as a side hustle making around $200 per weekend at a local Farmers Market, but now averages approximately $20,000 per month in sales across their retail site, wholesale site, and Faire.

About
DShawn started Southern Elegance Candle Company about 8 years ago
Revenue
DShawn grew the business to $140K/month
Read by 69,704 founders

8. Start a content writing company

Content writing involves writing, editing, and publishing content in a digital format. Examples of content include a blog post, product description, and podcast script—eBooks, press releases, or landing page content.

Becoming a content writer allows you to work as your boss. Therefore, you choose whatever working schedule suits you and take a manageable workload. Moreover, content writing helps you develop essential skills you may not obtain from regular writing.

Content writing is a highly-on-demand service, as companies compete for the online audience who often begin their shopping journey by searching for relevant and educative content online. Therefore, a content writing company is an excellent source of passive income.

To start a content writing company, research the market and choose a suitable niche. Sketch a proper business plan and create a website. Hire a pool of talented writers and leverage modern technology to streamline operations.

How much you can make: $1,000 — $250,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $600 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

How Dani Mancini Transformed Her Freelance Gigs Into A SaaS Business

Scribly.io, a subscription-based copywriting service providing high quality content that helps businesses scale at roughly 50% of the cost of hiring in-house, created by Dani, a first-time entrepreneur who started with just a few hundred dollars worth of projects and with the help of three other writers; as of last month, Scribly.io topped $14K monthly revenue.

About
Dani started Scribly.io over 5 years ago
Revenue
Dani grew the business to $37K/month
Read by 12,194 founders

9. Build a SEO tool

SEO tools provide data and alerts about the health and success of a website. Website owners and businesses are looking for tools to help them quickly identify and fix SEO issues. Thus, starting an SEO business that focuses on developing SEO tools can be a rewarding career.

How much you can make: $2,800 — $850,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

How I Bootstrapped My SaaS Company To $2.5M/Year In 5 Years As A Solo Founder

Solo founder Todd Hooper bootstrapped Prerender.io from zero to $2.5 million in ARR over 5 years by releasing an open-source project on Github and turning it into an SEO-friendly version of React, Angular, and Javascript websites, and then offering it as a SaaS service for businesses.

About
Todd started Prerender.io over 10 years ago
Revenue
Todd grew the business to $220K/month
Read by 15,284 founders

10. Start a web development business

A web development business is a company that builds and takes care of websites. They typically use coding and design skills to create online spaces that meet the needs of individuals or businesses.

These businesses help ensure websites work well and look good, playing a key role in the online presence of their clients.

How much you can make: $6,600 — $350,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $3,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)

I Built A $300K/Year Vue.js Component Library

Vuetify is a popular open-source user interface library, built with the Vue.js framework, that generates revenue through digital content and services such as paid digital content in the Vuetify store, direct support through consulting, ad revenue from Carbon ads on the documentation pages, and donations/sponsorships via GitHub and Patreon, generating an average income of $6,500 per month.

About
John started Vuetify over 6 years ago
Revenue
John grew the business to $25K/month
Read by 44,560 founders

11. Start an ecommerce marketing agency

Ecommerce agencies help online sellers achieve their eCommerce business goals through creative, technology, and marketing skills.

Hiring an eCommerce agency enables online sellers to start an eCommerce business or grow an existing one without employing full-time staff.

The eCommerce industry is often changing, and online sellers must match the current trends or risk being paced out by the competition. Balancing between production, launching creative services, and working on growing their eCommerce brands can be extremely difficult. Thus, the brands have no other option than hire eCommerce agencies.

Starting an eCommerce agency can be a profitable and fulfilling business opportunity. If you plan to state your eCommerce agency, educate yourself on the current trends and focus on building digital skills. You may focus on a particular niche or offer end-to-end services to your customers.

How much you can make: $1,500 — $465,583,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 52 days (?)

How I Started A $120K/Month Online Course For Social Media Marketing Agencies

Iman Gadzhi made over $1.2M in profit within two years with his social media marketing agency and education company, where he teaches entrepreneurs how to start and scale a profitable SMMA, with over 45 of his students making over six figures with their SMMA, and over 300 students having quit their regular jobs.

About
Iman started Grow Your Agency over 6 years ago
Revenue
Iman grew the business to $120K/month
Read by 13,800 founders

12. Start a wordpress plugin business

If you have used WordPress, you must know you cannot run a successful website without using a few plugins. Ideally, WP plugins help run the website successfully.

Selling WordPress plugins is one of the basic ways you can make money online. Thus, if you have found a solution to an issue, you can develop a plugin for it and earn income from the plugin.

If you are considering starting a WordPress plugin development business, ensure you focus on offering a solution to a particular need.

You can sell WP plugins at online platforms such as CodeCanyon., sell them on your blog, or create a separate website for the plugin.

How much you can make: $600 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 135 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week

How I Coded A Website Plugin Making $600 Per Month

Wheely Sales CEO Josh created a lucky wheel popup that has grown revenue from $0 to $600/month in just 4 months since getting started and has attracted over 1.1 million users to his customers’ websites, all while proving that when it comes to creating a product, competition is validation.

About
Joshua started Wheely Sales over 5 years ago
Revenue
Joshua grew the business to $600/month
Read by 17,773 founders

13. Start a wordpress website as a service designing business

How much you can make: $7,000 — $80,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $875 (?)

How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)

Building A $500K/Year Software Development Business With A $500 Investment [Ukraine]

Ukrainian software development company TRIARE, with a current annual turnover of $500,000, shares how personal and collective responsibility, paired with patience and consistency, can help build a profitable business.

Revenue
Boris grew the business to $25K/month
Read by 4,078 founders

14. Start a web design and development blogging business

How much you can make: $6,600 — $7,846/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,750 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How to Get More Freelance Gigs: Tap Into a $2.5 Billion Market

This case study follows a UX web designer who has earned an impressive $80k through Upwork and has built the Self-Made Web Designer website to help aspiring web designers on their journey.

Revenue
Chris grew the business to $6.6K/month
Read by 877 founders

15. Start a wordpress developer business

How much you can make: $4,800 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

How I Started A $4.8K/Month WordPress Maintenance Service

ThriveWP, a WordPress Maintenance Service based in the UK, shares how they started a $3.5k a month business providing website management, maintenance, hosting, and support services to various customers, with a focus on customer-centric service and a non-jargon approach.

About
Gavin started ThriveWP over 6 years ago
Revenue
Gavin grew the business to $4.8K/month
Read by 5,868 founders

16. Start a premium forums business

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

17. Start a web hosting service

White label web hosting or reseller hosting is the ability to re-sell another hosting company’s servers. The hosting service provider allows a white label reseller to take their platform and add their branding to offer the service to their customers.

A white label hosting reseller licenses existing technology, rebrands it to match the company’s logo and colors, and offers the service to their clients.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $30,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)

I Went From Making Extra Income With Affiliate Websites To Building A $360K/Year Business

Case study on SEO consultancy and affiliate marketing business generating over $360k per year with over 700k monthly visitors, with insights on building valuable content, conducting extensive research, and working with a skilled and dedicated team.

About
Jerry started WebRevenue over 17 years ago
Revenue
Jerry grew the business to $30K/month
Costs
It cost Jerry $500 to start the business
Read by 6,036 founders

18. Create a wordpress theme

How much you can make: $18,000 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $100 (?)

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

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 about 8 years ago
Revenue
Nicolae grew the business to $150K/month
Costs
It cost Nicolae $25000 to start the business
Read by 4,881 founders

19. Start a wordpress marketing business

How much you can make: $15,000 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

From Coding Games And Websites In Childhood To Starting A $15K/Month Digital Agency

Seasoned web designer Corey Hayes started Get X Media, a marketing agency that offers website design, customized apparel printing, and comprehensive digital marketing solutions that has experienced significant growth, with a remarkable increase in traffic 13 times higher than before and approximately doubling year-over-year, achieving a retention rate of 98%, and hoping to triple growth this year.

About
Corey started Get X Media over 3 years ago
Revenue
Corey grew the business to $15K/month
Costs
It cost Corey $5000 to start the business
Read by 1,296 founders

20. Start a wordpress instructor business

21. Start a wordpress job listing business

How much you can make: $120,000/month

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

We Now Sell Over $1.2M/Year Of Plugins

Barn2 Plugins, founded in 2009 by a husband-and-wife duo, sells innovative software products generating over $100,000 in monthly revenue aimed at website owners on the WordPress and WooCommerce platforms, with their first product, WooCommerce Password Protected Categories, launched to market after identifying a gap in the industry.

About
Katie started Barn2 Plugins almost 8 years ago
Revenue
Katie grew the business to $120K/month
Read by 3,566 founders

22. Start a contributing writing business

How much you can make: $2,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $100 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How I Bootstrapped A $2K/Month Online Community To Discuss Literature

Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.

About
Harshala started Merrative over 3 years ago
Revenue
Harshala grew the business to $2K/month
Costs
It cost Harshala $100 to start the business
Read by 2,941 founders

23. Start a wordpress consulting business

A WordPress consulting business involves helping individuals or businesses with their WordPress websites.

This could include tasks like setting up a new website, customizing an existing one, troubleshooting technical issues, and providing advice on how to improve the site's performance.

To start this business, you'll need a good understanding of WordPress and its functionalities, as well as basic web design knowledge.

You can offer your services on platforms like freelancing websites or through your own website, and you can choose to charge clients per project or on an hourly basis.

With minimal upfront costs, such as a computer and internet connection, a WordPress consulting business is a low-cost venture that can be run from the comfort of your own home.

How much you can make: $200 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $100 (?)

How long does it take to build: 21 days (?)

How I Turned My WordPress Freelance Gigs Into A Productized Service

WP-OK offers unlimited WordPress support services designed for serious website owners, boasting a team of four WordPress experts who have provided support for over 2800 tickets and 200+ customers since their launch in 2015, attributing their growth to strategies such as podcasts, Google ads, chatbots, and content marketing.

About
Daniele started WP OK almost 9 years ago
Revenue
Daniele grew the business to $10K/month
Read by 6,954 founders

24. Start an e-book writing business

An eBook business is profitable and flexible, letting you start a business from anywhere, while it is a low-cost business that is easy to start. You can make a living self-publishing and selling eBooks online as long as you are ready to invest your time and money in it.

Anyone can start an eBooks business! Just choose a niche that interests the target audience, and ensure in-depth research.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $42,857/month

How much does it cost to start: $67 (?)

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

How We Started A $514K/Year Content Curation Agency With Just $35 [From India]

Content-Whale, a content curation agency, has achieved a Rs. 4 crore ($514k/year) turnover 4-5 years after being started with just Rs. 2500 ($35), and has a pool of more than 500 writers, aiming to become a market leader in the global content market.

About
Vaibhav started Content-Whale Private Limited over 6 years ago
Revenue
Vaibhav grew the business to $42.9K/month
Costs
It cost Vaibhav $35 to start the business
Read by 4,651 founders

25. Start a wordpress memberships business

How much you can make: $100,000 — $18,933,333/month

How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)

How We Developed A $100K/Month Paid Memberships Plugin For WordPress

Learn how two entrepreneurs developed a successful open-source membership plugin for WordPress that brought in an average of $100k per month in revenue and grew to over 100,000 sites while offering premium add-ons and support services.

About
Jason started Paid Memberships Pro over 13 years ago
Revenue
Jason grew the business to $100K/month
Costs
It cost Jason $30000 to start the business
Read by 9,513 founders

26. Start a dance tutorial blog

27. Start a Premium plugin development business

How much you can make: $30,000 — $18,933,333/month

How long does it take to build: 119 days (?)

We Started A $360K/Year Business Selling WordPress Themes And Plugins [From Brazil]

Visualmodo co-founders Claudio Pires and Jared Dias started a global WordPress theme development company which generates $360k per year, with the market growing rapidly.

About
Claudio started Visualmodo about 14 years ago
Revenue
Claudio grew the business to $30K/month
Costs
It cost Claudio $10003 to start the business
Read by 3,110 founders

28. Start a wordpress security business

A WordPress security business focuses on protecting websites built on the popular WordPress platform from online threats and vulnerabilities.

This business involves offering services such as malware scanning, firewall setup, regular software updates, and overall website security audits.

By identifying and addressing potential risks, the aim is to ensure the safety of clients' WordPress sites, preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and other cyber threats.

As a WordPress security business owner, your key tasks would include providing robust security solutions, educating clients on best practices, and offering ongoing support to keep their websites safe and secure.

WordPress security businesses play a crucial role in safeguarding the online presence of individuals and businesses using WordPress for their websites.

How much you can make: $600 — $18,933,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

How We Acquired A WordPress Plugin And Grew Revenue 50%

Site Alert, a small business-focused monitoring tool for websites, saw revenue grow by 51% under new ownership by Southport Ventures, thanks to focused growth initiatives and organic growth through the WordPress plugin marketplace.

About
Trevor started Site Alert over 2 years ago
Revenue
Trevor grew the business to $600/month
Costs
It cost Trevor $5000 to start the business
Read by 2,007 founders

29. Start a local reviewer business

30. Start a wordpress UI & UX designing business

How much you can make: $25,000/month

Building A $500K/Year Software Development Business With A $500 Investment [Ukraine]

Ukrainian software development company TRIARE, with a current annual turnover of $500,000, shares how personal and collective responsibility, paired with patience and consistency, can help build a profitable business.

Revenue
Boris grew the business to $25K/month
Read by 4,078 founders

31. Start a web flipping business

A web flipping business is where you purchase a website, improve its revenue and then sell it for a profit. To start a web-flipping business, find an undervalued site with high traffic but a poor monetization strategy. Alternatively, you can build your website, grow it and then sell at a profit.

To earn profits from web flipping, you must spend time churning out high-quality content and growing your following before you can start making money.

How much you can make: $175,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

I Bootstrapped A $1.5M/Year Business By Flipping And Investing In Websites

Mohit Tater, CEO and founder of BlackBook Investments, shares his company's offerings of buying and operating profitable internet businesses and helping others invest in these businesses, with a minimum investment of $100,000 for the one-to-one offering and $25,000 for the group buy offering, and has over $7.5m in AUM and growing at a very rapid pace.

About
Mohit started BlackBook Investments about 11 years ago
Revenue
Mohit grew the business to $175K/month
Costs
It cost Mohit $2500 to start the business
Read by 5,647 founders

32. Start a wordpress interviewer business

33. Start a premium divi layout designing business

34. Start a wordpress news blogging business

How much you can make: $1,000 — $830,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 119 days (?)

We Started A $360K/Year Business Selling WordPress Themes And Plugins [From Brazil]

Visualmodo co-founders Claudio Pires and Jared Dias started a global WordPress theme development company which generates $360k per year, with the market growing rapidly.

About
Claudio started Visualmodo about 14 years ago
Revenue
Claudio grew the business to $30K/month
Costs
It cost Claudio $10003 to start the business
Read by 3,110 founders

35. Start a premium wordpress child theme designing business

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.