I write WordPress Themes and Plugins and often contribute them to the WordPress community by submitting them to the relevant WordPress Extend repository. This provides an extensive distribution venue and allows these themes and plugins to be available to millions of users all over the world … all at no charge. Let me repeat that, with emphasis, no charge!
Now, let’s have a look at that idea. I have spent in some cases quite a bit of time developing a theme or plugin; and, I take pride in the work I do. I have spent many hours debugging and improving my themes and plugins with every intent to make sure they are of the best quality every time I release a new version. So, if an end-user points out something I’ve missed then by all means I note the issue and address it at no charge. Let me repeat that, again with emphasis, no charge!
Also, if an end-user of one of my themes or plugins offers an idea I feel would provide “greater good” benefit I make note of it; I review what would be involved to implement the idea; and more often than not I add it to the theme or plugin; and, yes, I do it at no charge. Let’s repeat that one more time, with feeling … no charge!
So, when someone expects me to provide “free support” for one of my contributions to the WordPress community I look at what I already offer and weigh if what the end-user is asking fits into the above ideals, or is more suitable to a chargeable customization … or if it’s just a Five-Minute-Fix:
The five minutes is purely subjective and completely based on my personal opinion. If I believe a project should take five minutes then that is how long the project will take. If it takes five hours, or five days, the cost will still be the same: free!
Be that as it may, I fully understand if an end-user expects “free support” for a “free product” downloaded from a “free source” and in many cases I also agree with their “reasonable” expectations as I still to this day have not been able to assign a value to the free advertising and exposure provided by the WordPress repositories.
Even though I agree with providing free support on items with “reasonable” expectations, I do not agree with nor do I offer support for unreasonable requests or outlandish ideas. If an end-user wants a specific customization, or requests a specific feature, that is not currently scheduled or under consideration to be added the end-user can just as reasonably expect their request to not be no charge.
If the end-user has modified the code in the theme or plugin; finds it no longer works as expected; and, then requests free support … really? seriously?! Why would that be no charge?
What support do you offer at no charge?
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2 Comments
Hello there,
I’ve been using your bns-smf-feeds plugin for a long time. It works great! Thanks a bunch!
I have been studying programming at w3schools for the last couple of weeks non-stop. I started with html and have worked my way through php. I’m seriously considering becoming a web developer professionally. But there’s a lot of things I’m confused about, or simply don’t understand and need direction.
It seems like there are A LOT of developers out in the world. On the one hand I feel like I’d be getting into a profession that is already glutted with highly skilled people that I could never compete against. On the other hand I feel like there’s an infinite amount of work to be done in the world of web developing, so there is a living to be made.
Then there’s conflicting stories I know of. On one hand I know people personally that are making really good money as professional programmers, and on the other hand it seems like there’s a whole world of developers out there that are working their asses off writing quality code, contributing to really valuable FOSS and not making ANY money. What is that all about?? Do people get pigeon-holed into either being a broke developer or selling out to some megacorp writing propritary software in order to make a living?
Then there’s the difficulty of web developing. I studied physics in college but never persued that as a career. I mention that because I know I’m capable of learning difficult material. On the other hand, web development looks difficult to get in to. I mean, after I finish studying at w3schools, then what? I have no idea where to go from there. I really feel like I’m learning a lot at w3schools, but I have a very strong feeling that even when I’m done I’m not going to be able to just write pages of code at the snap of my fingers. When I look at just how much code is needed even for simple wordpress plugins, it seems overwhelming. I ask myself, “how many days, weeks, or months did it take them to write all of this?” Then I start thinking about how long it’s going to take before I can make a living as a web developer.
I’m just confused and a little worried because I feel like after w3schools, I’m on my own. But I feel like I’ll need a lot more direction after that.
Anywho, I know I sort of spilled all of my guts out here. There are a lot of concerns I have. Any help, advice, or direction you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, one more thing. Is it common for FOSS developers to have tip jars? Do peopel actually donate any significant amount? Also, have you heard of Bitcoin? If you’d put up a bitcoin address I’d love to donate a small amount. It really makes micro donations a lot easier. Thanks for all your work!
@Seth – Thanks for your comments most writers would simply post something like this on their own blog but I do appreciate you leaving your thoughts here. I think the key to “making a living” doing web development is more in managing the challenges are keeping true to yourself and a great deal of time, dedication, and patience.
One must be willing to accept that when you start out you will likely not have a terrific revenue stream, and in many cases a small customer base as well; but, you can and will grow both of those metrics as you improve your work and your reputation in the community. You can then go forward as an employee, or find your way as a freelance developer. Ultimately it will be a decision of what you prefer and / or how well you handle all aspects of running a business.
Personally, I am at a fortunate place where I can write the code I want to write, and charge the fees I want to charge; and, I also admit this is mostly due to the fact my income needs are not tied to my freelance revenues.
Thanks for using the BNS SMF Feeds plugin, and thank you for your compliments. I will also add BitCoin to my review lists as I have not looked into it for quite some time.