Post Status Podcasts

Today I talk to Matt Medeiros, in a wide-ranging conversation about the WordPress ecosystem. It's informal and we cover a lot of different topics, but they all narrow down to various fears and uncertainties some in the WordPress community are experiencing in recent years.

What's the future of WordPress? How about the business community? Can smaller businesses make it? What threats exist: leadership, corporate, other platforms?

We cover a great deal here. It's not very structured, but I do think it's valuable to be able to capture a common line of sentiment in the WordPress community. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks to Matt for being so open with me in this episode.

• Matt Report
• Matt on Twitter
• WP Governance

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I talked with Kira Leigh, a full-stack creative entrepreneur and consultant. Skeptic may be too strong of a word, but she makes it clear that she thinks WordPress is too often used when it’s not necessary.

Kira handles every part of her projects, which typically stem with marketing and copywriting, but she takes on design, development, and whatever is required to get the job done. She is the type of person who WordPress should be able to serve quite ably. But more than not, she would rather steer clear.

In this episode of the Draft Podcast, I talk to her about her work, why she is pained by WordPress, and try to come to some conclusions from it all. I am not sure if I accomplish much, but I do feel like I am better able to see where she’s coming from.

This conversation stemmed from a friend linking me to a post Kira wrote that was (to my mind) a bit aggressive toward WordPress — and while perhaps not 100% accurate, it is 100% her perception of the reality that is working with WordPress.

Links from the show

• There Is No Design — Kira’s business
• Kira on LinkedIn
• Assembly — a pretty neat page builder I’ve never seen before

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Ben Thompson recently wrote about Shopify and the Power of Platforms. He highlights the difference between an aggregator (e.g. Amazon’s Merchant Services) and a platform (Shopify) and makes a case for how Shopify can successfully compete against Amazon. If you’re new to Ben’s work, I highly recommend following the links he references in the opening paragraphs.

As Ben explains, Amazon is an aggregator that owns the users (i.e. customers, Amazon Prime subscribers) and aggregates the suppliers (i.e. merchants, manufacturers). Amazon succeeds by providing a great user experience (e.g. one click checkout, same day delivery) and by treating products and their suppliers as commodities, all available to the customer in a single, aggregated shopping experience. While aggregation can provide high value for customers, it minimizes the opportunity for merchants to differentiate and can ultimately hurt customers as competition and innovation are stifled. 

A competitor to Amazon might try becoming a larger aggregator. It’s a difficult endeavor. Walmart has been trying for years. The larger an aggregator grows, the more entrenched their position, and the less likely a competitor can unseat them by utilizing the same strategy.

There is another way to compete with an aggregator. Build a platform. 

While an aggregator owns the customer and commoditizes its suppliers, a platform empowers those who build on it, relying on its suppliers being differentiated and successful in their own right. 

As Ben details in the article, Shopify’s best shot at taking on Amazon is to double-down on their focus as a platform and, by all evidence, that seems to be their strategy. Shopify wants to be the platform that empowers its merchants to succeed.

There are several problems I suggest with Shopify’s strategy, though.

1. Data Control – Shopify has taken a strong stance on centralizing control of customer data and using their terms of service to enforce their policies. Their recent clash with MailChimp (who decided to leave the platform) may be indicative of more to come. It makes sense to have a centralized source of truth for your data. Shopify’s position, though, is an all or nothing approach that results in more lock-in to the platform and more data in their control. Actions that stifle or remove choice from the equation for end users and the suppliers who serve them is aggregator thinking more than platform thinking.
2. Closed Source – Shopify is a proprietary platform with closed source code. While they make efforts to show open source friendliness, the reality is that the platform code is theirs. If you stop paying Shopify, you lose it all and if you don’t like what they’re doing with the platform, you’re stuck unless you choose to leave.
3. Growth Risks – Shopify is growing fast and as a publicly traded company, they are focused on accelerating growth. Products like Shopify Capital, and the emphasis on offline services through Point-of-Sale as well as the continued push into enterprise, deepen the risk of growing for growth’s sake, rather than doing what’s best for the merchants they serve.

Shopify is a good solution for independent merchants who want to be more than an aggregated commodity. There are problems, though, and while Shopify is likely continue to grow despite the problems I’ve suggested (they have no shortage of interested investors), there is a better approach.

In my writing on Ecosystem Plugins, I introduced the concept of WordPress as an Operating System for the Open Web and cited WooCommerce as an example of an Ecosystem Plugin.

I believe strongly in the importance and value of WordPress as an Operating System, a platform, for the Open Web. 

With WooCommerce, I see potential for it to become more than an Ecosystem Plugin and serve as the platform for ecommerce on the Open Web. 

To do that, WooCommerce needs three things:

1. A great core experience – Out-of-the-box, WooCommerce needs to have the essentials built-in and provide a great, user-focused onboarding and operating experience. It needs to be intuitive and accessible for non-technical, small business merchants, who should always be the core focus. Importantly, this is not about removing choices and dumbing interfaces down. This is about doing the harder work and teaching merchants how to make the right choices for them and use the power that WooCommerce provides.
2. A vibrant partner ecosystem – Shopify has nearly 3000 apps in its “App Store” today. The WooCommerce marketplace has less than 300 extensions, and more than 30% are maintained by Automattic. For WooCommerce to succeed as a platform it needs to be trusted by its partners and seen as the best platform with clear short-term incentives and long-term value.
3. A strong community – WordPress’ community is a huge key to its success. Meetups and WordCamps create a sense of belonging and shared ownership that drives a loyalty to WordPress that’s unparalleled. WooCommerce needs to create a similar community where merchants feel that they have each other’s backs and are able to share their love for the platform that makes it all possible.

By many standards, Shopify is a giant compared to WooCommerce. With 4000+ employees, a $35+ billion dollar market cap, and a marketing budget to match, they seem to be the dominate ecommerce platform and show no signs of slowing down their efforts.

You can’t buy trust, vibrancy, and loyalty though. Deepening trust through a great core experience, investing in the partner ecosystem, and strengthening community loyalty is where I think WooCommerce has the opportunity to improve and succeed.

Here are three ideas for WooCommerce to increase its value and strengthen its position as the platform for ecommerce on the Open Web:

1. Introduce a WooCommerce Subscription – Provide access to non-SaaS extensions for a flat, monthly rate and easy bundling of SaaS billing for those who want it. Make it a clear win for all involved, including the merchants and marketplace partners. Position the subscription as an investment in the Open Web. The code is GPL – they could stop paying at any time and keep access. Paying, though, provides support and capital for reinvestment, ensuring the continued success of the platform. A subscription also offers opportunity to streamline the user experience for customers, reducing friction for developers.
2. Invest in the Partner Ecosystem – Make building a healthy partner ecosystem a priority. Provide guidance, mentorship, and funding to help developers succeed on the WooCommerce platform. Build strong relationships with SaaS providers, including ecommerce focused companies like BigCommerce, and help streamline their integrations into the platform. 
3. Cultivate Community – Invest in and support ecommerce meetups and create more ecommerce focused events. Double-down on the Open Web narrative and encourage community members to support each other in improving and maintaining their freedom as merchants on the Open Web.

Shopify provides a valuable service that empowers merchants. Unfortunately, their approach to centralized data control, their closed source platform, and the risks of a growth focus pose the potential for more harm than good.

I believe that WooCommerce, with data control in the hands of its users, an open source ecosystem, and a strong independent community give it the opportunity to become the best platform for ecommerce on the Open Web.

Special thanks to Caleb Johnson for his epic illustration.

This is a guest post by Jonathan Wold. Jonathan has been living and breathing WordPress for 14 years and believes its best years are still to come. He writes about WordPress on GrowInWP.com and blogs about life and habits on JonathanWold.com

I talked to Matt Mullenweg for over an hour recently, and here I share about 8 minutes of our conversation, a part where we discuss eCommerce, and where WooCommerce currently fits into that world.

I also spend several minutes talking about big changes happening with Post Status. I hope you'll check it out, and join us for Post Status Publish, and subscribe to the now free newsletter.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard.

In this episode of Draft, I talk to Anil Gupta, the founder of Multidots. Multidots is a 100+ person company and Anil has established a very people-first environment. We discuss his journey and philosophies building the company.

I met Anil at CaboPress and we had a great chat, which we followed up with in this episode, recorded at WordCamp US. Anil has a great story and a lot of insight. I hope you enjoy.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard.

In this episode, I am joined by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic.

Just after releasing WordPress 5.0, and on the heels of WordCamp US, Matt and I review the event, the release, and discuss how he thinks things went, what could have gone better, and what he sees ahead.

We also dig into WooCommerce, various plans around core development processes, Automattic, and more. I hope you enjoy. Full transcript is coming soon.

Thanks to iThemes for being a Post Status partner.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard and co-host Brian Richards.

In this episode, I bring on Andrew Youderian. Andrew runs eCommerce Fuel -- a great website geared toward eCommerce store owners, specifically those making high six figures or seven figures in revenue per year.

Andrew keeps his ear low to the ground in the eCommerce landscape and carries no specific WordPress bias. If anything his experience is in other platforms -- making a discussion with him both on platforms and also just eCommerce in general particularly valuable to me.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard and co-host Brian Richards.

In this episode, I bring on James Laws and Kevin Stover -- cofounders of Saturday Drive, the parent company of Ninja Forms -- to discuss why they are entering the world of eCommerce. I found this especially interesting given the market dominance of WooCommerce for general WordPress-based eCommerce needs.

Saturday Drive purchased Exchange, the plugin initially developed by iThemes and then handed off to A.J. Morris, with the intention of making a play for the eCommerce market, much like they did successfully once already for the somewhat-saturated forms market.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard and co-host Brian Richards.

In this episode, the Brians discuss the challenges of working on your own business website, when your company offers services or makes products for websites. Agencies often disregard their own websites, as do product companies. We discuss our own histories of attempting in-house redesign projects, strategies to get them done, and how we approach things today owning our own tiny businesses.

Welcome to the Post Status Draft podcast, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and via RSS for your favorite podcatcher. Post Status Draft is hosted by Brian Krogsgard and co-host Brian Richards.

In this episode, the Brians have a chat about a number of different acquisitions that have occurred in the WordPress space over these past few weeks. Listen in as they unpack some of the news surrounding StudioPress, WPEngine, Automattic, WPNinjas, Prospress, and AutomateWoo. Check out our episode links for further stories about each of those businesses as well as the virtual JavaScript for WordPress conference taking place live on July 29.