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Awesome Motive Acquires Sandhills DevelopmentPost Status CEO Cory Miller chats with Pippin Williamson, the Founder and Managing Director of Sandhills Development, about Awesome Motive's acquisition of his company. Pippin announced today that Awesome Motive has acquired his company — their whole team and plugin portfolio: Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP, Sugar Calendar, WP Simple Pay, and the Payouts Service. Syed Balkhi, Founder and CEO of Awesome Motive, outlines the commercial plugins and notes the deal includes several free plugins as well. From Sandhills, Chris Klosowski, Andrew Munro, and Phil Derksen will be joining Awesome Motive as partners, and Chris will continue to lead Easy Digital Downloads. Pippin, however, intends to take a very long break from WordPress and software development.Sitting down with Cory Miller for some reflection on the past and thoughts about the future in the WordPress space, Pippin offered advice to developers and product owners today. He also identified what he sees as th

Chris Lema talks about the latest WordPress acquisition: LearnDash is joining Liquid Web. Will it become the leading LMS turnkey solution?Post Status CEO Cory Miller chats with Chris Lema, Vice President of Products at Liquid Web, about Liquid Web's acquisition of LearnDash. LearnDash will join Liquid Web's StellarWP brand, and Chris will step in as the General Manager of LearnDash.It's been a boom time in recent years for edutech companies. As the online learning leader in the WordPress space with their Learning Management System (LMS) plugin for WordPress — which comes with a whole ecosystem of addons and integrations — it's no surprise LearnDash would be attractive as a platform for a hosting company to acquire. Get an inside look at the latest big deal in WordPress acquisitions with Chris Lema."Everyone knows LearnDash as the leader of online learning in the WordPress ecosystem. We are excited to welcome them to the Liquid Web family as we continue to build our strength in the digital commerce ecosystem.

“When it comes to the entrepreneurial journey - the highest highs and the lowest lows are always people.”In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David and Cory first discuss how hard it is to do "the right thing" and potentially dealing with tough and negative feedback as a result. How does an entrepreneur prepare for "roller coaster" times — especially if the ride is heading down? What should you keep in mind? Cory shares an iThemes experience in response.Also covered in this episode: Cory and David talk about the $12 billion acquisition of MailChimp by Intuit, and how that could potentially reshape the business landscape for WordPress users and entrepreneurs.Note: David misspoke and said "Stripe" instead of "Square." Forgive him.Browse past episodes from all our podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe to them on your favorite players. Post Status' Draft, Comments, and Excerpt podcasts are on Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iTunes, Castro, YouTube, Stitcher, Player.fm, Pocket Casts, and Simplecast. (

"A crisis can either build you or break you."In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David and Cory reflect on a tough question: What can help WordPress professionals weather the storm of being an entrepreneur in challenging times? Cory shares four types of people who can offer support in their own unique ways: spouses, counselors, coaches, and colleagues. It's important that you find the right combination of people and connections that works best for you.Also covered in this episode: Cory and David thank their spouses and will later share the timestamps of the podcast with them as evidence.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

New hires to Post Status and an acqui-hire for Automattic.In this episode, David and Cory talk about recent news from all corners of the WordPress community. First, they share how they will miss Andrea Middleton — who is taking a great new opportunity at Reddit after 10 years of full-time work on the WordPress open source project. Next, they talk about why keeping the Classic Editor plugin officially supported makes sense, and how the Frontity acquisition by Automattic can be viewed as an acquihire to advance Gutenberg's development.Also covered in this episode: Cory and David welcome Jonathan Wold to the Post Status team.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

We Can Be Organized In How We Multitask.In this episode, David and Cory have a conversation about another way to prevent Developer Overload: organization. Cory shares how he benefited from a mentor, while David feels that documentation, commenting code, and following some best practices can help reduce anxiety overall — if you can convince yourself to adopt new habits. This show is worth a listen just for Cory's "going on a hike" metaphor.Also covered in this episode: Cory encourages David to take the Kolbe A Index test.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Avoiding ego, reinventing the wheel, and shiny objects.In this episode, David and Cory discuss Developer Overload, which David defines as what happens when "when you receive too much information and are unable to process it, resulting in negative responses and unhealthy effects." David shares tips on how developers can focus on what to pay serious attention to, how to avoid creating more work for themselves, how to increase focus, and what project managers can do to help.Also covered in this episode: "As developers we often bite off more than we can chew... we also tend to take that bite from the wrong side of the sandwich."Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Allowing time to goof off or pursuing a passion improves team connections.Professor Jane Dutton from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business suggests "four ways to build high-quality workplace connections" — respectful engagement, support, trust — and play. Play is what Cory and David focus on in this episode — why should companies set aside time to explore, goof off, or entertain each other with no particular outcome in mind?Also covered in this episode: Only an hour before recording this, Yoast announced it is being acquired by Newfold Digital — formerly known at least in part as Endurance International Group (EIG). David and Cory share their initial thoughts with more analysis still to come.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

The first step to getting started might not be technical.As new people come into Post Status looking for some guidance, there is a tendency among old hands to say things used to be much easier. Although it was a simpler time ten years ago, getting started in WordPress development presented challenges to new developers much as web development generally does today for seasoned developers. With a mature WordPress ecosystem now, new and experienced developers should set their expectations about business success carefully.Also covered in this episode: David remembers that a decade ago, even though the web and WordPress were less complex, development in many ways wasn't any less challenging. Remember WordPress MU (Multisite)?Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Many plugins in the WordPress.org repository have shown a significant drop in active install growth this year.In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David Bisset and Cory Miller focus on a blog post David published on July 23rd on Post Status entitled "Is The Growth Of Active Installs of WordPress Plugins Declining in 2021?" Since about May or early June, the overall trends for some of the most popular and well-known plugins’ “active install growth” (as reported by WordPress.org) are pointing generally downward — their growth is in decline.Also covered in this episode: Cory shares what he observed at iThemes regarding sales trends and how it might be related to the trends reported by Post Status. David thanks Iain Poulson for backing his observations with some solid numbers.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Acquisitions in the WordPress space, WordPress 5.8, WordFest Live, Elementor is 5, and #ClickPublishIn this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David Bisset and Cory Miller chat about how the new Post Status Acquisition Tracker is a window into significant moments and trends in WordPress history. With WordPress 5.8 released this week, it will be interesting to see how theme developers react and adapt to it in the coming months and years. It seems some people aren't happy about a certain change to the Media Library.Also covered in this episode: On the eve of WordFest 2021, David notes Elementor's fifth anniversary and how they might be installed on about 12% of all WordPress sites. Cory shares the #ClickPublish movement he's started on Post Status Slack.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

"Understanding who you are and who you are not goes a long way."In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David Bisset talks with Syed Balkhi about the acquisition of SearchWP by Awesome Motive. We get a little behind-the-scenes information about how this deal came to be. Syed shares his thoughts on how SearchWP fits in with Awesome Motive's brand and vision of providing support to small businesses.Also covered in this episode: Syed talks about "plugin developers and entrepreneurs being true" to their mission when it comes to growing and monetizing their products and plugins.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

"I realized that I wanted [SearchWP] to be long term and stable...it deserved a team behind it."In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David Bisset talks with Jon Christopher about his sale of SearchWP to Awesome Motive. The two talk about what motivated Jon — the sole developer (and marketer) of SearchWP — to part with his plugin. David also asks Jon about his view of search as it exists today in WordPress Core, what he might like to see in search going forward, and what his future plans are.Also covered in this episode: Jon shares some advice for plugin developers who want to monetize their products and plugins, even if those plugins aren't well-known.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Castos is a WordPress-powered podcast hosting provider with roots in the open-source community through their Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin for WordPress. They recently announced a $756K pre-seed funding round from a number of companies, including Automattic and Yoast SEO.Cory Miller sat down with Castos CEO Craig Hewitt to talk about this move and how Castos is eager to expand its services in the private podcasting market.⚠️  CORRECTION:In the audio recording, a $756 Million figure was mistakenly given. Castos has raised $756 thousand in investor funding.

Take 10% of your time, energy, and even money and start investing it systematically in a “Next Chapter” project.In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, David Bisset and Cory Miller talk about how to build a "career raft" for yourself — something Cory wishes he did when he sold iThemes and went looking for new ventures. Cory explains how to identify what might be a good fit for your "next chapter" project and how to maintain your motivation, whether you are a developer, marketer, or entrepreneur.Also covered in this episode: Cory and David congratulate James Laws and the entire team at Ninja Forms who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this week. They proved that there was room (and then some) for another form plugin in the WordPress space.Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

$635.5 billion by the end of 2021?In this episode of Post Status Excerpt, Cory Miller and David Bisset briefly touch on two more acquisitions this week — one involving Extendify and another by Automattic. Cory and David review some highlights from WP Engine's recent report on the WordPress economy. WP Engine estimates the WordPress market generated more than half a trillion dollars (USD) in 2020. They expect the market to grow to $635.5 billion by the end of 2021.Also covered in this episode: A discussion of people who gave up on Gutenberg in its early phases release and how they might be convinced to give it another shot now. This topic came up thanks to an article written by Chris Lema and the conversation it provoked in Post Status Slack.Every week Post Status Excerpt will brief you on important WordPress news — in about 15 minutes or less! Learn what's new in WordPress in a flash. ⚡Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Raising eyebrows in the WordPress community — especially among developers — Delicious Brains announced they have acquired Advanced Custom Fields (ACF). Elliot Condon is the creator and has been the sole developer for ACF for about a decade. While Elliot will be involved in the transition, he will not stay with the Delicious Brains team in the long term, according to his blog post.In this episode of Post Status Draft, Cory Miller talks with Brad Touesnard of Delicious Brains following the announcement that his company has acquired the Advanced Custom Fields plugin from Elliot Condon.

A Focus On Mental Health And Long-Term StabilityIn this episode of Post Status Excerpt, Cory Miller and David Bisset discuss the recently announced acquisition of Advanced Custom Fields plugin by Delicious Brains Inc. After having time to absorb community feedback and listen to a pre-recorded interview with those involved, David and Cory share why this move is a win for the WordPress community in the long run.Also covered in this episode: For freelancers and solopreneurs with projects and products that grow close to an unmanageable size: where do you draw the line between owning your product and handing the reins of your creation to someone else? (Controlling your destiny is great, on the one hand, but having full responsibility and the stress that comes with it is tough to sustain, on the other hand.)Every week Post Status Excerpt will brief you on important WordPress news — in about 15 minutes or less! Learn what's new in WordPress in a flash. ⚡Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes,

Monetization of WordPress PluginsThis episode features a conversation in Twitter Spaces that took place on May 28, 2021. Our topic is monetization of WordPress plugins. Speakers: Cory Miller, Joe Casabona, Joost de Valk, David Bisset (host) along with many others commenting live in Post Status Slack.Post Status Comments  provides a stage for WordPress professionals to exchange ideas and talk about recent topics and trends. Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.

Change and a vision for the future at Post StatusIn this episode of Post Status Excerpt, Cory Miller and David Bisset discuss the future of Post Status and Cory's full acquisition of it from its founder, Brian Krogsgard. Brian launched Post Status eight years ago. Today, Brian shared his announcement publicly, and Cory also outlined his plans for the future of Post Status.Every week Post Status Excerpt will brief you on important WordPress news — in about 15 minutes or less! Learn what's new in WordPress in a flash. ⚡Browse our archives, and don’t forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Simplecast, or RSS.