Hey,
I’m curious about how much time it takes to make a good plugin. A lot of bestsellers out there actually look as if they could be made in a week, or two. I think I’m wrong, though!
If you have a decent-to-well selling plugin in your portfolio (20+ sales a week) I would like to know how much time you spent making it.
Me: I have a form builder plugin that is doing decently. It took about 40 days, working 3 - 5 hours each day.
1-2 months initially (of which I spent 3+ weeks traveling) then working on it (updates) ever since averaging to about a few hours daily and about 30 mins of support every day. In reality there can be days with almost no support and days with more. And like a week of working every hour of the days, then a week of not doing anything besides support. So the average works like that 
But I focus on one plugin, it might be different when you focus on more products and provide less updates. Sometimes I can be a perfectionist and since I created a product that many people like then why not take it to the next level!
Since I do only front end plugins, due testing ocross various devices and browsers, it can’t go below 2 weeks. Can go more than 2 weeks and
My first WP plugin tooks forever since I didn’t knew anything about WP 
My last 2 plugin’s were made in one or two day’s
ceasar saidMy first WP plugin tooks forever since I didn’t knew anything about WP
My last 2 plugin’s were made in one or two day’s
Cool! Same here. My first WP plugin was pretty basic, but it took over 1 - 2 weeks simply because I knew nothing about WP. If I were to re-make something like that today, it’d take a day or two.
ceasar saidMy first WP plugin tooks forever since I didn’t knew anything about WP
My last 2 plugin’s were made in one or two day’s
Cool! Same here. My first WP plugin was pretty basic, but it took over 1 - 2 weeks simply because I knew nothing about WP. If I were to re-make something like that today, it’d take a day or two.
1-2 months of my experience…
I don’t have any bestsellers yet, but my jQuery plugins each took about 2 days each, while my WordPress plugin took a week at first, then a day each for the two updates. I’m working on a WordPress theme for ThemeForest, and I started yesterday. So far, I have just a loop!
A week or two…
I think it’s all about the quality and how advanced it is. I spend more than 3 months on my first plugin. Because it was my first plugin, but also it’s very advanced with a lot of features. Since the release I am working on it like forever.
It was listed in popular items from the first month. But now its in the top 10 popular items since a month ago. If you want your item to be listed in the popular items, it will require a lot time and hard work. Definitely more than a few weeks.
ZozoUI saidI think it’s all about the quality and how advanced it is. I spend more than 3 months on my first plugin. Because it was my first plugin, but also it’s very advanced with a lot of features. Since the release I am working on it like forever.
It was listed in popular items from the first month. But now its in the top 10 popular items since a month ago. If you want your item to be listed in the popular items, it will require a lot time and hard work. Definitely more than a few weeks.
I agree. Iteration requires more work than creation.
I made the first jQuery plugins using my actionscript files (ActiveDen items) as a base and even after that it took > 3 months to make it perfect. Also HOW-TO files take a huge part of the time, but pay back is also huge, only 2-3 real questions from buyers per 100 sales.
So, its hard to believe that creation of any useful / high demand / bugles plugin can take couple of days/weeks.
I only have 1 plugin yet and its not in the popular items list but it took me about 200 hours to complete it.
Sandi saidSo, its hard to believe that creation of any useful / high demand / bugles plugin can take couple of days/weeks.
Depends on what functionality you are building, it is the idea and its utility - one of my plugin is something very simple (and just $7) but sells more than 20 copies almost every week. Was created in less than 50 hours
sanisoft saidSandi saidSo, its hard to believe that creation of any useful / high demand / bugles plugin can take couple of days/weeks.
Depends on what functionality you are building, it is the idea and its utility - one of my plugin is something very simple (and just $7) but sells more than 20 copies almost every week. Was created in less than 50 hours
Both of you guys are speaking about different plugins. The server end and front end plugins differ in the way of testing and the level of user interaction. Especially when it comes to front end (and visual, interaction targetted), optimizing DOM access, performance and memory management can take forever - with repeating sandwich of design-code-test. You may start the project with one robust hierarchy of element arrangement and end with different hierarchy to achieve performance across multiple browsers / devices.
It depends on the size of the project. I’ve done FontPress in three/four days … while for the huge Global Gallery I worked for 7 weeks
It could take about some seconds to several months, depend on its complexity.
ZozoUI saidI think it’s all about the quality and how advanced it is. I spend more than 3 months on my first plugin. Because it was my first plugin, but also it’s very advanced with a lot of features. Since the release I am working on it like forever.
While that makes sense, you’ve yet to release even one plugin on CC even though you’ve got a couple of pretty popular items / files / products (neither of which I’d consider to actually be a “plugin” in the sense it was likely intended by the OP).
If you were to ever finally finish / release your 1st WP plugin for either of them though, they’d probably be instantly successful as well (if necessary quality and features were there) even though I personally have no need of such things now.
The comments of both items have been peppered with requests for a plugin for about 2 years now. The reply has typically been that a plugin is being developed. While not unheard of, that’s a long dev cycle. I imagine many could’ve learned to program and have made their own quality plugin in that time too. Lol.
Having written several actual plugins myself, it has taken anywhere from 1 day to a month typically with the exception going outside that range for me. Drupal ones take the longest with WP ones usually being finished the quickest which is likely due to my (lack of) experience with both platforms.