When it comes to launching and scaling a WordPress plugin, it’s easy to wear many hats and chase too many good ideas at once. But if Devin Walker’s journey is any guide, the real key to success isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things with relentless focus.
Devin, best known for GiveWP and now WP Rollback, joined Mark Westguard on the Open Channels FM podcast to talk shop about the highs, lows, and “aha!” moments in his career. One lesson stood out above all: focus is not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have.
“It’s one word, it’s focus. It’s the biggest thing that made a difference for us early in the GiveWP days,” says Devin Walker.
The Trouble With Too Many Ideas
Like many entrepreneurial developers, Devin and his team started GiveWP alongside a fleet of smaller plugins such as Quick Checkout, Maps Builder Pro, and WP Business Reviews. At first, casting a wide net seemed like a good idea, but in hindsight, it only created noise and stretched their resources thin.
A turning point came with some outside advice from a mentor. Devin recalls the mentor asking bluntly, “What the heck is this that you’re doing and why are you doing it? Your golden goose is sitting over there starving.” That “golden goose” was GiveWP itself, a product that had real potential if it received their full attention.
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The Power of Focus
Committing to cut the side projects and pour everything into GiveWP was not an easy decision, but it paid off. Devin says the shift didn’t show instant results in their numbers, but over time, the renewed clarity and attention helped GiveWP become a leader in its space and attract a significant acquisition.
Both Mark and Devin agreed that focus means recognizing that every new side project takes away hours, attention, and energy from what matters most. For founders, especially those building in WordPress, this approach becomes the secret sauce that makes long-term success possible.
Practical Takeaways for Plugin Developers
- Say No More Often: Every plugin you launch demands your support, marketing efforts, and mental energy. Give your core product the space it needs to grow.
- Get a Mentor: An outside perspective can help you stay honest about where your real value lies.
- Don’t Underestimate Support: Your best users want deeper, better tools, not a shallow collection of unrelated plugins.
As Devin puts it, “I see people spreading the peanut butter too thin all the time in the WordPress space…no matter how large your team is, you only have so much output.”
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