• CodeRevolution
• WPBay

Why We Built WPBay (And Why the Envato Marketplace is Broken)

Hey, Szabi here – you might know me from CodeRevolution, where I’ve been building WordPress plugins like Aiomatic and Newsomatic for years. Alongside me on this journey is Stefan from WebWizardsDev, the genius behind B2BKing – and together, we’ve launched something we believe the WordPress community truly needs: WPBay.

This post is not just an announcement or another promo piece. It’s a story. It’s about why we built WPBay and what went wrong with the marketplace we used to call home – Envato’s CodeCanyon.

Watching a Giant Collapse from the Inside

We’ve both been active sellers on CodeCanyon for years. I personally uploaded my first WordPress plugin to CodeCanyon in October 2016 (check my personal journey here). Stefan uploaded his first product in January 2020. Envato helped us reach a global audience, build sustainable businesses, and grow alongside the WordPress ecosystem. But if you’ve been following what’s been happening, you’ll understand exactly where we’re coming from.

In February 2024, things took a sharp turn when Shutterstock announced its acquisition of Envato. That news shook the community. Not long after, Shutterstock itself was acquired by Getty Images. Two big changes, one after the other – and the ripples hit fast.

Suddenly, we weren’t just indie developers trying to make great plugins – we were now part of a shifting corporate machine that didn’t understand (or seem to care about) the unique nature of the WordPress plugin and theme business.

The Problem with Elements

Let’s get one thing straight: CodeCanyon was never perfect, but it worked. It was built around a model that made sense – pay once, own the product, with optional support renewals. That’s how WordPress works, that’s how developers operate, and that’s what customers expect.

But with Envato pushing everyone into the Elements subscription model, things started to break. Elements is great for graphic assets, stock photos, maybe even templates – but it absolutely doesn’t work for software like WordPress plugins or themes.

Why?

Because plugins need regular updates. They need support. They evolve. Subscriptions on Elements don’t give enough incentive to developers to maintain long-term, high-quality code. And customers? They don’t even know what they’re really buying – or for how long it will work.

…And customers? They don’t even know what they’re really buying – or for how long it will work.

That’s the core problem.

But here’s the thing – we’re not against subscription models. In fact, subscriptions can be great – when they’re implemented the right way.

What doesn’t work is a generic, buffet-style subscription, where users pay a monthly fee to access a huge library of plugins they may never use – and where developers are paid pennies per download, regardless of the time, energy, and support they put in.

That’s not sustainable. That’s not fair.

The Right Way to Do Subscriptions

What does work – and what we’ve built into WPBay – is per-product subscriptions.

Here’s how it works: a developer lists their plugin or theme, and they can choose to offer it as:

• A one-time purchase
• A monthly or yearly subscription
• Or even both – giving users the choice

This way, the subscription is tied to the product itself, not to an entire marketplace. The user is subscribing because they want that plugin, they want updates, they want support. And if they stop using it? They stop paying.

It’s simple. It’s honest. It’s aligned with how WordPress products actually work in the real world.

No smoke and mirrors. No race to the bottom.

And for developers, this means predictable recurring revenue that’s directly connected to the value you provide. You support your customers, improve your product, and you’re rewarded for that work – not penalized by some algorithm hidden behind corporate doors.

Envato: Sales Are Falling, Morale Is Dropping

Starting in February 2024 (when Envato’s acquisition was announced publicly), we both started noticing something weird: sales were dropping like crazy.

Not just the usual ups and downs – we’re talking a massive (50%+) decrease in revenue starting February 2024. It wasn’t just us. We started talking to other top developers on the platform – same story. No communication from Envato, no clear roadmap, no transparency.

Just a quiet shift toward “let’s cram everything into Elements and hope for the best.”

Spoiler: it’s not working.

A Marketplace Built by Devs, for Devs

So Stefan and I started asking the big question: What if we just build our own thing?

Not another plugin store. Not a subscription trap. But a real marketplace where WordPress developers can:

• Sell their plugins and themes independently
• Choose between one-time payments and subscriptions
• Offer support on their own terms
• Keep a bigger cut of the sale
• Actually talk to their customers

That’s how WPBay was born.

We wanted to give control back to the developers. We wanted a platform where innovation is rewarded, not punished. Where the community can grow together, and where buyers know they’re getting reliable, well-supported products from trusted creators.

WPBay isn’t just a store. It’s the entire toolkit for modern WordPress developers.

We built everything you need to run a real product business — without duct-taping five SaaS tools together or giving up 30% of your revenue:

• 🔑 License management – Fully integrated with our PHP SDK
• 🔁 Automatic updates – Push updates directly from WPBay
• 💬 Support system – Choose WPBay’s built-in tools or your own
• 📣 Promotion tools – Feature boosts, marketing score, affiliate support
• 💸 Payouts – Fast, transparent, and predictable
• 🌍 Tax & Invoicing – Including EU VAT compliance
• 🧾 Flexible pricing – Subscriptions, one-time, bundles, and trials
• 🔐 Seller-first policies – YOU define how support works, not us

And we didn’t stop there…

We’ve gamified the experience for sellers (badges, battles, unlockable rewards).
We added roadmaps, changelogs, and review trust tools.
We’re launching a community that’s not just about sales — it’s about growth, feedback, and visibility.

You don’t just upload your product on WPBay.
You build your brand here.

Because WPBay isn’t just for selling.
It’s for creators who want to own their journey.

We’re not trying to be the next Freemius. We’re not trying to be the next Envato, which will be doomed again to fail.
We’re building what we wished existed when we launched our first plugins.

A developer-first marketplace.
Built by creators.
For creators.

Let’s take WordPress back. 🚀