Why WordPress Creators Deserve More Recognition (And How It Can Improve Themes and Plugins)
I’ve noticed a trend in WordPress plugins, themes, and development. I’ve been interested in these things since I started using WordPress well over ten year ago.
In that time, one thing has stood out – there’s a big focus on what gets built, and not nearly enough on who is building it.
This kind of makes sense. Most users are naturally more interested in how a plugin or theme helps them, rather than who’s behind it. It’s a reflection of how we think – we look for what benefits us first. But this focus can cause a problem.
The Problem As I See It
When people ignore the individuals behind the products they use, it devalues the creators and puts all the importance on the product itself. For example, when theme designers feel like no one cares who made the theme, they start thinking only the theme matters. And when that happens, a lot of them shift their mindset to quantity over quality.
So you get more themes, but not necessarily better ones.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I really believe that when a designer knows their name is going to be visible next to every theme they release – and that people will recognize it – they’ll spend more time and care on what they create.
In other words, the value of a creator’s name has a direct connection to the quality of their work.
What Can We Do About It?
We can help fix this by making a few small changes in how we act as a community. Here’s what I suggest:
- When you find a theme or plugin you like, take the time to look up who made it
- If you write about a theme or plugin, mention the creator’s name
- Follow your favorite developers and designers – subscribe to their blogs or newsletters
- Support them in forums, social posts, or even a quick shoutout
This isn’t about being fake or overly grateful. It’s about recognizing that people matter. And when creators feel seen, they create better work.
What Might This Look Like?
Let me give some examples of creators who are making great stuff in 2025:
Theme Designers
- Anders Norén – Known for clean, minimal themes and several default WordPress themes (like Twenty Twenty and Twenty Twenty-Three).
- Caroline Moore – A core contributor and designer behind several themes on WordPress.com and Jetpack.
- Anariel Design (Ana Segota) – Builds beautiful and accessible themes with a focus on non-profits and bloggers.
- Mike McAlister – Founder of Array Themes and now involved with the Frost theme, now backed by WP Engine.
- Ben Gillbanks – Creator of Pro Theme Design and known for developing high-quality themes for WordPress.com and self-hosted users.
Plugin Developers
- Tibi from FWDesign is pushing plugin development forward with rich interactions and polished user experience sliders and front end tools. He also has a WordPress theme, so he got his feet wet also in the theme domain
- Stefan from King’s Plugins builds fast, clean, and modern plugins, especially for B2B customers, which focus on performance and structure. He is also building WPBay a better place for devs to sell their work
- Alex Standiford is doing awesome work with open source plugins and is a solid voice in the community
- Justin Tadlock still produces reliable, smart plugins that prioritize compatibility and good practices
- Szabi from CodeRevolution (yep, that’s me) – I’m focused on automation, AI, and building tools that make content creation easier. Also, I am building WPBay a better place for devs, together with Stefan
How to Get Started Today
If you’re into WordPress and want to go deeper, here are a few places I’d recommend checking regularly:
- wordpress.org/news – the official WordPress blog
- ma.tt – Matt Mullenweg’s personal blog
- weblogtoolscollection.com – still a great resource for tips, tools, and updates
- And don’t forget WPBay – where you can find plugins and themes built by real indie developers, not faceless brands
The goal isn’t to turn creators into celebrities. But if we just shift a bit of attention back to the people building the tools we all use, the whole community gets stronger.
Who are you following in the WordPress world these days?
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May 6, 2025WPBay is exactly what Envato used to be when I sold there a long time ago Adobe Flash components
on FlashDen, it feels like it was a different life back than, this is how they were called, it is a dream came true for any freelance developer that loves what he dose…
I predict a bright future for us here even though right now things seam to be against us!
Personally I will upload all my work here later this year and leave Envato behind completely, I will use it like they used me to get as many visits as possible to redirect here, ofcourse this is if they will not sell it to who knows who for 100mil $ and the next CEO can buy an iland somwhere satisfied of his success…
Thank you Szabi and Stefan for doing this, be optimist that this project will work as long as you will accept developers that are not doing this just for money, this is the key it always was and this is why Envato got so big, personally I loved creating my plugins before thinking of any profit, I just enjoy it and I still do!
Now is our turn, a fair and bright future , we will be able to focus on creating amazing plugins not worry about some stupid CEO decision…
WPBay the new CodeCanyon and ThemeForst!!!
Szabi - WPBay
May 11, 2025Thank you so much, this really means a lot! That early FlashDen spirit is exactly what we’re trying to revive with WPBay, even though not many people from around here remember it. We’re building it for creators who care, not just to chase profit.