The past few months have been busy for Cobalt Apps. New Plugins have been released, and as of a few days ago our flagship products were updated with notable new features and refinements. And in all the hustle and bustle I wanted to make sure that these new Plugins get the spotlight for a moment to ensure that our members not only know about them, but understand how they might benefit their WordPress endeavors. So let’s take a look at these new tools and see what they have to offer. Read more “New Cobalt Apps Plugins: Child Themer And FE CSS Builder”
Category: Cobalt Apps
CobaltApps.com Black Friday Sale!
This Black Friday we will be offering all our products, including license upgrades and renewals, at a discount of 35% when the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY is used! This deal will be available between Friday November 25th and Monday November 28th. So if you’ve been considering purchasing one of our WordPress Themes or Plugins or need to upgrade or renew your license, now is the time to make that purchase!
For those celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving! And for those not, have a great weekend!
Regards,
Eric Hamm
Better Communication Begins Today
In the wake of the news about Headway Themes I felt it was critical that I get out ahead of this potential for customer concern and be clear about some important points regarding Cobalt Apps and the products we provide.
First, let me start by apologizing for the lack of consistent communication with our members. There’s no real reason for this other than the fact that I’ve been extra busy on the home front and I’m just not naturally one to chat without a specific reason (i.e.. big news, critical updates, etc…). I’m an introvert and have to make an effort to share my thoughts and opinions with more than my closest confidants, but I’m coming to realize that this simply is not adequate when running a business with a large number of customers expecting to stay in the know. And after reading the latest news about Headway I’ve come to realize that though Cobalt Apps does not share much with that scenario, one thing that I know sounded similar was the lack of clear and consistent communication between the owner and the customer. So that’s going to change right now. Read more “Better Communication Begins Today”
New Servers And An Old Forum
OK, so the past few weeks have been less than enjoyable with regard to finding a new server for CobaltApps.com to call home. I may get into more detail at some point in the future as I’ve certainly learned a lot in the process, but after a few miss-fires I believe I’ve settled in with a combo of a Bluehost dedicated server for this site, and SiteGround shares hosting for my others. Included in that latter group is the vBulletin forum which I recently locked down to move our members over to a bbPress forum setup. Well, that posed a few unforeseen problems, among other things, and proved to be less ideal than I had hoped. Also, I’ve since moved the old forum to its own dedicated domain which resolved several issues I was having when it was in a subfolder of this domain.
Read more “New Servers And An Old Forum”
Replacing vBulletin Headache With bbPress Forum Simplicity
We’ve used vBulletin forum software for our community for many years now and have overall been satisfied with its functionality and refinement. This post is not meant to bash vBulletin Forum software, but to simply explain why we’re moving away from vBulletin and over to the bbPress WordPress forum Plugin. Read more “Replacing vBulletin Headache With bbPress Forum Simplicity”
Freedom Seekers: A New Kind of Web Developer
Over the past half a decade or so we’ve seen an increasingly large numbers of non-developers take on that role in the name of gaining their freedom from jobs they feel “stuck” in. It began with blogging and marketing and even writing ebooks, with WordPress as the foundation for these endeavors. Yet for many, myself included, making a solid, family supporting living online required a more concrete, mainstream (or whatever you want to call it) skill-set. Not necessarily to replace our initial endeavors, but to add a necessary foundation for calling ourselves “professionals” on the web. Read more “Freedom Seekers: A New Kind of Web Developer”
25% Off Black Friday Sale For Cobalt Apps Purchases, License Upgrades & Renewals
We try to keep things simple around here when it comes to pricing and I usually shy away from “big sales” or “hot deals” as I prefer to just develop solid WordPress powered Genesis Themes and Plugins and then sell them for a set price, regardless of the time of year. But after connecting with some fellow WP dev stores who we partner with sometimes, as well as speaking with some Cobalt Apps members, we’ve decided to cave for Black Friday and offer a 25% discount from Thanksgiving day through Monday. So that would be November 26th through the 30th. Read more “25% Off Black Friday Sale For Cobalt Apps Purchases, License Upgrades & Renewals”
The Cobalt Apps Focus For 2015
It’s pretty crazy to look back and realize that I’ve been in the WordPress Theme and Plugin business for almost six years now! That’s a lot of lines of PHP, let me tell you. And each new year that presents itself I find myself ever more grateful to be a part of such a positive and driven group of people, from the WP devs to the bloggers to the all-of-the-abovers. 2015 is no different and as my focus refines I just want to share my projected path for the coming 12 months. Read more “The Cobalt Apps Focus For 2015”
Focal Point Sidelined
We literally just released our latest Plugin, Focal Point, only to pull the plug two days later. I don’t think they teach that in Business 101, but hey, we’re human, no matter how much power we may yield through our MacBooks. But let me explain to hopefully quell any real concern and move back to our positive progress that 2015 will most certainly bring. Read more “Focal Point Sidelined”
New Pricing & Licensing Structure For Cobalt Apps Products
I’ve had the privilege to be a part of the WordPress community as a developer and seller of Themes and Plugins for over 5 years now. During that time I’ve witnessed many fads, phases and changes in business models. I’ve watched some small companies crop up out of nowhere and then disappear as quickly as they came and I’ve seen others find their stride and grow into quite profitable and reputable businesses.
During this time there has been one common thread that seems to keep winding its way through this short history of WordPress businesses and that is the idea of sustainability and recurring revenue. With a few bold businesses deciding to take the leap and be the first to implement license keys and yearly subscriptions for their products we began to see a new era unfold. Now it’s quite common to find “one year of support and updates” tacked onto the features list of your favorite premium WP products. The obvious reason for this is to ensure sustainability in your company as you strive to provide your current and future customers with the best products and support possible. Read more “New Pricing & Licensing Structure For Cobalt Apps Products”