My name is Satinder Singh, co-founder of Cool Plugins. I live in Mohali, Punjab, India. I studied Computer Science at Kurukshetra University.
The Journey Began
Some things happened accidentally; I never planned to start a business making WordPress products. In 2011, after completing my graduation, I moved to Mohali. There, I began my career in digital marketing. I was hired as an SEO intern with a salary of Rs 6000(~$100) per month. My task was to add SEO titles and descriptions to websites built with WordPress.
This introduced me to WordPress, and I discovered how easy it is to create websites with it. It sparked my interest in front-end development. After two years, I left my job to work on freelance projects in front-end development and SEO.
In 2015, I met Narinder Singh, who is now my business partner. We met while sharing a room in a PG. At that time, Narinder was working for a company as a PHP developer, creating custom plugins for their clients.
He wanted to strengthen his job portfolio, so he decided to publish a plugin inside the WP.org plugin directory, where I helped him with front-end design and demo setup for that plugin.
In 2016, we published our first plugin, Cool Timeline, inside the WP.org plugin directory. We never thought that we would set up a plugin business based on this idea; it was just to build a portfolio for our CV.
Soon, we started receiving support queries on this plugin, and people were asking for more features. When someone suggested, “Why not create a pro version? I’ll pay for it if you add more features,“ it gave us the idea to start a plugin-based business.
I convinced Narinder to leave his job and start working with me. He was good at programming, while I focused on design and marketing. Since our first plugin’s name was Cool Timeline, we decided to name our company Cool Plugins based on that.
The Need for “Cool Plugins”
Cool Plugins Logo
The need for Cool Plugins came from listening to WordPress users’ problems. We heard their issues in the WP.org support forums and decided to help by making plugins to solve them. We looked at big plugins on WP.org and heard what people wanted in their support forums. From there, we made addon solutions and plugins.
We released EventsCalendarAddons.com to provide addons for The Events Calendar plugin, which is active on 700,000+ websites.
When we entered a plugins-based business, there was a trend in cryptocurrency, so we released CryptocurrencyPlugins.com, where we provide cryptocurrency-related plugins.
While creating our plugins, we faced issues with plugins strings translations quickly. So, we released LocoAddon.com, an addon to automatically translate plugin strings, currently having 70,000+ active installs.
Cool Timeline was our first and top-selling plugin, so to extend it based on the current market, we released multiple solutions to support different page builders. Currently, we have a timeline plugin for Elementor and Gutenberg, and there will be one for DIVI as well.
We released all of our timeline plugins on CoolTimeline.com. To manage multiple plugins and their support it was the main need to start Cool Plugins.
As we made more plugins, we needed a way to manage them and help users. That’s why Cool Plugins started, with a cool team to support our work and make it better for everyone.
Myself with my Brilliant Team
At Cool Plugins, we have a small team of 15+ members consisting of cool developers, designers, and support specialists who enjoy making cool stuff for WordPress.
Satinder With Team
Advice for Business Owners
For those looking to start their own business in the WordPress ecosystem, my advice is to focus on solving a real problem, as it is where we started.
“Listening to your customers is like mining for gold; their feedback guides you to create not just a product, but a masterpiece.”
Additionally, staying adaptable and up-to-date regarding the latest market trends and changes in the WordPress ecosystem is crucial.
WordPress & Beyond
As we started Cool Plugins to target only the WordPress plugin category, our plans are clear: to capture more problems from people using WordPress and provide plugin solutions to them. We want to stay focused on the freemium model because it will be the best way to gather ideas and improve our products.
Page builders and Gutenberg have currently made website creation too easy. Over the next five years, advancements in AI and further developments in Gutenberg will make WordPress even more adaptable for a wider audience.
There is currently nothing comparable to WordPress. I believe Shopify presents a bit of competition in the ecommerce area, but WordPress has a large community that will make it even stronger, ensuring it cannot be overtaken.
Stay in Touch
My Love for the WordPress Community
Initially, I wasn’t connected much with the community; we published plugins in the directory but didn’t interact much with making WordPress people.
However, in 2023, I attended WordCamp Asia with Davinder Singh (Founder of TheWPWeekly) & Simrandeep (Author of PowerPack Addons for Elementor), and that’s when I truly understood the value of this community and connections. Meeting numerous individuals, I became more active on Twitter and in social circles.
Now, we also manage the WordPress Chandigarh meetup group.
WordPress 20th Anniversary Celebration
How I Keep Myself Updated
I make sure to stay updated on WordPress updates because, as a plugin author, it’s essential to know what changes are happening in the WordPress ecosystem. Keeping my plugins updated according to the latest trends is crucial.
I stay connected with many WordPress enthusiasts on Twitter who regularly share important information about WordPress. Additionally, I recommend subscribing to TheWPWeekly for valuable insights about WordPress and the community.
I Have a Life Other Than the Work
I don’t just work all the time. I love spending time with my family and playing with my kids.
Even though I moved to Mohali city in 2012, I still love my village. I visit it regularly to spend time on my farms. It’s peaceful there, away from the busy city life.
Chandigarh is a beautiful city in India. I suggest people from the WP community to visit it. If you ever come, you can connect with me.
I Reward Myself by
I celebrate my small achievements with my cool team. In India, we love celebrating every festival and spending time with family and friends. Instead of setting aside special days from our busy work lives, we make rewards and celebrations a regular part of our routine.
In Punjab, we say – “Khao piyo aish karo le ke ki jana,” which means “Eat, drink, have fun, because we can’t take anything with us to the after life.“
Party Time With Cool Team
I strongly believe:
“Don’t compare your achievements with others; celebrate and enjoy every small achievement of your journey—they build the confidence for bigger dreams.”
Connect With Me
I’ve recently become more active on X (Twitter), so if you’d like to connect, that’s the best place to say HELLO.
While I admit I’m a bit lazy when it comes to writing blogs, I’m making an effort to be more active. I’m planning to share my knowledge and experiences related to WordPress and the community on a personal blog, WPSingh.com, which I’ll be launching later this year. Subscribe to it to stay connected with me and my COOL words in the future 🙂
I hope you enjoyed my story. Please share your comments below.
