Why We Switched from EDD to Freemius
When Page Builder Sandwich was launched in 2016, we were using Easy Digital Downloads. In 2017, we moved to Freemius. Here’s why we switched:
What is EDD and why did we choose it?
Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is a popular self-hosted eCommerce / WooCommerce alternative for WordPress. Out of the box, you can’t really sell a WordPress product using EDD, but its Software Licensing extension makes it perfect for selling plugins. The extension handled the creation and verification of license keys, too.
EDD also worked well because it allowed customers to purchase our product directly from the website, while also giving them their own account page where they can log in and view their purchase history.
Since it worked well, and since we’re a big fan of Pippin Williamson, this was Sandwich’s first option.
How does it work compared to Freemius, and when did we switch?
In 2016, Vova Feldman, lead developer and co-creator of Freemius, emailed us a rundown of Freemius, explaining that it’s more than an eCommerce solution — It provides other features like analytics and insights solution, a marketing automation tool, and built-in support tool so customers could contact you directly from the WordPress Dashboard.
Initially, we only used ‘Freemius Insights’ — one of Freemius’ features — because we were curious about the analytics. It did help us understand the common reasons why people were uninstalling our plugin at that time.
It also helped us make more data-driven decisions through quick surveys for customers. For example, if a user were to uninstall our plugin, a quick feedback form pops up and asks why they chose to uninstall. These feedbacks helped us understand our customers’ needs.
In this exercise, we found out that users were uninstalling because they didn’t know what to do after they activate. We simply added a welcome screen and tutorial video to decrease the uninstall rate. Easy.
Analytics aside, Freemius platform was built that you can readily use it for selling your WordPress products more effectively!
After weighing pros and cons, we moved to Freemius in January 2017. Here’s why:
Freemius lets customers purchase your product directly on their WordPress Dashboard
Instead of being redirected to an external website, Freemius allows customers to purchase straight from their WordPress Dashboard. This made huge impact on sales of course! Generally, the fewer things the user has to do to purchase something, the more likely it is that they actually make the purchase.
With EDD, people who interested in Sandwich had to jump out of their page building experience to an external website to purchase a license key. They would go through several clicks — and several more distractions — before they could finally purchase.
In contrast, with Freemius customers purchase right out of their own WordPress Dashboards while they’re trying out Sandwich — no need to navigate away to a different site to purchase.
The convenience of it all made purchasing ten times smoother and easier for customers, leading to a significant increase in sales.
The developers are also invested in your success
Selling your product using Freemius isn’t free. For each sale, they gather a small share of your revenue, that goes into payment and processing fees. That’s their business model.
But the important thing to note here is that their business model revolves around your WordPress product’s success.
Vova and his team are very accommodating. They gave us their own tips and tricks on how to generate more revenue, how to improve our plugin, and how to use Freemius to our advantage. Their generosity with information contributed to Sandwich’s growth.
Conclusion: If you’re a WordPress product author who wants to monetize, Freemius is the way to go.
Page Builder Sandwich aims to heighten intuitiveness and user experience through page building. Freemius does this, too: It effectively smoothens the experience for both customers and sellers alike.
Since switching to Freemius in 2017, we’ve had happier customers, lower uninstall rate, and overall a better sales. If you’re looking to monetize your WordPress plugins or themes, Freemius is definitely the way to go.
Its features are better than the competitors. It helped us make smarter decisions for improvement. Their team offers outstanding support. If you are a WordPress product author, we hope you experience the same impact we had with Freemius.