Hello there,
Happy Tuesday—and welcome to a special WooWeekly!
This week’s issue is a little different: it’s my year in review. Below, you’ll find updates about Business Bloomer, highlights from 2025, and a peek at what’s coming next.
I hope it gives you some useful ideas to turn things around in your own business, or simply inspires you to take part in some of the projects I have planned for 2026—if you have a bit of free time to spare.
It’s been quite a year, and I’m excited to share the lessons, wins, and even the challenges—because sometimes those are the most valuable part.
Anyhow, here’s your weekly round-up of WooCommerce tips and tricks. Enjoy!
Rodolfo Melogli
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Business Bloomer 2025: Year in Review
1. Introduction
2025 has been full of unexpected turns—some challenges, some wins, and a few surprises that I never saw coming. I’ll share how the business has evolved, how I’ve pushed myself in ways that don’t always come naturally, and what the numbers are telling me about where we’re heading.
Below, you’ll find a mix of insights, lessons, and reflections. Some of it may resonate if you’re looking to turn things around in your own business, and some of it is simply a peek behind the curtain at what it’s like to adapt quickly in a changing WordPress world.
Whether you’re curious about the highs, the lows, or the takeaways, there’s something here for you.
2. The lows
Over the last two years, my Business Bloomer blog—the engine that has driven 100% of my revenue since 2015—has seen a sharp decline.
According to Google Analytics, traffic dropped around 40% in 2024 compared to 2023, and another 50% this year, leaving me with roughly a third of the audience I had just two years ago.
Indeed, AI has been killing me—something I find myself saying more and more these days. For someone who has relied on content to bring in clients and opportunities, it’s been a clear signal that the landscape is changing fast.
Revenue has followed a similar pattern. This year alone, Business Bloomer revenue dropped about 45% compared to 2024. Client work—especially the small fixes and short consultations that used to fill my calendar—naturally fell by roughly 60%, while affiliate income collapsed almost entirely.
On the bright side, plugin sales rose, and sponsorships kept the business breathing. Even if the totals aren’t what they once were, the mix of income tells an important story. It’s a shift that’s hard to ignore: the business I once ran as a freelancer is evolving into something different.
The lows have been stark, but they’ve also been revealing. They show that in a rapidly changing WordPress world, adaptability isn’t optional. I’m now more of a product- and marketing-focused person than ever before, and the changes, as unsettling as they can be, are guiding me toward new opportunities.
3. The highs
While overall revenue dropped by roughly 45% due to client work slowing down, this actually freed up the time to pursue something I’d been planning for a while: Checkout Summit.
In June 2025, I finally went ahead with the idea, and if all goes well—with 2 of 6 sponsorships confirmed and 60 of 150 tickets sold as of today—this event could more than recover what I’ve lost. It’s one of my ways to “go against AI” because, let’s face it, in-person conferences can’t be generated.
On top of that, I’ve rethought the Business Bloomer Club. In 2026, it’s going to be vital for my efforts—an online hub for WooCommerce peers, partners, and students. AI is impressive, but nothing replaces hanging out in a private Slack channel, enjoying masterclasses, online courses, and live… cohorts. Yep, in January, I’ll run the first 10-person, 4-week live practical course for plugin developers, and there’s still a chance to grab early access at 50% off.
The Club will be the online community, Checkout Summit the in-person community, and together they reinforce what keeps WooCommerce and WordPress alive: people. Hackathons, retreats, meetups, podcasts (I did 7–8 in the last month alone!), online classes, cohorts—anywhere humans connect, there’s room for growth.
Another highlight worth calling out is WooWeekly itself. This newsletter has grown to nearly 20,000 subscribers, supported by a generous group of sponsors who believe in the value of consistent, practical WooCommerce content. Between sponsorships and the momentum around content creation, WooWeekly has become one of the pillars keeping the business alive—and growing. I also see this as far from “done”. I’ve got plenty of ideas to keep improving the format, the depth, and the usefulness of each issue. That said, it’s not easy to please everyone, so if you ever have feedback—good or bad—feel free to reply to this email. It genuinely helps shape where WooWeekly goes next.
I’m also proud of my WooCommerce mini-plugins. Even in a world where short snippets can be AI-generated, people still value premium, one-feature plugins backed by strong support. Without doing any marketing due to limited time, plugin sales dropped only 40% and still brought in a solid income—proof that quality and simplicity matter.
Affiliate income, on the other hand, took a hit. Between Google’s updates, AI, and growing skepticism, it’s now a smaller piece of the pie. For 2026, I’m leaning toward more genuine outbound links (and videos) in exchange for sponsorships, moving away from “pretty link” strategies and referrals.
Finally, what’s truly incredible is the trust people are placing in me and Business Bloomer: sponsorships became my top revenue category this year. That means I have a budget to plan even bigger for 2026, with projects, communities, and events that can truly make an impact.
4. Tips and Takeaways
If there’s one thing this year confirmed for me, it’s that relying on a single channel—traffic, clients, affiliates, or even one product—is risky. Things change fast, sometimes faster than expected. Diversifying doesn’t mean doing more, it means choosing a few solid directions and committing to them properly.
AI is here to stay, and fighting it head-on doesn’t make much sense. Instead, look for what it can’t replace: human connection, trust, experience, and shared learning. Communities, live events, cohorts, and conversations still matter, and in many cases they matter more than ever.
Content still works, but not all content is equal anymore. Deep, practical resources that genuinely help people continue to perform, even when overall traffic drops. If something already works better than everything else—double down on it, improve it, and make it easier to find.
Finally, pay attention to where people are willing to bet on you. Whether that’s customers, members, or sponsors, trust is a strong signal. Follow it. It can guide your next moves far better than raw traffic numbers ever will.
WooCommerce Tips, Snippets & Tutorials
Here is a collection of posts to answer your biggest WooCommerce questions. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced store owner, these resources will help you optimize your WooCommerce store and grow your online business.
How to improve WordPress performance by archiving WooCommerce Order Notes
If your WordPress site runs WooCommerce, chances are that your wp_comments table is much larger than you think. What many store owners do not realize is that WooCommerce order notes are stored as comments (yes, even when HPOS is active). [Naked Cat Plugins]
How to Keep Your Ecommerce Store Exciting Without Sales and Discounts
Shoppers love sales discounts, and you’re sure to get more orders if you offer them on your ecommerce store. But, relying on them to grow your revenue and customer base won’t cut it, especially since customers don’t pay full price for your products. [Iconic]
WooCommerce Live Masterclasses
Our private community of Woo professionals – the Business Bloomer Club – gives members lifetime access to (1) WooCommerce human support, (2) WooCommerce online courses, (3) WooCommerce webinar recordings, and (4) member-only resources. Twice a month, however, we run free live masterclasses open to everyone.
- Jan/Feb 2026 classes will be scheduled soon
- Jan 2026 1st ever cohort will be scheduled soon
Missed a class? No worries — you can catch up anytime with our growing archive of 25+ recorded sessions packed with WooCommerce insights.
WooCommerce Videos
| WooCommerce 10.4: How to Replace wc_enqueue_js()In this video, I walk you through the newly-announced deprecation of wc_enqueue_js() in WooCommerce 10.4. The good news: WooCommerce provided an alternative approach, so I tested the new method live using one of my snippets. [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| The Simplest WooCommerce Black Friday Topbar [Tutorial] In this tutorial, I show how to add a Black Friday topbar to a WooCommerce website in just a few minutes, without installing any plugins. This is done directly on a live site so you can follow the exact steps and understand how simple the process really is. [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| Bye Bye WooCommerce? My First Look at FluentCart FluentCart has just landed on the official WordPress plugin repository, and many are wondering — could this be a real WooCommerce alternative? [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| From Storefront to Shoptimizer: Full WooCommerce Theme Migration Walkthrough After years of running my WooCommerce site on Storefront, I finally decided it was time to step up. In this full 60-minute walkthrough, I take you behind the scenes of my complete WooCommerce theme migration — from Storefront to Shoptimizer. [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| I tried the Shopify WordPress plugin (so you don’t pay for a trial) In this video, I test Shopify’s new WordPress plugin so you don’t have to pay for the trial yourself. As someone with 13+ years of WooCommerce experience, I’m both excited and a bit nervous about this new competitor—but good competition always keeps things interesting! [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| How To Charge Shipping by Cart Weight in WooCommerce (Without Coding) Struggling to set up shipping in WooCommerce based on cart weight? WooCommerce doesn’t let you do it easily out of the box. [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
| Ditching a WooCommerce Plugin (3 episodes) Tired of using bloated WooCommerce plugins when you only need a small part of their functionality? In this 3-part series, I walk you through the full process of replacing a WooCommerce plugin with clean, custom code — from planning to writing to testing. [YouTube/Business Bloomer] |
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