WordPress is the backbone of over 43% of all websites on the internet, according to W3Techs’ 2024 web technology report. This statistic indicates the extent to which WordPress plays an integral role in businesses’ day-to-day operations.
As more businesses continue to use WordPress as their preferred CMS, the growing market will also create an increasing demand for continuous service support, security, and optimization of WordPress hosting. A majority of WordPress agencies struggle to predict their monthly income, with some months bringing plenty of work while others bring very little.
Some months may be full of projects, while other months may have no new work or only a few new opportunities. This variance in monthly income greatly impacts an agency’s ability to plan for the future, which is one reason why recurring revenue for WordPress agencies has become one of the leading business models for companies providing web design and development services today.
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Why Recurring Revenue Matters?
The way clients approach the web is very different than before. Clients are no longer looking for just a quick fix to their website. They want long-term service from someone who can keep their website up to date, secure, and functioning at optimal performance. Website maintenance is ongoing, as is security management, plugin updates, backup checking, uptime management, and maintaining fast response times for everything. As a result, the best way for WordPress agencies to make a profit is to have recurring revenue.
If an agency relies on new website development projects, the agency will experience periods of low cash flow between client projects. Selling clients ongoing services resolves this problem by allowing you to grow your base monthly income by adding new clients. Because you sell clients monthly agreements for your services, you can continue to grow your income without relying on new website development projects.
Introduce Hassle-Free Support Plans
Recurring billing can be started easily through the website’s care plans. Maintaining a WordPress website requires ongoing tasks such as updates, backups, and security checks, yet many agencies neglect this opportunity. If done right, website care plans would give WordPress agencies an immediate source of recurring revenue. Below are the things that you should include in your care plan:
- Core website update
- All plugin and theme updates
- Security monitoring
- Malware scanning
- Daily or weekly backups
- Uptime monitoring
- Website performance
- Error fixing
- Monthly reports
Introduce three levels of offering: basic, standard, and premium. Clearly defined. Simple to grasp for your customers. Customers will purchase more when they see the differences between their package options. Different offerings to your WordPress agency will help increase your potential revenue.
Turn Hosting into Recurring Income
One of the best recurring revenue sources is hosting. You can become an affiliate for a good hosting company and resell their managed WordPress hosting as part of your services. You don’t need to worry about purchasing your own servers or running your own data center. Reseller hosting delivers affordable, easily managed services to your clients.
Clients are willing to pay you because they have a greater trust level in your agency than in a large hosting organization. They want a single point of contact for all things in their business, including support, design, and hosting.
The advantages of providing web hosting services include:
- A recurring income source
- An increase in customer loyalty
- The ability to offer upsell opportunities
- Improved website performance and control
- A reduction in reliance on third-party technical support
When you offer hosting with website maintenance, it creates a robust monthly package. This is one of the most effective tips for monetizing WordPress services effectively.
Related read: Ultimate Guide to Reselling WordPress Hosting for Agencies
Offer SEO & Content Subscriptions
Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just a one-time project; it requires continuous attention. This is also why SEO typically lends itself to a subscription service business model. Examples of monthly recurring services are:
- Keyword tracking (monthly).
- On-page search engine optimization (SEO).
- Blog and article writing.
- Page speed optimization.
- Technical search engine optimization (SEO) clean up.
- Competitive analysis reports.
Sell Plans for Performance Monetization
Many business owners want faster websites but struggle to achieve them. Page speed is important for SEO rankings, user experiences, and conversion rates. As such, agencies can capitalize on this opportunity by marketing speed optimization as a recurring service.
Examples of monthly performance plans include:
- Auditing speeds
- Cacheable elements
- Compressing images
- Setting up CDNs
- Cleaning up databases
- Monitoring resources
- Managing scripts
Creating a plan like this allows you to effectively monetize your WordPress services while providing value-added features.
Focus on WordPress Security Solutions
Simply put, just one weak point can have devastating effects on a brand’s reputation. Many businesses realize this, which is why many WordPress agencies are experiencing an increased demand for security-related recurring income.
You may offer the following services:
- Firewall monitoring
- Malware removal
- Security hardening
- Scheduled scans
- Brute force protection
- Login activity reports
- Broken plugin detection
Security plans are an excellent way for WordPress agencies to boost revenue, as clients are willing to spend extra money to ensure their sites remain safe.
Monthly Reports to Boost Retention
Clients value transparency. When they can clearly see the outcomes of your work and the difference it makes to their business, it builds trust—and encourages long-term partnerships. The benefit of monthly reporting is that it makes your efforts visible to your clients, demonstrating measurable progress toward their goals. By providing clear hosting analytics and monthly performance reports, you will enable your clients to see how their website is improving.
- Website traffic metrics
- Improvements to SEO over time
- How keyword rankings have changed
- Website uptime versus downtime logs
- Security incidents/events
- Website conversion metrics and trends
By providing monthly reports, you create a perception of greater value, build trust, and enhance client loyalty. When clients can clearly see how your work is impacting their business, they are more likely to continue investing in your services.
Build Templates for Recurring Revenue
Rather than trading time for dollars on a project basis, reseller hosting can develop reusable design products that their clients will like and create consistent, predictable income for the firm.
Examples include:
- Pre-designed WordPress templates
- Pre-made landing pages
- Template kits
- Monthly design packages
You can also offer them as:
- Monthly subscription services
- Annual memberships
When you develop a subscription service or a template library, you can maximize your creative efforts by creating a scalable asset. Clients get creative work on a regular basis, and you can benefit from recurring revenue without repetitive work. This approach ensures recurring revenue and strengthens client relationships through ongoing monthly support and updates.
Guidance and Training Membership
Agencies and consultants can increase their expertise by implementing membership options for training and consulting. Many clients want to learn how to use WordPress on their own, while others seek more hands-on assistance in building their online presence and website. Through a subscription-based training or consulting model, an agency or consultant can deliver consistent value each month without spending extra time.
Your membership offerings could include:
- Live Q&A sessions
- Tutorials
- Marketing strategy sessions
- Membership in an online community
- Website audits
The result is consistent recurring income, along with the ability to build a community of loyal clients that will refer others to you for years to come as they continue to see positive results from your training. From a business perspective, your expertise becomes a long-term, scalable business asset.
Automated Tools to Streamline Billing
Recurring billing presents an obstacle for companies whose accounts receivable (billing) processes are disorganized or reliant on manual tasks. Automated billing solutions ensure fewer administrative and management headaches. Additionally, when properly implemented, they can provide your customers with accurate and timely payments.
Here is a list of key products available for your use:
- Stripe
- Razorpay
- Zoho Billing
- PayPal Subscriptions
- GoCardless
In addition to reducing late payments, automated billing will increase your customers’ satisfaction because your billing cycle runs professionally.
The long-term growth of WordPress agencies depends on steady recurring income. Regularly providing service offerings, including website maintenance, email hosting, search engine optimization (SEO), website security & ongoing customer support, creates a reliable monthly income stream for the agency. It provides the client with peace of mind through regular updates and a proactive approach to their website. A small-scale agency can significantly improve its cash flow by establishing even a few recurring clients.
By consolidating services into a single offering, consistently generating reports, and automating billing, your agency can create a much more efficient method that supports greater value creation for clients. When a client sees continued improvement and genuine results from your agency’s efforts, they’ll be more inclined to continue their business with you. The steady stream of revenue from these clients establishes a solid base for your agency to expand over time. Individual project-based engagements may transform into a dependable, long-term revenue-generating model for your agency.
FAQs
1. How does recurring revenue benefit a WordPress agency?
Recurring income is valuable as it ensures a stable revenue stream. It diminishes reliance on project work (such as one-time projects). Additionally, it helps increase revenues for WordPress agencies through long-term contracts. Recurring revenues facilitate easier planning and predictability of growth.
2. What are the best practices to grow monthly revenue for a WordPress agency?
Among the most effective ways to monetize your WordPress service are selling care plans, providing website hosting, selling SEO packages, offering support blocks, and bundling your services. All of these methods help you generate a continuous stream of recurring revenue for WordPress agencies while increasing your overall profitability.
3. How are recurring revenue models game-changers for small agencies?
The greatest advantage goes to small agencies. With only 5-10 clients billed monthly, the financial situation of many of these small companies improves greatly. Small teams with clients who pay monthly for WordPress services can grow much faster than those that depend solely on acquiring new clients through one-off projects. Long-term revenue also increases for these WordPress agencies due to the consistent flow of business.
4. How do recurring revenue models strengthen client relationships?
Clients will feel more supported if they receive regular updates and reports about their plans. This will help to build trust between the agency and the client and will reduce churn, increasing WordPress agency revenue over the long term. Clients can also use recurring plans to monetize the WordPress services they provide through the agency while continuing to offer value.
