I’m part of several WordPress groups on Facebook and every single day, without fail, someone, somewhere asks a question that goes something like this.

“I’m looking for a plugin that can create a business for me, market itself, makes me a million dollars while I sip margaritas by the beach and oh if it can be under $20 that’ll be great.”

These questions are also commonly echoed in various forums, groups, chats, webinars, seminars – everywhere people talk about WordPress and plugins.

Ok… so that’s not exactly what they say but that’s pretty much the essence of what they ask for. That’s why I love Chris Lema’s post, You Can’t Afford The WordPress Plugin You Want. In the post, he nailed it when he said,

[What you are looking for] isn’t a plugin. It’s a system.

Exactly. A plugin that can do precisely what you want and do it well does not exist. It could but it doesn’t exist as an off the shelf solution. Kinda like you don’t go to the local super store to buy a custom closet complete with Teak wood imported from Bali.

And that leads to the 2nd portion of the equation. The low price. Seriously? Would you take $20 if someone asked you to build their company while they do nothing? Be honest. I don’t think so. You wouldn’t want your boss to pay you that so don’t ask that of a developer. It’s an insult.

So… is there a system we can afford using WordPress? Chris does give an answer. Read it on his blog.