Automattic has acquired the Social Picture Generator plugin, a industrial product that robotically creates social share pictures for WordPress content material from a set of absolutely customizable templates. The plugin launched in February 2021, with a beginning value of $39/yr however is now closed to new gross sales. Daniel Submit, the plugin’s creator, is becoming a member of Automattic to proceed creating it as a brand new addition to Jetpack’s social media instruments.
Automattic is all the time on the prowl for firms which can be doing one thing fascinating within the WordPress ecosystem. The Social Picture Generator plugin expertly captured a brand new area of interest with an interface that looks like a pure a part of WordPress and impressed our chief plugin critic, Justin Tadlock, in a current assessment.
“Automattic approached me and let me know they had been followers of my plugin,” Submit mentioned. “After which we began speaking to see what it could be prefer to work collectively. We had been really launched by Chris Coyier from CSS-Methods, who makes use of each our merchandise.”
The Social Picture Generator plugin has all the time been a commercial-only product, which tends to restrict a plugin’s attain inside a market that has been so closely educated on the freemium mannequin. Its acquisition will undoubtedly get it into the arms of extra WordPress customers.
“I briefly thought of constructing a freemium plugin however I made a decision to concentrate on paid licenses to verify I might present nice help to all customers and, frankly, to see how properly it could be acquired in comparison with a freemium plugin,” Submit mentioned.
Present clients will have the ability to proceed utilizing the plugin “with none modifications within the close to time period,” in accordance with the announcement on the Jetpack weblog. Those that have sturdy opinions in regards to the long-term way forward for the plugin are inspired to schedule a session with Jetpack Buyer Analysis to open a dialogue.
“I look ahead to the long run performance and person expertise enhancements that may come out of this acquisition,” Jetpack Basic Supervisor James Grierson mentioned. “The objective of our social product is to assist content material creators broaden their viewers by way of elevated distribution and engagement. Social Picture Generator shall be a key element of serving to us ship this to our clients.“
I’d not be shocked to see this plugin accessible on one in every of Jetpack’s paid tiers within the close to future, alongside the Publicize module’s different paid options (scheduling social media posts, monitoring and viewing sharing historical past, and re-sharing present content material). Social Picture Generator makes WordPress content material extra participating on social media, has built-in help for WooCommerce, and may be prolonged to be used with different plugins. It’s a strategic acquisition the place Automattic good points an engineer in addition to a brand new option to make Jetpack subscriptions extra compelling.
“We’re nonetheless determining our precise method, however the preliminary plans are to combine the Social Picture Generator options with the present Jetpack social instruments like Publicize,” Submit mentioned. “The flexibility to see precisely what your social media put up will seem like earlier than publishing it proper out of your WordPress web site is unbelievable, and an enormous motive why I’m so enthusiastic about this acquisition.”