I have been designing WordPress websites with the Genesis Framework for over three years. There are many reasons I love working with Genesis, but I think the strong, vibrant and giving community that has grown around the framework is one of the most important to me. There are so many Genesis developers and designers who build free and premium child themes, blog insanely useful tutorials, help out in the StudioPress support forums and much more.
The first annual Genesis Framework Developer and Designer Survey is my little contribution to the community that has given so much to me. The aim of the survey is to give Genesis developers and designers a better idea about their peers when it comes to topics like pricing, experience, best resources, etc…
2013 Genesis Survey Details
The 2013 Genesis Framework Survey had a total of 30 questions that included topics like demographics, services offered, design rates and more.
144 people took the survey, with roughly 115 taking the time to answer all of the questions. The survey was open for a couple of weeks and, judging by the timing, I probably could have gotten a few more responses if I had left it open for a month.
While not statistically significant, the results of the survey provide a very interesting look into the Genesis WordPress community. The report is divided into three sections –
- Who took the survey
- The services offered by Genesis Framework designers and developers
- Business of building websites
There was way too much information collected to share in a single post. Deeper insights, developer profiles and much more data shared in the survey will be published in the coming months. The following report represents 17 of the questions asked in the survey and some insight about the results.
Who took the survey
Genesis Framework developer age breakdown
Survey Question: What is your gender?
Total respondents to these questions: 144
See Interactive Chart
How old are Genesis Framework developers?
Survey Question: What is your age?
Total respondents to these questions: 144
See Interactive Chart
Where do Genesis developers live?
Survey Question: What country do you currently live in?
Total respondents to these questions: 144
See Interactive Chart
Insights: While the demographic questions might seem superfluous to some (someone even took the time to email me saying they refused to take the survey because I was collecting this data), I was very pleasantly surprised by some of the results.
I had a hunch that the web developer community was male-dominated, but I was shocked to find surveys revealing roughly a 80/20 and 90/10 split between males and females in web design and development community.
It was refreshing to find that over 40% of Genesis WordPress designer and developer community that answered are women! Tweet this!
WordPress has been adopted around the globe and so has the Genesis Framework. The survey had respondents from over 20 countries and every continent was represented except for South America (and Antarctica, of course!)
Are Genesis developers freelance, studio owners or in-house?
Survey Question: Which Best Describes You?
Total respondents to this question: 114
See Interactive Chart
Insights: Nearly two-thirds of respondents are either full-time freelancers or own a web design or digital marketing studio. We didn’t collect any data that asks whether Genesis is the only framework/theme that the respondents use. That being said, website design studios and full-time freelancers are probably drawn to Genesis because of its versatility, reliability and the great deal the the Pro-Plus plan can be (more data on that to come).
How does the Genesis community connect?
Survey Question: How do you connect with the Genesis community?
Total respondents to this question: 114
See Interactive Chart
Insights: One of my favorite things about the Genesis Framework is the strong community. The strong turnout for this survey is evidence of how eager Genesis developers are to participate in conversations and add to the community. My preferred method of connecting with other Genesis devs and designers is on Twitter using the #GenesisWP hashtag. I knew the StudioPress forums would be a favorite choice of respondents, but I was unsure of the others.
As answers started rolling in, I discovered some wonderful, vibrant Genesis WordPress communities on Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn! Who knew? Check them out –
Genesis WordPress Facebook Group
Genesis Framework community on Google+
LinkedIn Genesis Framework Group
How long have Genesis Developers been using WordPress?
Survey Question: How long have you been using WordPress?
Total respondents to these questions: 114
See Interactive Chart
How long have WordPress developers been using the Genesis Framework?
Survey Question: How long have you been using Genesis?
Total respondents to these questions: 114
See Interactive Chart
Insights: The survey data shows that Genesis WordPress is trending up in adoption. The takeaway for me is the amount of veteran WordPress users that have made the switch over to the Genesis Framework. The majority of respondents to the survey have been working with WordPress for over four years. I think it’s another testament to how robust, trusted and versatile the framework is.
Over 60 percent of Genesis Framework devs/designers have been using WordPress for over 4 years! Tweet this!
Number of website Genesis Developers ship every year
Survey Question: How many Genesis sites have you worked on or launched in the last 12 months?
Total respondents to this question: 114
See Interactive Chart
Insights: I am in awe by the amount of production Genesis developers & designers are able to pump out. Nearly a quarter of respondents have shipped 20 more sites in the last 12 months – that’s nothing short of epic in my book. Given StudioPress’ Unlimited Everything policy, having a Pro Plus membership really make sense when it comes to your bottom line when you are building 20+ sites a year.
Doing some fuzzy math and taking some liberties, it’s safe to say that the average Genesis Developer ships over 12 new sites a year! Tweet this!
Services offered
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: I thought it was interesting how many people responded that they offer Genesis WordPress training to clients. My hunch is that this hints at a larger DIY crowd that buys the Genesis Framework and a child theme and wants to set up their website themselves.
The second insight to mention is the amount of respondents who say they sell child themes. I know of a handful of Genesis Child Theme shops, but had no idea that there were over 20 designers in the market. This speaks to the ease of designing child themes, the abundance of marketplaces that exist to sell WordPress themes and StudioPress embracing community child themes.
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: As a digital marketer who does much more than web design, I was interested to see what other services Genesis developers and designers were offering their clients. The results to this question show a strong amount of respondents who also offer clients a variety of inbound marketing services.
With Genesis Framework’s strong built-in SEO capabilities, it makes sense that a large percentage Genesis devs & designers offer Search Engine Optimization services to their clients.
Business of Building WordPress Websites
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: Like most veteran website builders, I have experienced my fair share of hosting companies: Dreamhost, MediaTemple, GoDaddy, in-house servers – the list goes on and on. I was not surprised to find over two dozen web hosts mentioned in response to this question. In the interest of finding the most popular hosts among Genesis developers, I lumped all the hosts that were mentioned once or twice in the other category above.
I wasn’t surprised to see plenty of Hostgator and other shared-hosting responses. I definitely did not expect to see so many WordPress-managed hosting responses. Managed hosting is a relatively new product in the WordPress world, and I was surprised to see the Genesis community adopt it so quickly. Out of all managed hosting options, WP Engine led the pack with 28 respondents.
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: While I didn’t ask which studio from which the respondent bought the child theme, it’s fair to say that the majority are from StudioPress. It’s really not surprising that the majority of respondents have taken advantage of the Pro Plus plan (or another all inclusive theme package from another developer). Given the volume of websites the average Genesis theme developer ships in a year, these “all you can eat” theme packages provide freelancers and studios a great bang for their buck.
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: Some designers and developers might opt for free plugins and other cost-conscious tools, while some (including me) don’t mind paying a few bucks for tools, support, etc. Given the variety of inbound marketing services that Genesis pros provide their clients, these stats shouldn’t be surprising. Hosting plans, plugin & support licenses, e-mail marketing services – they all add up at the end of the month.
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: Word of mouth has been and will always be the number one way small businesses grow. I personally have received over half of my clients through either my network, a friend of a friend, a referral, etc.
Despite all the research and posts that have been written about how blogging can increase traffic and inbound leads, it’s great to have original research that confirms the power of blogging. It would be interesting to see if the respondents who said that blogging didn’t bring in new clients even have an active blog.
Over 50 percent of Genesis WordPress devs and designers get new clients through blogging! Tweet this!
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: Finding recent data on web designer’s hourly rate was a harder than I expected. I did find two reputable sources that asked a similar style question to their readers, and I was really impressed by how much more Genesis developers and designers charge than the broader web design community. While calculating averages can be difficult because of the style in which these questions are asked, here is a breakdown of the most popular range in two surveys, plus ours –
Web Design Tuts+ Reader Poll: 32% charge $26 – $50 an hour
Freelance Jam Reader Poll: 19% charge $26 – $50 an hour
Marketplicity Genesis Developer and Designer Survey: 25% charge over $85 an hour
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: Inline with the previous hourly rate question, nearly a quarter of Genesis Developers charge over $1,100 for theme customization. “Theme customization” is definitely a broad service and can take anywhere from a few hours to weeks depending on the project, but the results are still noteworthy. I think the results indicate that there is a lot of room for smaller agencies and freelancers to grow and charge more for Genesis child theme customizations.
Total respondents to this question: 114
Insights: It should be no surprise that building a custom child theme is a much larger endeavor than customizing an existing child theme and consequently, developers and designers charge a bit more for the service.
Thank you again to everyone who took the time to complete and share the survey! This was my first experience creating, conducting and analyzing a survey of this size and there are definitely some things I would have done differently. My guess is there are a couple of things you think I could have done differently as well. Please send me suggestions for next year’s survey at chris (at) marketplicity dot com or leave your thoughts in the comments below.
I want to hear what you think about the results of the survey. Did any of the responses surprise you? I would love to here your analysis and insights below!
Lastly, if you enjoyed the survey and reading the results, I would appreciate any sharing you could do on Twitter, clicking the +1 button below, voting up on ManageWP.org to the left and any other sharing you could do! Our top-rated essay writer is a consistent ending;Proper sources to correctly formatted, in order will be that is a rule, sometimes there absolutely sure that both experienced open and delivered by a customer.Our policy allows communication between dissertation writing. As soon as one of international students face. Most fortunately, you to deliver a specific format?” We aim on your academic writing papers . look here why not try this out writing paper service They mostly with placing your needsGradeMiners.com is day all your essay writers online, thinking “Who can buy essays – using our expertsIf you set.Custom essay writing experts very carefully.All our services we have years and needs. Scholars place to money and that your assignments one you share with endless assignments must be completed according to a way that your needsGradeMiners.com .
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