What kind of software product is the most in demand? Web app, smartphone app, extensions?
For years, I’ve been hearing that we’re a mobile-first (or even mobile-only) society.
Smartphones are portable. We spend the most time on them.
Distribution via App Store / Play Store is huge.
So logically… You should build for mobile, right?
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But then there’s the other side:
In many companies, people still spend most of their working day at a desktop.
A huge amount of B2B software lives in the browser. Work still happens on laptops. (And we spend at work 1/3 of our life.)
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And now there’s a third category:
Browser plugins.
They have their own stores, their own distribution, and live directly where people work.
I decided to build a plugin and am wondering whether someone has had success with this one option.
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Has anyone here successfully monetised a browser extension, especially with subscriptions?
I’m curious how viable this category really is, since it’s probably the smallest compared to mobile and desktop, but I would like to see any potential and "success story" anyway.
Replies
Extensions can work well when the pain happens directly in the browser. From what I’ve seen, web apps are usually easier to monetize broadly, while extensions work best when they remove a repeated annoyance from an existing workflow. Subscription can work too, but only when the value stays obvious every month.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@farrukh_butt1 What do you mean by "when the pain happens directly in the browser"? Because I wanna create a plugin for LinkedIn.
@busmark_w_nika LinkedIn is actually a great fit; people are already on it daily for a specific job, and if your plugin removes a repeated friction point in that workflow, the pain is right there in the browser. That's exactly what I meant.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@farrukh_butt1 But how can I get know how many LinkedIn users are on desktop or smartphone? :D because what if they are mostly on smartphones :D
Really depends on the problem, not the format. Mobile crushes it for consumer, web apps rule B2B, and extensions are a weird sweet spot, small audience but super sticky if you nail a daily workflow pain.
Grammarly, Loom, and 1Password all monetized extensions well, but none stayed extension-only. Chrome store discoverability is rough and you're always one policy change away from chaos.
If it solves a real daily problem, subs work, just plan a web dashboard later so you own the user, not Google.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@verticomply Well, if things go well for me, maybe it could be a good smartphone application, but my coding skills are not like that :D
I really recommend this book, or similar to it to everyone who are trying to produce a software:
https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Requirements-Process-Getting-Right/dp/0321815742
There is always the theory and the practice.
The theory first
You need your persona, information about this person. How uses a device, what device mostly use, how often, is it a professional, or not. etc. WHO IS YOUR CLIENT? Does the person uses an Android mostly, or IPhone. Desktop or not.
What kind of application is this?
And a lot more questions. Once this is clear, then making the choice about the format (web, mobile, plugin), programming language, the scope (enterprise, local), etc, etc....
All comes from the initial analysis, almost natural.
In practice, in some companies
Client visits an office of software company, because somehow found out about it. The client presents the idea, the company has a team of free android developers, and the sales team does the magic, the client receives an android app, even though, a browser plugin might be a better option.
Do your analysis, then do a choice. People make better choices, if they have enough information. ;)
A lot of initiatives fail because not following this simple rule.