Meta Box 2017 Year in Review and What's Next for 2018?

2017 was a great year for Meta Box. The number of users, the number of extensions and even the revenue have increased significantly. Let's take a look at what Meta Box has achieved and what's the plan for 2018.

2017 in Review

Notable figures

• 18 releases, from 4.10 to 4.13.0, including 4 minor releases. The number of releases is more than 2016.
• 300,000 active installs. Compared to the 2016's 200,000 active installs, Meta Box grew 100,000 active installs per year (Meta Box had 100,000 active installs in 2015). The growth rate was 50%, not bad.
• 5 extensions. There are 2 free extensions and 3 paid extensions. Premium extensions like MB Custom Table and MB Frontend Submission provide a complete solution for managing data and creating frontend forms for users. We are proud to be the only company that offers these integrated solutions for custom post types and custom fields in WordPress.

New tools for users

• Meta Box AIO: a single plugin with all premium features. Available in developer bundle and lifetime bundle.
• Lifetime Bundle: customers only need to buy one time and have update and support forever.
• Demo suite: users can test the extensions before buying.
• Online Generator: users can create meta boxes and custom fields through the drag-and-drop interface.
• Documentation: a completely revamping for a better navigation with more useful content (sample code, description of how data is saved, etc.)

New features of extensions

• Support export code in the Meta Box Builder plugin.
• Support collapsible groups
• Upgrade on UI and code base
• Add contexts and field types

In addition, the code base of Meta Box and premium extensions have been refactored significantly. So they are more lightweight, have clearer logic and are easier to expand.

In 2017, we focused a lot on user supporting features such as building an online generator, adding custom extensions for custom table and frontend form submission. All the features that we develop are suggested by the users. We really appreciate your suggestion. Any suggestion is noted and considered for development.

In 2017, the goals that we set out earlier have been achieved!

We want to say thank you to our users and friends, who have helped us a lot in 2017. Your support is our great motivation to keep developing the plugins.

Plan for 2018

2018 is an important year for Meta Box. There are some important milestones in the development of WordPress that require all plugin developers to change, including us. We have been preparing to make Meta Box grow stronger next year.

Gutenberg compatibility

Gutenberg is expected to be integrated into WordPress 5.0. We have a post about Gutenberg and the challenges for Meta Box.

Currently, the entire development team of Meta Box has researched React, Gutenberg, and related issues. We keep our eyes open on all discussions and articles about Gutenberg to update important features of this plugin.

The development for Gutenberg is our top priority this year. We'll make Meta Box and the extensions work with Gutenberg.

We hope there will not be too much confusion for the users when switching from the classic editor to Gutenberg.

Focus on complete solutions for developers

2018 will be the year when we provide complete solutions for the data on the website, so that Meta Box is not just a plugin for custom fields but also a framework that helps you manage the data better, properly the way developers want.

We have initially done that with MB Custom Table and MB Frontend Submission. We will continue to fine-tune these solutions and develop more solutions for similar problems.

Integration

In 2018, we will also expand the integration of Meta Box with other plugins that are data-related. We have done with FacetWP. There are plugins such SearchWP or WP All Import we're going to make them work with Meta Box.

We need you

We really want to hear your ideas for better Meta Box development that satisfy your expectations. Please help us answer the following survey:

<https://goo.gl/forms/I2bEXS99ULKK3n9U2>

All your ideas are considered for development! Sincerely thank!