The latest articles on DEV Community by Dan (@danshipit). https://dev.to/danshipit https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F1547389%2F9450bc06-e62c-4bce-9a7b-ecddc1402a63.webp https://dev.to/danshipit en Dan Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:38:08 +0000 https://dev.to/danshipit/i-built-an-open-source-wordpress-alternative-and-it-made-me-3123-3m0f https://dev.to/danshipit/i-built-an-open-source-wordpress-alternative-and-it-made-me-3123-3m0f <p>Almost a year ago, I made a decision that many founders would consider stupid.</p> <p><strong>I open-sourced my product.</strong> Not part of it. Not an SDK. The whole thing.</p> <p>The product is <a href="https://github.com/BlogBowl/BlogBowl" rel="noopener noreferrer">BlogBowl</a> - an open-source platform for blogs, changelogs, and help documentation made for B2B.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fna0ees1dcrwr66s2p302.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fna0ees1dcrwr66s2p302.gif" alt="Preview of BlogBowl Platform" width="600" height="371"></a></p> <p>Today it has around 149 GitHub stars and has generated over $3,123 in revenue.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffrrgk4upn7b0374fx6lo.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Ffrrgk4upn7b0374fx6lo.png" alt="Stripe screenshot" width="799" height="566"></a></p> <p>For some people, that's not much money. For me, it's proof that open source can work.</p> <h2> What's next? </h2> <p>I'm still actively working on BlogBowl, and a couple of changes are probably coming soon.</p> <p><strong>1. First, I'm planning to remove the free hosted plan.</strong></p> <p>I don't think it makes much sense to offer both a free hosted plan and an open-source version.</p> <p>If budget is the reason someone can't pay for BlogBowl, they can self-host it for free. That's one of the biggest benefits of open source.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Second, I want to bring AI directly into the editor.</strong></li> </ol> <p>What interests me more is AI that helps people write faster and maintain content over time.</p> <p>Things like:</p> <ul> <li>Improving paragraphs</li> <li>Rewriting sections</li> <li>Expanding ideas</li> <li>Updating documentation</li> <li>Fixing grammar and formatting</li> </ul> <p>Here's how editor looks like now</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Foxr7xjdcgz730b7epmfb.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Foxr7xjdcgz730b7epmfb.png" alt="BlogBowl's editor" width="800" height="443"></a></p> <h2> Final thoughts </h2> <p>Open-sourcing BlogBowl felt risky when I did it.</p> <p>Looking back, keeping it closed probably would've been the bigger risk.</p> <p><strong>Today the project has:</strong></p> <ul> <li>149 GitHub stars</li> <li>$3,123 in revenue</li> <li>Customers using it for blogs, changelogs, and documentation</li> </ul> <p>That's enough motivation to keep building.</p> <p><strong>If you'd like to check it out - or drop a star - I'd really appreciate it ❤️</strong><br> <a href="https://github.com/BlogBowl/BlogBowl" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/BlogBowl/BlogBowl</a></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F4p51dx1u0wscfdp3ws5s.webp" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F4p51dx1u0wscfdp3ws5s.webp" alt="BlogBowl banner" width="800" height="420"></a></p> opensource seo startup programming