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Leer m\u00e1s<\/a>","datePublished":"2025-09-13","dateModified":"2025-09-13","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/author\/mitzamitza-es\/#Person","name":"adrimadise\u00f1o","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/author\/mitzamitza-es\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f04015a3698191a873267b006e8e8789ce30b6ee841a5518a6033860d50fe16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f04015a3698191a873267b006e8e8789ce30b6ee841a5518a6033860d50fe16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"adrimadise\u00f1o.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/cropped-logo_adrima.png","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/cropped-logo_adrima.png","width":450,"height":90}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/interview-with-robert-abela-og.png","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/interview-with-robert-abela-og.png","height":1080,"width":1920},"url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/uncategorized\/how-robert-abela-built-security-plugins-trusted-by-thousands-of-users\/","about":["Uncategorized"],"wordCount":2575,"articleBody":"From cleaning hacked WordPress sites to running a 7-person security plugin company, Robert Abela never planned to become an entrepreneur. But when he discovered a critical gap in WordPress security logging, everything changed.That led him to build WP Activity Log, which grew from a hobby project into Melapress. The company has developed some of WordPress\u2019s most trusted security plugins, including WP Activity Log, WP2FA, and Melapress Login Security.In this interview, Robert shares how he built his plugin business through organic marketing and community relationships. He also reveals the lessons he learned scaling from solo developer to leading a growing team.\u201cThe difference between the best plugins out there in each category\u2026 is always maybe that 10%\u2026 we always go that extra step.\u201dRobert Abela \u2013 CEO & Founder of MelapressKeep reading to learn how Robert Abela built one of the most successful WordPress security plugins on the market.\ud83d\udce3 This is our series,\u00a0#MyWordPressStory, which brings you insights from some of the most successful leaders in the WordPress industry.If you\u2019d like to be featured in our interview series \u2013 whether you\u2019re a plugin developer, founder, or SEO expert \u2013 feel free to reach out and let us know through our\u00a0contact form.Video Interview with Robert AbelaIf you\u2019d like to check out our complete video interview with Robert Abela, then you can watch it below:Or you can use the links below to see what we covered in the interview (and more):\ud83d\ude4b\u200d\u2642\ufe0f Meet Robert Abela: Systems Engineer Turned Security ExpertRobert Abela didn\u2019t start as a plugin developer or WordPress entrepreneur. For over a decade, he worked as a systems engineer at software companies, with his final role at Acunetix, a company that developed web security scanning tools.\u201cAround 13 years ago I quit my corporate job. I always worked for software companies, startups, most of them.\u201dRobert AbelaBut he didn\u2019t leave because he didn\u2019t like the job. It was simply time for a change. His background in software security and systems engineering would prove invaluable for what came next.When Acunetix needed a blog around 2009, they turned to WordPress. This was Robert\u2019s introduction to the platform that would eventually change his career trajectory. WordPress security was very different back then, and Robert\u2019s background gave him a unique perspective on the platform\u2019s vulnerabilities.As a systems engineer, Robert gained exposure to every department within software companies \u2014 from marketing and sales to development and R&D. This cross-functional experience gave him insights into how software businesses actually operate. This knowledge would become crucial when building his own company.\u201cYou get a good understanding of the inner workings of a software company, what should be done and not.\u201dRobert AbelaAfter leaving his corporate role, Robert began freelance work cleaning hacked WordPress websites, combining his security expertise with his growing WordPress knowledge. He didn\u2019t realize it at the time, but this work would help him expose a gap in WordPress security. That gap would later define his entrepreneurial path and lead him to create Melapress.\ud83d\udd27 Building WP Activity Log: The Problem That Started EverythingWebsite cleanup work in the early days of WordPress was challenging. Robert found himself constantly dealing with hacked sites, trying to understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.That\u2019s how he got the idea for WP Activity Log.\u201cThere was no sort of logging\u2026 you need to see what happened before it got hacked. Was the plugin maybe updated? Maybe a user installed something? Maybe a user was created? And yeah, there was nothing like that.\u201dRobert AbelaThis wasn\u2019t just a minor inconvenience. It was a fundamental gap that made security work unnecessarily difficult and time-consuming. The business side of website cleanup also presented its own challenges.\u201cIt wasn\u2019t very scalable and it was a very difficult job\u2026 there were prices like people were cleaning websites for $99, and sometimes it could be a job which takes a couple of days,\u201d Robert explained.In these early days, Robert was competing with many other cleanup services in a race to the bottom on pricing. It was clear this wasn\u2019t a sustainable long-term business model.But Robert saw an opportunity to solve the underlying problem rather than just treating the symptoms. The logging capability that WordPress was missing could help both professionals and site owners understand and prevent security issues.There was one small problem, though: Robert wasn\u2019t really a developer.\u201cI\u2019m not a developer per se. I can read and write code but something that I can do in a week and a proper developer can do it properly in one day\u2026 It took me a few months playing around and breaking things basically\u2026\u201dRobert AbelaDespite the learning curve, Robert kept trying. He developed the first version of WP Activity Log as both a solution to his professional needs and a way to learn coding skills.\u201cIt started as a hobby,\u201d Robert said. The first year brought in around $1,000 in revenue, hardly life-changing money, but enough to suggest there was real interest in the solution.\u201cBut yeah, then it\u2019s like, maybe this can happen actually, you know?\u201d That moment of realization marked the beginning of what would become a six-year transition from hobby project to full-time business.\ud83d\udca5 Related Post: Tobias B\u00e4thge turned a hobby project for his baseball team into TablePress, a WordPress plugin that now powers more than 700K sites. Read the full interview to see how he did it.For the first six years of WP Activity Log\u2019s existence, Robert spent exactly zero dollars on marketing. Instead, he built his user base through authentic community engagement and content creation.\u201cI never spent a penny on marketing before six years ago. It was all organic and just connections talking to people.\u201dRobert AbelaHis marketing strategy was refreshingly simple: write helpful blog posts, build a newsletter for people interested in WordPress security content, and attend WordPress community events.When the newsletter went out with security tips and insights, it might include a mention of the plugin at the bottom. But the focus was always on providing value first.The real turning point came in 2013 when Robert attended the first WordCamp Europe in Leiden. This decision would shape how he thought about building relationships in the WordPress space.\u201cIf I send an email to someone right now who I\u2019ve never met in person\u2026 they will ignore you but if you know them you\u2019ve met them in person\u2026 it\u2019s different.\u201dRobert AbelaWordCamps and local WordPress meetups became Robert\u2019s main networking strategy.The relationships he built at these events led to collaborations, cross-promotion opportunities, and genuine friendships within the WordPress community.\ud83d\udca1 Looking to grow your WordPress community? Check out the events page on WordPress.org.Beyond the business benefits, these events provided something equally important during the challenging transition years: community and support.\u201cAt meetups and at WordCamps, I met people in the same position as I was. So you could share ideas. We could help each other\u2026 It feels a bit less lonely.\u201dRobert AbelaBuilding a side business while maintaining full-time work can be isolating.But seeing other entrepreneurs deal with similar challenges provided both practical insights and emotional support during the long period before WP Activity Log could support Robert full-time.The organic approach worked, but it required patience. It took several years of consistent content creation, community engagement, and gradual word-of-mouth growth before the plugin gained significant traction. But this slow build created a solid foundation of users who genuinely valued the product and became advocates for it.Eventually, WP Activity Log grew into one of the best WordPress activity log and tracking plugins on the market.\ud83d\udca1 What Makes Plugins Stand Out: Feedback & Going the Extra MileAfter years of studying successful WordPress plugins, Robert developed a clear philosophy about what separates the winners from the competition in each category.\u201cThe difference between the best plugins out there in each category and those which follow\u2026 is always maybe that 10%\u2026 Instead of stopping at 90%, they went up to 95, 96%,\u201d he explained.It\u2019s not about revolutionary features or completely different approaches. The top plugins in any category are often similar to their competitors, but they go that extra step in execution, user experience, and support quality.This philosophy extends far beyond just the software itself. Robert believes exceptional support is often what transforms a good plugin into a market leader.\u201cSupport is really important because you can have the best software in the world. If you don\u2019t have support, slowly, slowly, you start losing customers.\u201dRobert AbelaEven today, with a team of seven people, Robert still handles support tickets himself. It\u2019s not because he has to. It\u2019s because staying connected to users provides invaluable insights into how the plugins are actually being used.\u201cEvery morning I like to try just support tickets myself\u2026 because I feel that if I don\u2019t do that, I would be segregating myself in my own world,\u201d he said.This direct connection to users has revealed use cases that Robert never anticipated when first building WP Activity Log.While he designed it mostly as a security tool for tracking potential breaches, users found creative applications he hadn\u2019t considered.\u201cYou designed your plugin to be used for A, B, and C, but people are using it for A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H\u2026 So you get these ideas.\u201dRobert AbelaFor instance, Robert has learned that magazine websites use his plugin to monitor editor productivity and track how many articles writers complete each week.Online learning platforms have even used it to see which students are completing courses and which are dropping off. These insights help with feature development and product positioning. Robert uses a simple rule for prioritizing new features based on user feedback.\u201cIf we think 80% of people are going to use it, then we\u2019re going to give it priority. If it\u2019s something that we think only 20% or less\u2026 then maybe it gets much lower priority.\u201dRobert AbelaThe combination of exceptional support and user-driven development created strong customer loyalty that would prove very important as Robert prepared to make a major leap.He decided to transform his side project into Melapress, which is now a full-time business with multiple plugins and a growing team.\ud83d\ude80 Scaling Melapress: Multiple Plugins and a Growing TeamOnce WP Activity Log gained traction, Robert began thinking beyond a single plugin. Relying on one product for all revenue felt risky \u2014 and his security background gave him plenty of ideas for other pain points he could solve.\u201cI never liked the idea of relying on one plugin as an income source,\u201d he explained. \u201cAt least if something happens\u2026 it\u2019s good to have a few different products, a few different income streams.\u201dRobert AbelaThe next opportunity came from an internal need. Robert had started working with guest authors and needed them to use two-factor authentication. But the existing 2FA plugins were built by developers, for developers \u2014 not everyday WordPress users.So, he built his own. The first version of WP 2FA did the same core job as other 2FA plugins. But it also added a simple setup wizard and smart enforcement policies that made onboarding much easier for non-technical users.Today, WP2FA is one of the most popular 2FA plugins in the WordPress plugin repository. \u261d Note: We can also vouch for how well the plugin works. In fact, it\u2019s our top recommended method in our tutorial on how to add two-factor authentication in WordPress.Melapress has since expanded to include other products like Melapress Login Security and Role Editor, with more plugins on the way. But the approach remains the same: identify a real need, build something better, and test it out.To support this growth, Robert also began hiring, and he was intentional about the kind of people he brought in.Whether it\u2019s marketing, testing, design, or development, Robert doesn\u2019t just want execution. He wants collaboration.\u201cI want people who actually\u2026 with whom I can have very very good discussions\u2026 People who come in and say, \u2018This could be better,\u2019 and bring in ideas I haven\u2019t thought of.\u201dRobert AbelaThat philosophy has helped turn Melapress into a thriving 7-person company \u2014 one that\u2019s continuing to grow by listening to users and focusing on quality above all else.\ud83d\udca5 Interested in more lessons from successful WordPress entrepreneurs? Check out our full interview with Nicolas Lecocq, the creator of the OceanWP theme and the founder of DigiHold.\ud83c\udfaf Lessons Learned: What Robert Would Do Differently TodayRobert\u2019s journey from freelancer to founder didn\u2019t follow a straight line, and that\u2019s exactly what makes it so relatable.For the first several years, Melapress (originally WP White Security) evolved through experimentation, not long-term strategy. Plugin ideas were pursued on instinct. Systems were built (and sometimes rebuilt) as the business grew.That approach worked. But if Robert were starting over today, he says he\u2019d be more intentional.\u201cI would\u2026 plan a bit more, do a bit more\u2026 be a bit less impulsive and make more informed decisions.\u201dRobert AbelaWithout clear planning, early decisions sometimes led to technical or business debt that had to be reversed later.\u201cYou end up two, three years later like\u2026 now we have to reverse this.\u201dStill, Robert doesn\u2019t regret the organic path that got him here. In fact, he sees it as a necessary part of learning.\u201cI never planned it. Everything happened like\u2026 let\u2019s try this, it\u2019s working\u2026 It wasn\u2019t planned that it would grow to a full-time job, but it did.\u201dRobert AbelaHis experience is a reminder that while planning is important, progress often comes from action. This is especially true when it\u2019s paired with curiosity, user feedback, and consistent effort over time.\ud83d\udcad Final Thoughts & Where to Find Robert\u2019s WorkToday, Robert runs a growing plugin business, but he hasn\u2019t lost touch with the users who made it possible.He still checks support messages personally. He still replies to plugin emails. And he still believes that direct contact with customers is what sets great companies apart from the rest.\u201cSome people sometimes are surprised\u2026 they say, \u2018I never thought you\u2019d reply.\u2019 Yeah, we do check the emails.\u201dRobert AbelaThat customer-first philosophy has helped Melapress grow from a solo side project into a trusted brand in WordPress security. It\u2019s used by thousands of site owners and supported by a passionate team.If you\u2019d like to learn more about Robert\u2019s work, you can check out the Melapress website. Or feel free to reach out via their contact page.\ud83c\udf1f Want to learn more about the state of WordPress security today? Check out the results of the Melapress annual security survey \u2014 it\u2019s full of interesting and up-to-date statistics.\ud83d\udcda Bonus: Expert Resources for WordPress Security and Plugin DevelopmentWant to follow in Robert\u2019s footsteps and build your own successful plugin business?Whether you\u2019re just starting out or scaling your next product, here are some hand-picked adrimadise\u00f1o resources to help you grow:If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube Channel\u00a0for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on\u00a0Twitter\u00a0and Facebook. 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