Free version is far too restrictive

What you suggest would be worse than current state. It would add some restrictions. I don’t want to restrict the number of users or number of tickets can be entered in the free release.

In the free release, tickets can only be submitted via the admin side. But there is no restriction to it and thus it is a fully working ticketing system from that standpoint. Then after submission, tickets can be worked on from the frontend.

The shared guest user feature allows you to setup a special account that will be shared by visitors (not registered) to submit tickets without being registered in the system.

WATS is pretty Advanced and has a lot of features so it is important to read the documents to understand how it works.

Then, you can easily see on the demo site what your users will see if you order the premium release.

The Free release is already great. There is no restriction to it. If you want Advanced features like frontend submission, then you need to pay for the premium release which is pretty cheap if you think about the level of features it brings…

Actually adding the ability for one single user to submit tickets from the client side adds functionality it does not make it more restrictive.

I personally do not care if it is functionally restrictive so long as that restriction is not so tight that it makes evaluation impossible. If your product is good enough then people will buy it.

The aim of a free version is usually to get it in use on a customer site so when they grow and need more advanced functionality they upgrade. (Look at Microsoft and Sql Server Express). If they uninstall because they can’t use it at all then you have lost a potential customer.

I would not waste time reading extensive documentation during an evaluation period. Part of the evaluation is ease of use and how logical and well thought out the software is. I would only expect to visit docs for more detailed information such as what each option actually does and what implications they have.

You of course reserve your right to present your product how you see fit but it would seem that your 1 star reviews are catching up with your 5 star ones so your point of view in my opinion is costing you sales and reputation. It certainly may have cost you my sale. We will never know because I gave up on WATS.

I am looking to buy not looking for a freebie but I want to make sure I buy a product that is suitable to my needs.

Looks like you don’t understand WordPress philosophy here…

On this repository, you’ll find free plugins that come without restrictions for features in time or numbers. So I can’t really restrict the number of users or tickets and it isn’t my intention either. I want the free users to be able to enjoy a fully functionnal plugin. And the basic function for a ticket system is to be able to submit a ticket which WATS allows without any restriction in time or number in the free release.

The model you are talking about refers to an old shareware model that isn’t really implemented in the WP ecosystem for a number of good reasons which I won’t detail here as it isn’t the purpose of this discussion…

You need to understand that when you look for cheap S/W, you have to do some investment on your end to learn about the S/W and sometime tweak it. If you prefer to pay, then you can get some consulting that will do the job for you of selecting the S/W. But usually, your end customers are paying you good money to make this selection work. This is your added value. I can understand that you are lazy (we are all lazy here) and you don’t want to read the docs but then in that case, take the risk to make a buy that won’t make it perfectly upfront if you believe it costs less than your time. This is a risk to take.

Now, you have pointed out 1 star ratings. Most of those come from people who haven’t even tried the plugin, just to discount it. WATS has been number 1 ticket system for WordPress since 2009 and a lot of competitors have attempted to take their piece of this market without much success because you need to invest a lot of time and the ROI isn’t really interesting on the mid term. I personnally do it because I enjoy it. Sure I won some money but if I calcultate the dollars I have made per hour worked on development, support and answers to people here, then it is clearly not worth.

You have also seen that there are way more 5 stars review from happy customers who have valued WATS and my support which is good!

Reputation is built based on time and fair reviews. Yours is just noise and so won’t be taken into consideration by serious people. You haven’t even taken the time to read the docs and directly made some wrong assumptions.

Bottom line, the numbers of free downloads and premium customers tells how good WATS is, more than your review…

I expected rudeness after reading your other comments. I thought from your first response that maybe not but it turns out I was right. Serves me right for wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt.

You are unable to take even constructive criticism preferring instead to insult people who trial your product but find it lacking. I have been a developer over 30 years and and am well aware of what models work and what don’t.

I was trying to help a fellow software developer with some suggestions and explain why some people will never buy. It was not personal until you made it so with your unnecessary insults.

Your claim that the 1 star reviews are from people who have not tried your plugin is not based on any fact or evidence other than your own perception. What I look at is your 65,000 downloads and only 50 5 stars which is only 20 more than the number of 1 star reviews. Very close indeed. At some point you have to ask “Is it me?”

Your potential customers also see your comments calling reviewers “lazy” and “just noise”. That is also damaging to your reputation. Would I buy from someone too closed minded to accept that other people have opinions and who insults people who dare to have an opinion? No. because they are not the type of person I want to deal with should I need support.

As far as I am concerned, this conversation is over. Only one of us is listening here so I am turning off notifications for this thread. Any more of your insults will only be seen by future readers.

p.s I was not looking for cheap software. I was looking for a product that worked well and did what I needed it to do.

If your approach was constructive, you would have contacted me upfront through the website contact form to ask questions. You just came and shout a 1 star review. How constructive is this?

I just answered to your comments to not give the idea to people that I silently accept those nasty fake comments. I will never. These are noise and I argued to demonstrate that. People reading the thread will easily understand where you are coming from and the poor value of your comment.

You need to understand at a point that you are acting against the community. You are discouraging devs from producing free releases.

If you had come to me through the contact form, you would have received a positive and prompt answer that would have clarified directly if WATS was for you or not. But I understand that this wasn’t really your intention based on how you behaved here and with others plugins. Criticizing is so easy, contributing is different. Start to contribute to the level I have and then we could rediscuss ??