Week 1 as an Indie Hacker: From zero to 5 versions shipped

alesas

A lot has happened. It’s been exactly 7 days since I opened my IDE with a simple plan, and things went fast. Very fast.

The next day, I released the plugin to the official WordPress directory, and I’ve already shipped 4 major updates. Today, version 1.4.0 is officially live.

Here is the honest breakdown of my first week in the wild:

The Real Numbers (No BS)

  • Downloads: Passed the 120+ mark. But let’s be real: at least half of them are automated “update bots”, crawlers, and security scanners hitting the WP API the second a new version drops. My realistic organic traction is around 5 to 10 real daily downloads.
  • Reviews: Got my very first 5-star review from an early user. (If you’ve ever launched anything, you know how amazing that single notification feels).

Shipped in 7 days

What started as a minimal contact form tool looks nothing like it today.

  • v1.1 & v1.2: Hardened the core (Akismet integration, strict server-side validation, scheduling options, multi-options).
  • v1.3 & v1.4: Reimagined the whole workflow. Switched the submission list to a full SaaS-grade, Gmail-style Split View inbox using Lucide icons, and added an unread leads widget right on the main WordPress dashboard.

I also built and deployed the official website, built using Cursor, running on WordPress with my own custom minimal theme, obviously.

The “Sobi” Lore

I realized I never explained where the name comes from. Sobi is actually my cat. That’s why the logo looks the way it does. If the plugin runs fast and stays lean, it’s entirely to match her energy.

What’s next?

The road is long, but I’m incredibly confident in the architecture.

“Unfortunately”, I’m heading into a scheduled vacation in the coming weeks. I won’t be able to grind and commit code at this pace, but it’s going to be the perfect opportunity to step back and map out the future Pro features (advanced webhooks, smart dynamic mapping, and data exports) without any rush.

Thanks to everyone testing it out. If you want a fast, clean, and zero-bloat form builder that respects your Core Web Vitals, give it a spin.