Really like a design of a site, can I copy?

No the site is not your's. It depends but if you are goping to copy the design and all this sort of stuff, then i guest this will be a problem for you and the owner of the site that you are going to copy.

Hey there mate,

Copying is a cheating you are doing to yourself. You will tend to copy in the future too. Never start your career by copying. Also you would have to spend thousands on lawyers if the owner of "that" website raised a claim against you. With $300, you could get a first class design .. Think Positive .. Why not tell the freelancers to make your site look cooler ?

G'day,
Akky

The most likely trouble point would be the graphics and text content.

CSS layout and HTML is difficult to prove that it was stolen since there are so many free examples out there. Plus, most sales pages I've done a view source on have been rather primitive, using HTML tables and other 10 year old techniques.

Scripting depends on how complex it is. There's a lot of free examples out that many people borrow from a lot. More complex Javascript and/or PHP would be a different matter.

Graphics are what ties these sites together and they're the most protected part. Copying them can get you into some hot water so don't do it. You can, however, create something similar. For example, if the site you like has a ragged paper edge, come up with your own version of it using Photoshop. Take your own photos or use stock photos. Just don't steal theirs.

Their sales copy is, of course, copyrighted. Don't copy it directly and, if you like the basic jist of what they're saying and how they're presenting it, come up with your own version instead.

copying a layout is perfectly fine. Though you can't take their graphics to use as your own... so if you like the shapes, placements, colors , etc, then there's no problem in it at all

You can get "inspiration" from them but not downright copy. People can't copyright look and feel so there's nothing they can do if you got "inspired" by their design.

Don't forget though that this kind of behavior is frowned upon by the web design community.

Tyrus

The design can certainly be copyrighted. The coding is separate. For example, if you save a photograph as a JPG while someone else saves it as a PNG, that doesn't mean it's not copying.

There was a case several years ago where a company used a pair of eyeglasses on a sidewalk, wet from the rain, in an advertisement. Another company borrowed the idea, and took their own picture of a pair of eyeglasses on a sidewalk, wet from the rain, in an advertisement. Different, but similar images. The first company sued and won.

That being said, there are also limits to the ways certain things can be done. For example, how many ways can you say that a certain snake is green? The snake is green. Green is the snake. The color of the snake is green. The snake's color is green. And so on. You cannot copyright something like that, because there's a limitation to the ways that information can be conveyed. If each of those variations were copyrightable, sooner or later (probably sooner!), no one will be able to write about green snakes because every way of saying the snakes are green will have been copyrighted. (However, that doesn't mean you can just copy someone's article about green snakes. Yes, it can be confusing, but that's just when it comes to factual information.)

Likewise, a website can be the same way. Certain information might be presented best in a table. Just because someone presents that information in a table does not mean that someone else can not also present that information in a table. So, from that perspective, you can do what someone else is doing.

There are also many conventions commonly used. A lot of sites have a graphical header and a footer. So, doing the same is not an issue.

Some sites also uses templates. WordPress blogs are a common example of this. If one person is using a template, they cannot complain if you also use the same template. If they wanted originality, they should have been original.

It's possible that the site you like is using a template. You could see if they are running on Joomla or some other CMS for which templates are available. If that's the case, they can't really complain about you using the same template they do.

What it will come down to is whether your site is a copy or not. I would say there are very few sites that aren't "inspired" by another site. Probably everyone looks at different websites before designing their own, but many will pick and choose what they like to create something uniquely theirs.

But, if you're going for an exact duplicate, tread very carefully. As a general rule, if your site can be easily mistaken for the other site, don't do it. If people can look at it and say, "hey, you copied xyz site," then don't do it. The more your site resembles another, the greater the chance of that other website going after you.

Basically I just like the table setup. I would of course have my own content and graphics etcetera. So are you saying that is fine?

I don't see any way at all to not have as imilar design since the site is just made up of tables...

There is a difference between incorporating a concept and stealing a design. You have to decide what you are doing. And you are not stealing if you are simply incorporating design elements that you saw on another site.

Look at Wordpress Sites... the basic design elements are all the same.

If you are not reverse engineering someone elses work... then you are not stealing. Anymore than you are stealing when you read an article and incorporate ideas from that article in one of your own.

Maybe it's a fine line... but that is what ethics is all about... you really have to decide that one for yourself. If you decide wrong, perhaps the courts will once day decide for you. Not likely.

Look at the top sites in any niche and they are all very similar.

If you rip a site, in all likelyhood you will be listed on www.pirated-sites.com, which in turn will drastically smudge your image of professionalism. But why would you want to copy someone else's site anyway? Sure they might have a really good looking design, but nevertheless that is their original design that they project onto themselves, thus developing their brand name. Woulden't you want to develop your own?

Theres nothing wrong with inspiration, in fact you might even be able to get away with modifying their images and layout to such an extent that it bears maybe 10% resemblance to the original, but still ... hire a creative web designer with a good looking portfolio. Just do a search on google. Make sure you stay in touch with him/her through the entire process, give him your feedback and objectives/color schemes, make sure they send you screenshots of the progress and then reply back with your comments. Its really easy.

Best Regards
~Ross Vaughn

I have customers approach me quite often saying "I want a design like this site". What I usually tell them is we would be happy to make something that is "inspired by" that site, but we will never copy another sites graphics. That is unethical. But nothing wrong with using a similar color scheme and layout so long as you are not copying their graphics and or html code, but instead are doing all the work yourself. That said, there can still come a point where the design is too similar.

Ok thanks everyone. I had already come up with my own design and it is significantly different, but I just wanted to make sure I could emulate some of their elements. Thanks a lot!