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Web Design - Code copying and modifying to suite requirements

by Socrates39
15 replies
Hi Warriors,

As I am not a programmer myself, I may be asking a question which appears a bit silly but could you advise me if it is possible and legal to copy the code of a website similar in design to your planned site so that you can get a template in-place and then develop from there or would this be perhaps a little more complex that it may appear?

Would really appreciate some feedback here.

Matthew
#code #copying #design #modifying #requirements #suite #web
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    As I am not a programmer myself, I may be asking a question which appears a bit silly but could you advise me if it is possible and legal to copy the code of a website similar in design to your planned site so that you can get a template in-place and then develop from there or would this be perhaps a little more complex that it may appear?

    Would really appreciate some feedback here.

    Matthew
    You can literally copy and paste a pages code - that parts easy.... getting it to function is another issue. If you know someone with an amount of programming knowledge they would be able to copy and insert the finer detail code as needed.

    Another way around this would be to ask a Freelancer or Fiverr type ( at a minimal cost ) to set you up with a template type page in the desired ( theme ) franework you are working with that matches the page you are wanting to replicate.
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    • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
      Hi sacidge4,

      Thank you for your response. How long would such a template take to create in your estimation? I can only imagine that it would take a few days of coding? This could run into mega bucks if this is the case. I'm not stingy in any way shape or form but I am simply trying to get a template in place just as a first offering and was looking for a cheat to facilitate this desired mock-up.

      Matthew
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

        Hi sacidge4,

        Thank you for your response. How long would such a template take to create in your estimation? I can only imagine that it would take a few days of coding? This could run into mega bucks if this is the case. I'm not stingy in any way shape or form but I am simply trying to get a template in place just as a first offering and was looking for a cheat to facilitate this desired mock-up.

        Matthew
        Depending on the platform... Wordpress it could be less than an hour, and something like BigCommerce could be hours, but far from a day.

        I will assume you are using Wordpress... once you know specifically what theme is being used you can pretty quickly identify plugins etc being used and how they may have manipulated a page to give it its structure.
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        • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
          Would this be just a static website or would these templates have drill-down-options too? For example:

          1 City search
          2 Category search
          3 companies (in that category)

          Sorry for my ignorance but I am not a web-designer or coder so obviously I appreciate feedback from people like you who are in-the-know with regards to this area.

          Regards,

          Brendan
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    • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
      Hi sacidge4,

      Thank you for your response. How long would such a template take to create in your estimation? I can only imagine that it would take a few days of coding? This could run into mega bucks if this is the case. I'm not stingy in any way shape or form but I am simply trying to get a template in place just as a first offering and was looking for a cheat to facilitate this desired mock-up.

      Matthew
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    I think before I wasted a bunch of time trying to re-engineer the wheel, I'd take a look to see what platform the site was built on. Chances are quite good that it is a fairly standard platform, using a standard template for that platform. Even if it customized, knowing the platform the site was built on makes it far easier to find a designer who works with that platform and who should have no problem re-creating the essence of the other site.

    Use https://builtwith.com/ to help figure out what platform the prototype site was built with before doing anything.
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    • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
      Thanks Dave. I appreciate the info and the link which I wasn't aware of before. Great help.
      Matthew
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  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    As I am not a programmer myself, I may be asking a question which appears a bit silly but could you advise me if it is possible and legal to copy the code of a website similar in design to your planned site so that you can get a template in-place and then develop from there or would this be perhaps a little more complex that it may appear?

    Would really appreciate some feedback here.

    Matthew

    Snagging code is unethical.

    You cannot just copy other people's website templates
    and code, just like you cannot copy their content, or any
    other aspects of their websites.

    There are numerous template sites, many templates are
    free or low-cost, so there is no excuse for not getting a
    template and code from a legitimate source that you are
    freely allowed to use.

    You could contact the site's webmaster or owner and ask
    if they would refer you to their developer, or some other
    question along those lines.

    You can also get A.I. generated code, or hire a developer
    as mentioned above. Do not use a developer that would
    copy that site without permission.
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    • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
      Hi Monetize,

      Thank you for your response. It might be unethical but it's still not illegal. In no way am I trying to capitalize on someone else's hard work. Long story short: I had a site partially up and running. The programmer pulled out, took all his code and the site was gone even though I had put ours into the design requirements etc. Everywhere I look there are programmers commanding over 100 Euros an hour, which I simply cannot afford. In order to get funding for the site, I need to have a basic mock-up with some functionality. If I were to get a programmer to do this, it could cost me a few thousand.

      My simple plan to get a mock-up, was to engage a local programmer, find a site which has some features common to my application and use the code as an initial design. In no way would I be copying a website that I would be ultimately in competition with. I couldn't live with myself if I did. I do have morals and ethics btw. I could choose something like a dating website where the selection features might be similar, get a local programmer to tweak a little, pay a few hundred to a web-designer to spruce it up a bit und voila, I have a mock-up website and a business-plan in the hand to make my funding application.

      Anyway it's just a short-cut idea that I am thinking of to get something tangible into existence and work from there.

      Matthew
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      • Profile picture of the author Monetize
        Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

        Hi Monetize,

        Thank you for your response. It might be unethical but it's still not illegal. In no way am I trying to capitalize on someone else's hard work. Long story short: I had a site partially up and running. The programmer pulled out, took all his code and the site was gone even though I had put ours into the design requirements etc. Everywhere I look there are programmers commanding over 100 Euros an hour, which I simply cannot afford. In order to get funding for the site, I need to have a basic mock-up with some functionality. If I were to get a programmer to do this, it could cost me a few thousand.

        My simple plan to get a mock-up, was to engage a local programmer, find a site which has some features common to my application and use the code as an initial design. In no way would I be copying a website that I would be ultimately in competition with. I couldn't live with myself if I did. I do have morals and ethics btw. I could choose something like a dating website where the selection features might be similar, get a local programmer to tweak a little, pay a few hundred to a web-designer to spruce it up a bit und voila, I have a mock-up website and a business-plan in the hand to make my funding application.

        Anyway it's just a short-cut idea that I am thinking of to get something tangible into existence and work from there.

        Matthew

        If you already knew the answer, why did you ask the question?

        Were you looking for people to pat you on the head and tell you
        that it's alright.

        I am not the copyright police, but I have been a website developer
        since 1998, my first sites were on FreeYellow and Angelfire, that
        is when I learned HTML. Then I started selling on eBay in 1999
        which required knowing more HTML. Whenever PayPal became
        a thing, you had to install PayPal code into your eBay template
        yourself.

        Copying code without permission is copyright infringement, which
        is illegal. If you are in Europe, copyright laws are even stricter
        there than they are in the U.S.

        Buy a template, or find a free one as I stated before. Learn
        how to DIY, or hire a freelancer, they are not that expensive.

        Your I-cannot-afford-a-developer excuse is not a valid defense.
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        • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
          I think you misunderstood me. I was simply reiterating your comment about it being unethical and stating that if that be the case so be it but it's not illegal. I wasn't purporting to know if this is the case. But you are correct. I checked around and it's pretty clear that it is an illicit act to snag code, which I have no issue with.

          If you knew how much time and money I've lost so far on this project you might understand better why I am trying to cut corners financially, if possible but I guess I better bite the bullet and engage a free-lancer to develop a template to suit my basic requirements.

          I appreciate your feedback.

          Matthew
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          • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
            Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

            I think you misunderstood me. I was simply reiterating your comment about it being unethical and stating that if that be the case so be it but it's not illegal. I wasn't purporting to know if this is the case. But you are correct. I checked around and it's pretty clear that it is an illicit act to snag code, which I have no issue with.

            If you knew how much time and money I've lost so far on this project you might understand better why I am trying to cut corners financially, if possible but I guess I better bite the bullet and engage a free-lancer to develop a template to suit my basic requirements.

            I appreciate your feedback.

            Matthew
            Again, I have to reiterate, start at the basics ... what platform is your prototype site using (WordPress, for example)? That is your starting point. At this point, for all you know, it is a completely standard template, which means that everybody using that template is sharing the same standard code. If that is the case, no "stealing" of code is required - it's a basic template. Frankly, I'd imagine that is the case far more times than not.

            The next-worst scenario is that it is not a free template, but is a paid one, which could cost you anywhere from $20 to a couple hundred bucks. Again, in this case, all of that code is yours to use because you paid for it.

            The worst case scenario is that you identify the platform, determine that it is not a standard or paid template and that you need to use a "close-to" template and have it modified. In that case, hiring someone familiar with the platform is not going to cost that much for them to tweak it.

            Finally, keep in mind that just because you found something that you consider "ideal", doesn't mean dozens of other templates that are pretty close won't work just as well. Far too much time is wasted on "the look" of a site when what really matters is the content and ability for people to navigate to what they are looking for in the easiest way. The "look" of a website is your vanity seizing control from what really matters. Far too many people stall out and never get anything accomplished because they concentrate on things like this, which really matter very little at all.
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            • Profile picture of the author Socrates39
              Thanks mate. That's good advice. I really appreciate it. I will see what I can get from Wordpress and attempt to work from there.

              Matthew
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Originally Posted by Socrates39 View Post

    Hi Warriors,

    As I am not a programmer myself, I may be asking a question which appears a bit silly but could you advise me if it is possible and legal to copy the code of a website similar in design to your planned site so that you can get a template in-place and then develop from there or would this be perhaps a little more complex that it may appear?

    Would really appreciate some feedback here.

    Matthew
    https://i.redd.it/hwurhp7crzf81.png
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    If the code is PROPRIETARY, you might be creating more problems than you're solving
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