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Ask HN: Is it "bad" to use Themeforest?

6 points by leprofessorr ↗ HN
I am a developer and I can't design for shit. So, I tend to use Themeforest themes for my personal projects and stuff.

I had an idea for a site which I think could be really useful and could gain traction - would it be "unprofessional" to use a Themeforest theme?

I fund all of my projects from my pocket and have maybe $50 which I can use - I can't afford to hire a designer.

Thanks in advance.

13 comments

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pknight
Where your theme comes from isn't going to concern 99.9999% of your audience and most wouldn't be able to tell the difference between and handcoded theme and one bought off themeforest. It's more important to get the project out, you can always iterate over the design later.
leprofessorr
Makes sense. If it becomes popular and I make some money, I could use that to give it a facelift. :D
patio11
It is not "unprofessional" to use a ThemeForest theme.

What does that even mean, really? Break it down.

Do you think customers will not buy if you use a ThemeForest theme or Twitter bootstrap or WooThemes or what have you? If so, empirically denied: I've sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of product on sites using those options personally, and many people have had that experience.

Do you think you owe it to the universe to hire a designer? I don't know why you'd think that, but some people apparently do, so let's time-shift that owning-designers-money thing into the future, just like designers have apparently timed-shifted giving-you-more-than-$50-for-your-programming services into the future.

Do you think "professional" sites necessarily have awesome, jawdropping unique design? That is not true and would not withstand scrutiny through the WayBack machine. The biggest Internet companies you can think of all launch withed worse than what $5 will buy you on ThemeForest. Some of them are still there (cough Craigslist).

leprofessorr
No, I'm perfectly fine with Twitter Bootstrap and similar because its highly customizable and after a few hours coding, it won't even be recognizable.

I'm using an Admin template for a web app and its pretty unique.

I just don't want to be "mocked" because I didn't take the time and money to make a more unique interface. Like North Korea was mocked because the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's site (http://korea-dpr.com) cost $15 because they bought a template of Themeforest.

I know it shouldn't be a really big problem, but I'm second guessing every decision I've made because I'm really nervous about this one. (I've switched between PHP and Python and Linode and Heroku about 15 times now).

tptacek
Being mocked is a badge of honor. It means you have the hustle to ship and get things out in front of people. You should worry a little bit if you're not being mocked. Maybe you're that good, but, really, for the most part, the people who mock new businesses the most tend to be too dumb to tell the difference. So, not being mocked probably means you're wasting time being too vain to ship.

Forget the web design stuff. Use Themeforest, or the Boostrap defaults, and spend your time getting your product to do things people will pay money for.

leprofessorr
Thanks! I'm learning to see quite a few things in different ways today. :)
poppysan
A few css tweaks and any theme can be made unique. I see no issue in saving time with themes, templates, or the like.
santa_boy
To put patio11's last comment in perspective .... citing a resource on how some of the most popular sites looks liked in their initial stages:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6125914/How-20-popular...

OP : Thanks for asking this question. I've been pondering it last night since I am in a similar situation. Just my two cents, I've decided to use Themes from Themeforest that leverage other established frameworks (I prefer the ones that build on twitter bootstrap).

I feel like sticking to a well accepted framework allows you to benefit from further releases since bugs keep getting fixed and you can freely upgrade using the new releases without having to wait for the original author of the theme to do it for you.

michaelpinto
I'm a designer, so let me flip your question another way:

Is it bad for a designer to use a stock photo if they can't afford a photographer?

Of course not! Will the design look a bit generic? Yes it will. But that's not a big sin in the larger scheme of things if you have a low budget project. Design is about problem solving as much as it is about creativity.

However I will say the following: Just like selecting "off the rack clothing" use care in picking a theme that best matches your project. In fact for an extra $50 you could even get a designer to help you pick something that best matches the project.

leprofessorr
Interesting view... Difference is that a stock photo is just one part of a bigger picture (as you said). However, a theme is everything that the users sees, not just a part.

I'm using Pastel and it seems perfect for the project.

Thanks for the input, it helped.

michaelpinto
Actually with many designs (and this really print) the photo could be the main center of attention. In fact a custom photo should communicate the concept of the design, not just illustrate it. So just think of the difference between say a cover photo on a magazine (like an Entertainment Weekly issue with a real Hollywood Star) vs. the generic stock photo. So the photo should be everything -- and the same with the interface and art direction of a website.
leprofessorr
I never thought about that... Perhaps I need to take some design courses :D
michaelpinto
Forget design -- take an art history course! that's the foundation...