Cloning Website Design

2big4u on 18/06/2015 - 11:51
Last edited 18/06/2015 - 13:16

Hi all,

I am in the beginning stages of creating a website (forum/bargain) for my native country in which there are non and see it as a successful site. However, lacking any coding experience, I was wondering whether it is possible of copy/clone a websites design/ theme.

For example say I was making a deal/bargain site for country X. Would it be possible to somehow copy the design of Ozbargain (layout and format).

Any suggestions would be handy.
Also any suggestions for the best paid/free webdesign software are appreciated.

Thanks

Internet

Comments

  • swiggity swag on 18/06/2015 - 12:07

    Copyright?

  • Randxyz123 on 18/06/2015 - 12:08

    Talk to a mod like scotty before copying anything…
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/1

    If you have no coding experience I suggest you get some. Do a free online course on HTML and PHP. Are you going to be maintaining the site as well?

  • Hirokuro on 18/06/2015 - 14:36
    +2

    Taking ideas from other sites is fine for example layout, colour schemes etc but making a clone or carbon copy of a site is not.

    • 2big4u on 18/06/2015 - 14:57

      obviously its not going to be a carbon copy. Each culture has it own style.Just need the basics (buttons/links/upload deal ect)

      • pinchies on 18/06/2015 - 15:26

        Don't copy images or anything from the source code. Use other websites for inspiration only, or find a premade template or tutorial website if you want more hand holding.

  • Davo1111 on 18/06/2015 - 15:11
    +3

    Copying a website will just piss the owners off, and is poor business ethic. Just start the website as a forum (i.e. slickdeals), then go from there. If the website actually kicks off, then hire some developers. You do realise Ozbargain started as a blog? The benefit of a forum is they're easy to set up, and you'll actually get some support without needing to know as much code. What you're planning on doing right now is the equivalent of learning to ride on a 1000cc motorcycle after watching someone else ride one on tv.

  • strikerzebra on 18/06/2015 - 15:26

    There is invison power board which are templates for forums which have many modifications available

  • the-mal on 18/06/2015 - 15:38

    I am in the beginning stages of creating a website (forum/bargain) … However, lacking any coding experience

    That's equivalent to saying "I'm in the beginning stages of building my house however I have no idea how to build a house".

    You can get out-of-the-box forum software and WYSIWYG-style website software - there are tons of options out there that are a Google click away. But you can't just come and rip off another websites intellectual property without permission (this includes copying CSS or HTML layouts). You'll have to either pay for templates, use open source templates, build your own, or a combination of the lot.

    I'd suggest buddying up with someone with the technical know-how because I don't think what you're undertaking is as simple as you think it is. Even if you're using out-of-the-box software there are a myriad of hosting and configuration setups that you'll need to understand. And that's before you even touch the look and feel portion of things.

  • mskeggs on 18/06/2015 - 18:29

    I think you got off on the wrong foot with the way your question was asked.
    If you said, I want to make a (for example) Hungarian version of OzBargain, where do I begin? You would get better help.

    As an answer, every second job on Freelancer.com is somebody requesting similar functionality of an existing site with their tweaks.
    You can get work done quite inexpensively there.

    • geoffellis on 18/06/2015 - 22:55

      You can get work done quite inexpensively there.

      And the expression "You get what you pay for" greatly applies in this scenario. As someone who competes on sites like that against 2-5$ an hour - I've on more than one occasion been hired at my full rate to finish/fix/redo what the guy had been trying to get done for ~3$ an hour.

      • mskeggs on 18/06/2015 - 22:59

        No argument from me. But in my experience, a huge amount of the problem with such sites is the inexperience and lack of sophistication of the buyer. I would suggest if somebody had an expert, with a skillset like your own, for example, run the process good results could be obtained for substantially less money that hiring local developers.
        And in a project that could potentially employ a number of coders, that might be a chunk of cash.

        • geoffellis on 19/06/2015 - 03:16
          +1

          unsure, i've never been on the buying side of that process. not sure what the quality of applications are like.

          I do know that I don't even put a bid down for people that are looking for really cheap labour. I can't work for a few dollars an hour, it just isn't worth my time. I do regularly beat out people offering to work for a few dollars an hour as well. Probably has something to do with the quality of my application vs theres - but there are Australian businesses out there that use the service that recognise local expensive talent is superior to outsourced cheap labour.

          And I mean really, I got one project to "install+configure" a PHP script someone had had made. Uploaded it, configured the db, etc etc. Took me all of 10 minutes. Not bad for a 20$ project lol. Go to run it, and a page full of errors. Look at the code/logic, and there was just no way in hell this would have ever worked LOL. There was fundamental issues with the logic and insecure as hell. Went back to the client and was like - alright. The script is up. its connected to the database and the database schema is all good - but this is never going to work as-is and explained why. Ended up having me 'fix' it which probably cost him as much as it would have cost for someone competent to have done it right in the first place. And at that point it was just patches on already bad code/logic lol

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