Templates

[artie]

Hello- New to the forum. I am adding a 1099 designer to my business for overflow work and to work on non-custom jobs.

This is someone who already has their own web design business. They will be using templates to create smaller sites for clients who want less expensive sites.

My question is: How do templates work in terms of usage rights? Since they are getting the templates from elsewhere, do I have the right to use them for the sites my business (through the contract designer) creates or are there restrictions to that placed by the template creator?

In other words, can they use templates they have purchased to create sites for my clients through my business name? I have never been involved with templates before so not sure how the usage thing works.

Do you purchase the rights to just use them once or a number of times?

Has anyone out there been in this circumstance?

Any help will be appreciated!

 

[chrishirst]

Do you purchase the rights to just use them once or a number of times?

Yes and erm Yes.


depending of course, on the terms of usage given by the template vendor/creator.

 

[artie]

Thanks chrishirst. Anyone else with thoughts on this?

My biggest concern is with liability issues.

 

[CaldwellYSR]

Thanks chrishirst. Anyone else with thoughts on this?

My biggest concern is with liability issues.

The template will have a license that you'll have to read. Most if not all free templates will specifically say "not to be used for commercial use" which means you cannot, under any circumstances, charge a client for a site using that template. Then most templates you pay for will come with a licensing agreement which you need to read and abide by.

Personally I think this whole thing is a bad idea.... I don't like the idea of selling someone else's work. If you want to hire a new designer for overflow, then give him the small tasks and let him work them himself.

 

[artie]

Thanks for your input Matthew. I may or may not end up doing this but I understand your thinking.

 

[ronaldroe]

Here's a thought. Why not have him (or someone else) create a series of templates that are unique enough to be different, but generic enough to work for a range of clients and use those? Might cost a bit more in the short run, but you'll always have them, and you control the licensing.

 

[Justinfh2Point0]

Wait, a web design company is using templates? Doesn't sound much like a web design company to me. Especially if they'r gonna bother customizing these templates; making them their own.

 

[CaldwellYSR]

Wait, a web design company is using templates? Doesn't sound much like a web design company to me. Especially if they'r gonna bother customizing these templates; making them their own.

Sounds like alot of web design companies recently. It's an unfortunate fact. As a matter of fact my partner and I have had to handle at least two clients now that are the by product of designers like this. There was even one guy who's advertisement when we looked him up on his site said:

Unlike other big web building companies, we use websites with pre-designed templates and backgrounds enabling us to charge much lower rates than our competitors.

This is in the guy's "About Us" section of the website. Guys what platform his site was built on.... WIX!!!

 

[chrishirst]

Sounds like alot of web design companies recently. It's an unfortunate fact. As a matter of fact my partner and I have had to handle at least two clients now that are the by product of designers like this. There was even one guy who's advertisement when we looked him up on his site said:



This is in the guy's "About Us" section of the website. Guys what platform his site was built on.... WIX!!!

Well; at least he wasn't lying


A little economical with the truth maybe, ..... but not actually lying.

 

[krymson]

If this sounds like I'm bashing, I'm sorry...

Templates are made for people to use on a budget who want to try to be "do it yourselfers". In the end they end up hiring a real web designer anyway to fix the problems cause they cant figure it out them selves. Now if you're trying to portray a web design company just by reselling and reusing templates and you dont know what the heck you're doing, when your client asks you to do something that actually requires work you're lost... Then YOU have to outsource and it ends up costing you more money.

My opinion on this whole template BS is if you dont know how to code a site from scratch and design a site yourself then you have 1 of 2 options to choose from:
1. suck it up and get proper training and quit saturating our industry with less than mediocre work that you're charging these good people for. Its because of these template using "web design companies" that cause people who want websites to have no trust in ANY web design company because of their bad experiences. But on a positive note its because of that poor service it allows companies like mine to take the customer by the hand and fix the wrongs that have been done to them and create repeat customers and referrals. So for that us real web designers thank you.

Option 2 is you keep out of what you dont know and dont have any experience with and leave it to people who know what they're doing. Put it like this, would you go to a doctor that thinks they can perform open heart surgery at discounted prices because he's watched a few youtube videos instead of spending money on college and a proper education? I don't think so and if you do well I'll write "I told you so" on your head stone.

My point is just because you can purchase a template off of template monster and change a few colors around DOES NOT make you a web designer, it makes you someone willing to take advantage of someone looking to get quality work done.

If you disagree with me please let me know I'm open to all sides of this controversy, this is the way I see it as a professional that has to clean up other peoples messes on a regular basis.