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  1. #1
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    Using Theme Forest themes?

    Hi, is it acceptable to use themes from Theme Forest or similar sites? My current website is custom designed, but is a little outdated and lacking some pages. Most custom designers are hard to work with, and they still ask me to come up with ideas!

    I also have no creativity so custom made is not an option :p

  2. #2
    Principal of this business is trusted and commitment to give best services with incredible and solid resources. Website just first impression to interact people being a customer.

    Even with free template outside there as long as committed to keep any customers feel safe and comfortable with the service, there no reason compared design with the services.

  3. #3
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    Sure it is acceptable if you don't want to be taken seriously. Just take a visit to the Advertisement section and browse through some of the links and you'll see Rackspace Theme is by far the most popular among some of the people here. To be fair, it does cost only $15.

    Seriously, no with an exclamation point. I can't even begin to describe how wrong that is in the business world, but truth be told most businesses here aren't businesses at all. I read somewhere that the first thing to a successful business is admitting you don't know everything. So pay someone to design a good looking website and stop worrying over this. You can find many good designers here, or what I would suggest take a visit to AKDesigner and pick one.

    EDIT: Or take a loot at Fiverr or PPH. You can get some good deals on there.
    Last edited by bsdunix; 11-29-2013 at 02:03 PM.
    yo what's up

  4. #4
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    Of course, it's your business and your budget. If you want a themeforest layout as long as it looks smart, who cares. I used a layout from there called HostMe when I started my last business, then paid for a custom theme when I could for £160, but not everyone can afford that at the start.

    I now make them on my own, which saves money, maybe you could look into that, you can use Bootstrap (getbootstrap.com) to get a framework to build on.

  5. #5
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    There is nothing wrong in using a readymade theme as long as you are willing to fit your content into the theme's design. The biggest drawback is the fact that sometimes these themes are not supported or documented very well, so fitting your content in can become a challenging task.

    Why do you find working with custom designers hard?
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  6. #6
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    ThemeForest is a great place to purchase beautiful modern themes at very good price.

    But I personally avoid ThemeForest themes.

    Reason:
    ThemeForest themes are full of unwanted codes / scripts to provide flexibility to end user to customize theme without knowledge of coding.

    Like they will put 5-6 slides codes while you need just one.
    This makes theme very heavy.
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    Seriously, no with an exclamation point. I can't even begin to describe how wrong that is in the business world, but truth be told most businesses here aren't businesses at all.

    Funny I could counter-argue this. My prior business and other businesses I know started with almost nothing, had the skill, and built up from just that. Years later...assets and employees.

    There are a few hosts on here that have some realy bad sites, but look at 100 reviews, every one of them of them good. They use a $5 site, but give customers $300 of service.



    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    I read somewhere that the first thing to a successful business is admitting you don't know everything.

    This is very true. If your a window washer, be the best widow washer you can be. Don't try washing planes, floors, and other things your not trained in, BUT later on you can expand.

  8. #8
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    It's all your choice. There are many web hosts (including me) that use ThemeForest templates. If you do choose to use a Theme Forest template, I would recommend hiring someone (or possibly do it yourself) to integrate that template with your billing system (WHMCS, HostBill, Blesta, etc), that way your website will look more professional and unique.
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  9. #9
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    For WHMCS I like whmcsthemes.com a lot plus they have great supporr

  10. #10
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    There's nothing wrong with using a theme from theme forest. I've done it before as long as you make it fit your needs and look comfortable for your business then say what the heck with it.

    You may also have the option of going with whmcstemplates or whmcs themes they have very affordable prices and include psd to all templates it's also very easy to install and customize.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by 48-14 View Post
    Funny I could counter-argue this. My prior business and other businesses I know started with almost nothing, had the skill, and built up from just that. Years later...assets and employees.

    There are a few hosts on here that have some realy bad sites, but look at 100 reviews, every one of them of them good. They use a $5 site, but give customers $300 of service.
    Image is very important in the times we live in.

    I don't know how to put it, really. Using templates is unprofessional and businessmen ought to be professionals. Don't you agree? Your website design doesn't need to be worth thousands of dollars, you can get a custom made good looking layout turned html/css for $50. If you're running a business and you don't have $50 to spend, you better find a job.

    When I see something like that I close down the tab immediately not caring what the website is about. I might have spent some money and you ran yourself out of commission. Your website is your first point of contact with a customer and if you're trying to sell me a brand new BMW wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt with holes in it, do you really think you can make a sale?

    To me, using a template for business needs indicates the person behind it is lazy enough not to care enough about his very own business, so why should I? Approach is what matters. Image sells. This is 101 marketing. Are you willing to turn away your potential customer for $50? This is something I can't get my head around.

    If you truly believe all I'm saying is false, tell me something. Have you ever went to a job interview wearing clothes you wear at home? Or did you dress up? Do you think you can land a 100k job just by believing you're right for it and all that matters are your skills?

    Thanks for an interesting debate.
    yo what's up

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    Image is very important in the times we live in.

    I don't know how to put it, really. Using templates is unprofessional and businessmen ought to be professionals. Don't you agree?
    Image is one thing, presentation is slightly different though. Your assumption is that visitors will actually know every single design available for sale and then on top of that judge it negatively. I can almost guarantee you that the average web hosting consumer will have no idea that the website is a template.

    Professional businessmen see value and opportunity. An example of this would be to get the design and then highly customise it instead of just replacing the text and images. Not every startup has the expertise to do this, though.

    Your logic with dressing up for an interview is also flawed because you are assuming templates always look bad. A more accurate comparison would be someone who styles their suit themselves versus using a pre packaged suit, in which both cases are acceptable in my mind.
    Last edited by RSkeens; 11-30-2013 at 06:15 AM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    Image is very important in the times we live in.

    I don't know how to put it, really. Using templates is unprofessional and businessmen ought to be professionals. Don't you agree? Your website design doesn't need to be worth thousands of dollars, you can get a custom made good looking layout turned html/css for $50. If you're running a business and you don't have $50 to spend, you better find a job.

    When I see something like that I close down the tab immediately not caring what the website is about. I might have spent some money and you ran yourself out of commission. Your website is your first point of contact with a customer and if you're trying to sell me a brand new BMW wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt with holes in it, do you really think you can make a sale?

    To me, using a template for business needs indicates the person behind it is lazy enough not to care enough about his very own business, so why should I? Approach is what matters. Image sells. This is 101 marketing. Are you willing to turn away your potential customer for $50? This is something I can't get my head around.

    If you truly believe all I'm saying is false, tell me something. Have you ever went to a job interview wearing clothes you wear at home? Or did you dress up? Do you think you can land a 100k job just by believing you're right for it and all that matters are your skills?

    Thanks for an interesting debate.
    Yeah we wear suits to look smart, however we don't all have different colours and brands. I bet one person who is professional has the same suit as someone else. Image is one thing the other is smart a themeforest theme is fine unless it's not smart and looks ugly.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by RSkeens View Post
    Image is one thing, presentation is slightly different though. Your assumption is that visitors will actually know every single design available for sale and then on top of that judge it negatively. I can almost guarantee you that the average web hosting consumer will have no idea that the website is a template.

    Professional businessmen see value and opportunity. An example of this would be to get the design and then highly customise it instead of just replacing the text and images. Not every startup has the expertise to do this, though.
    You're correct here. I do assume general population is able to tell custom design and a template apart. My mistake. However, if you're browsing around as a consumer you're bound to run across the same design soon or later. Want to play odds, go ahead...

    Your logic with dressing up for an interview is also flawed because you are assuming templates always look bad. A more accurate comparison would be someone who styles their suit themselves versus using a pre packaged suit, in which both cases are acceptable in my mind.
    You didn't understand what I was trying to say. Dressing sweatpants as not caring, not dressing badly. It's a problem of attitude, not bad fashion. I was merely trying to make a point about standing out and the overall principle of presentation. You can replace that analogy with any other if it makes comprehending my point easier.

    Surviving means having an edge. Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer people using templates, selling unlimited plans and 100GB storage for 0.99$, because I believe it works out for me later on.
    yo what's up

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    Image is very important in the times we live in.

    I don't know how to put it, really. Using templates is unprofessional and businessmen ought to be professionals. Don't you agree? Your website design doesn't need to be worth thousands of dollars, you can get a custom made good looking layout turned html/css for $50. If you're running a business and you don't have $50 to spend, you better find a job.

    When I see something like that I close down the tab immediately not caring what the website is about. I might have spent some money and you ran yourself out of commission. Your website is your first point of contact with a customer and if you're trying to sell me a brand new BMW wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt with holes in it, do you really think you can make a sale?

    To me, using a template for business needs indicates the person behind it is lazy enough not to care enough about his very own business, so why should I? Approach is what matters. Image sells. This is 101 marketing. Are you willing to turn away your potential customer for $50? This is something I can't get my head around.

    If you truly believe all I'm saying is false, tell me something. Have you ever went to a job interview wearing clothes you wear at home? Or did you dress up? Do you think you can land a 100k job just by believing you're right for it and all that matters are your skills?

    Thanks for an interesting debate.

    You're Welcome and I agree with your points.

    A combination of both of our points;

    - depending on the job, a suit is needed for the interview, but with many jobs, it's all about referrals, so in some cases you would still get hired even if you wore pajamas to the initial meeting since they know what you can do and they will pay for it.

    - a new business does need to be presentable to gain some form of momentum. The few that get away with the most basic/cheap design have enough referrals that it's easily overlooked

    I remember a mechanic who specialized in a certain car. His shop was always dirty and stuff everywhere...come to think of it, I knew a mountain bike repair shop, same madness. Both the car and bike mechanics were the most recommend to everyone in the city. Compare it to the clean shops where everything was "presentable" and everyone is wearing freshly clean uniforms...they job would have you back in for more repairs in a week.

    So it is a hit and miss argument. For a newcomer, its a turn off, but when everyone recommends you......

    Bring it back to hosting. Some of the most professional looking hosts are the worst ones. Now, when a host falls apart, the owner goes on twitter asking for advice...a ton of recommendations will come in. Even if the site had weird flying animals with spelling errors, if a majority of peers said it works, they will mostly like go with it.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel@Sparta View Post
    You're correct here. I do assume general population is able to tell custom design and a template apart. My mistake. However, if you're browsing around as a consumer you're bound to run across the same design soon or later. Want to play odds, go ahead...



    You didn't understand what I was trying to say. Dressing sweatpants as not caring, not dressing badly. It's a problem of attitude, not bad fashion. I was merely trying to make a point about standing out and the overall principle of presentation. You can replace that analogy with any other if it makes comprehending my point easier.

    Surviving means having an edge. Don't get me wrong, I actually prefer people using templates, selling unlimited plans and 100GB storage for 0.99$, because I believe it works out for me later on.
    The odds must be similar to playing the lottery that a tangible amount of web hosting consumers will be familiar with all the designs available.

    Again, dressing in sweatpants versus a suit again assumes that templates are worse looking than single designs for sale. Not caring about a design can work badly for both templates and custom designs - therefore that fact is baseless.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by RSkeens View Post
    I can almost guarantee you that the average web hosting consumer will have no idea that the website is a template.
    Very true. The majority of hosting customers just want their site up and email working. A good amount of them have not an idea what's even in their own computer. As long as it turns on and works, that's the extent of their technical knowledge.

    It's funny when people argue that topic or basically yell at a customer for not knowing about hosting. If a baker has a site to sell his/her service, his knowledge is yeast, flour, water, etc...not php. If a lawyer has a site to sell his service, his/her knowledge is cases and litigation, not htaccess.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by 48-14 View Post
    Very true. The majority of hosting customers just want their site up and email working. A good amount of them have not an idea what's even in their own computer. As long as it turns on and works, that's the extent of their technical knowledge.

    It's funny when people argue that topic or basically yell at a customer for not knowing about hosting. If a baker has a site to sell his/her service, his knowledge is yeast, flour, water, etc...not php. If a lawyer has a site to sell his service, his/her knowledge is cases and litigation, not htaccess.
    Exactly! More people need to realize this.

  19. #19
    After almost 20 comment should be relize all of us using template, not many different if buy or made in by hand its still just template. Another things is more important what we should give behind all of template to serve everything customers need as they always come and be a King not being a Kong

    Op should go with your decisions, everything just opinion to make you more powerful to start.... Wish your success

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by bops View Post
    There is nothing wrong in using a readymade theme as long as you are willing to fit your content into the theme's design. The biggest drawback is the fact that sometimes these themes are not supported or documented very well, so fitting your content in can become a challenging task.

    Why do you find working with custom designers hard?
    It's mainly the problem with explaining my ideas, I'm absolutely terrible at explaining things - and that with bad creativity, well...

    I guess it's the same issue with themes, I don't actually need 9 different plans, and the template always ends up with about 4 pages instead of the 10 it originally had! I've gone and bought 3 different themes today with a low number of sales, all of them didn't fit what I want.

    Quote Originally Posted by 48-14 View Post
    If your a window washer, be the best widow washer you can be. Don't try washing planes, floors, and other things your not trained in, BUT later on you can expand.
    Very inspirational advice, I feel this applies to a lot of things!

    Quote Originally Posted by 48-14 View Post
    Bring it back to hosting. Some of the most professional looking hosts are the worst ones. Now, when a host falls apart, the owner goes on twitter asking for advice...a ton of recommendations will come in. Even if the site had weird flying animals with spelling errors, if a majority of peers said it works, they will mostly like go with it.
    I don't have any testimonials yet

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by linuxthefish View Post
    It's mainly the problem with explaining my ideas, I'm absolutely terrible at explaining things - and that with bad creativity, well...
    You can always let your mind go with creativity, look at Little Big Planet the game, they allowed us gamers to use tools they did to make the story and then millions made mini games.. You just need to think outside the box. You can use Bootstrap framework to make life easier.

    Quote Originally Posted by linuxthefish View Post
    I guess it's the same issue with themes, I don't actually need 9 different plans, and the template always ends up with about 4 pages instead of the 10 it originally had! I've gone and bought 3 different themes today with a low number of sales, all of them didn't fit what I want.
    I always recommend people using Themeforest to check the live previews, edit the layout using the Inspect Element on Chrome (If you use it) to see how it would look on your site. Like what you see, buy it.

    Quote Originally Posted by linuxthefish View Post
    I don't have any testimonials yet
    Only time will tell.

  22. #22
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    I would go on the assumption that your clients wont know it's a template unless they have looked at a hell of a lot of providers.
    I think most of the time a template will look far better than a $50 custom site.
    I would say its perfectly ok to use a template until you have funds that will allow you to have a custom site built, thats the road I plan to go down anyway. One thing I have noticed with templates is that people try to get their content to fit and it doesn't so they end up with these very stylized websites that have 2 pages...looks a bit strange. I would ensure you change the website as much as you can if using a template.

    To the OP, one thing I think you could do to really improve your user experience is integrate your clientexec billing with your current website(or possibly with the new theme you pick) these people seem to do it at a pretty good cost http://clientexecintegration.com/ or you could do it your self with a bit of knowledge, but I feel it will make potential customers feel like they are on the same site and haven't gone somewhere else when the plain billing system pop up.
    Anyway good luck.

  23. #23
    There is nothing bad about using themes from themeforest, I found this one too:
    http://themeforest.net/item/ainex-ho...mplate/6181564

    But I would highly prefer something unique, I recommend you WHT design offer thread for sure.

  24. #24
    Of course! I wouldn't recommend going with the overused templates like Rack Host though. Go for the ones that aren't used as much otherwise potential customers may get the idea that you're not really trying to get their business.

  25. #25
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    I would not use templates from Themeforest, but the reason is not how they look. There are some very good themes sold on that site. I also agree that users won't probably know the difference between custom design and a ready-made template.

    I avoid Themeforest because I don't want to constantly evaluate the code and tech of the theme, and the business background of the vendor. Consistency is good for continuity, and I choose them over some flashy new visual goodies.

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