Are there too many theme lookalikes?

RubenBristian said

MagentaManiacs said
Yesterday Orman Clark tweeted something that has also been on my mind quite a while:

Who’s Orman Clark?

Who’s RubenBristian?

Each month we see a new high seller reaching the weekly populars. Some of them with real high numbers. 90% of those are based on the same f* boring concept (we all know which). So it’s normal that all authors want their part of the cake just imitating more the concept than another concrete templates.

Now ask me if i think this is pretty boring.
Yes, i do.

Now ask me if i would like to have on my portfolio another f* boring copy with high numbers.
YES , i would.

ParkerAndKent said
How many colors exist to paint your home walls? Unlimited… but in the end everybody is using those 4/5 colors. Same is for wp themes. We all like new and different things, but when you have to sell a theme to your clients they will ask you something that looks familiar, like a white wall.

you should write a book!!!! +1000000

It is all more or less the same but it sells.

I have started believing that coming up with something really unique can be risky business. You spend a long time creating that uniqueness but you can never predict if people are really going to buy it.

Imitating the best sellers at least assures some good compensation as it reflects the trend of the market however it still bears some risk. Many of us often come across the “market saturated with this type of theme” reason while submitting a theme.

I will be rolling a dice to make a decision next time

Copycats sell, original stuff is risky. Where would you invest your time? We’re also talking about stock items, which need to please as much people as possible. Though some authors have their own style even even if they share the same wireframe. I’ve seen hidden gems which deserve some more exposure as also ugly ripoffs which shouldn’t even been approved.

ParkerAndKent said
How many colors exist to paint your home walls? Unlimited… but in the end everybody is using those 4/5 colors. Same is for wp themes. We all like new and different things, but when you have to sell a theme to your clients they will ask you something that looks familiar, like a white wall.

+1

The problem with unique themes is that their uniqueness makes them common. The more unique is a theme, the more easily is to identify it. With a common theme, if you change colors, logo and order of elements, most users will see a different site.

^ Curious and interesting opinion. Thanks for sharing.

amabil said
The problem with unique themes is that their uniqueness makes them common. The more unique is a theme, the more easily is to identify it. With a common theme, if you change colors, logo and order of elements, most users will see a different site.

+1 Because a ‘common’ theme will easily convey the brand / content and simply becomes the ‘content’ itself, while the unique designs will not help that much becoming the content’s identity.

So, the common themes should be allowed at the market place and not refused because of being common. Correct?

Because that is what people want to buy, but as a developer on themeforest, it is a primary requirement for the thing to be unique enough to be accepted.