So you want to copy a website design? Whether you’re starting a new business and need a website design quickly or you just like the look of another site and want to create something similar, copying another site’s design can be a great way to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of copying another website’s design, step-by-step. We’ll also give you some tips on how to make your copycat site look unique so that it doesn’t look like a copy of the original. Let’s get started!

The legality of a website’s copyright is straightforward: It simply means that the website was created by someone who had permission to do so. If you didn’t write the content (blog post, infographic, photograph, or data), then in 90 percent of the circumstances you’ll need permission from the owner or at least a credit to them before you can post it elsewhere.

If you borrow someone’s material and HTML code without permission, you are technically stealing, and the owner can pursue legal action against you. Yes, even if you change the IDs and class names to make it appear like your own code, HTML or CSS codes are also covered by copyright law.

So, what can and cannot be copied from a website in website design? We’ll go through this in detail.

Website Design Copyright Laws

Copyright rules are the most important consideration when it comes to determining whether or not duplicating a website design is legal.

Laws that protect intellectual and creative property are known as copyright. As the name “copy-right” indicates, it is the right of the work’s owner to allow someone else to copy it.

The following is a list of copyrightable works:, but not limited to:

1. Works of photography, images, and graphic design
2. Textual data from articles, essays, novels, journal entries, and so on
3. Blueprints (architecture or machinery, etc.)
4. Song lyrics and music
5. screenplays and plays
6. Audio and/or video recordings are made

In the world of website design, copyrighted things include:

• Copying the complete page to utilize it somewhere else, as well as printing the web page
• Copying the HTML, JavaScript, CSS, or any other code of a website
• Downloading an image to your hard drive, printing an image

If you only copy a website’s material for personal use, such as saving an image to your computer desktop, most website owners will not sue you. Furthermore, because these capabilities are so new, they are very hard to detect. In most cases, it’s only a copyright infringement if the content/code is used in public, especially for commercial purposes.

To summarize, the legalities of reproducing a website design are as follows:

• You may not duplicate any copyrighted components on your website, such as pictures, source code, or text.
• Using any copyrighted materials, such as brand names or logos

However, it is entirely legal to:

• Use previous website designs as a source of inspiration and integrate them into your design.
• Use your own code to replicate design components you’ve seen on other sites.

It’s also critical to comprehend the legalities of your own website. In general, if you utilize a website template (such as WordPress themes or Wix templates), you have no rights over the source code and it’s perfectly acceptable for other websites to use the same template as yours. If you have a custom-built website, on the other hand, you own your design and code — so no one can steal your ideas.

How Do Website Owners Recognize Stolen Assets?

Businesses employ spider or crawler bots to search the web for pirated images and text on other websites. When these bots find files that match specific rules (similar material, same file name, etc.), they will notify this site of copyright infringement. The sites will then be scrutinized. Copyright spider bots are becoming increasingly popular among businesses.

However, for smaller websites that don’t utilize these bots, infringements are generally discovered when someone else informs the website owner or by accident. For example, if a website owner happens upon content that is similar to what has been posted on the page via Google search.

There are also services like CopyScape and FairShare that can assist us in scanning the internet for duplicate content, which might be useful if you frequently post text-based material. Set up Google alerts for the keywords you use the most, so you’ll be alerted when someone else publishes your material elsewhere.

Customized Website Content: When Is It Okay to Copy Other Websites?

The term “fair use” refers to the use of copyrighted material for educational purposes or non-commercial purposes. However, creating a review, parody, commentary, or similar work utilizing copyrighted material may also be regarded as fair use.

In the instance of fair use, if you’re sued for copyright infringement, you must acknowledge that you did steal the material but then argue that it is a valid fair use. Typically, you may only utilize a small portion of the material in your work and must attribute it to the origin.

We generally advise receiving permission before using someone else’s material (text, image, or video) on your page, even if it is “fair use.”

Keeping Your Website Design From Being Copied

Hiding your site’s source code is one of the most efficient methods to safeguard your website design against being copied. This is crucial if you have unique features that other people might find useful. You may also prevent images and text from being copied to the clipboard by editing your website.

You can use a bot mitigation solution like DataDome to aid in the detection and management of these harmful bots’ activities of scraping your website’s content. This protects your online information while also improving your customers’ on-site experience.