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As things get easier for most people to do on their own, the value of the task decreases. At one point, putting something on the web meant needing to know how t

by jcr 12y ago

As things get easier for most people to do on their own, the value of the task decreases. At one point, putting something on the web meant needing to know how to compile, install, configure and connect a server, as well as how to manually write correct HTML code. These days, we often just type out some text, and click "submit". Just like everything else, theme creation (configuration) will continue to get easier for most people to do on their own. As the barrier to entry is reduced, the market for themes will be reduced. Can you think of any recent advancements enabling most people to create or configure their own themes more easily?

threeseed 12y ago
Respectively disagree. Web development is harder than it has ever been. Sure there are CMS e.g. Squarespace but if you want to customise your own site then themes are basically a necessity. There is just so much complexity even with starting platforms like Bootstrap or Wordpress. Front end build pipelines to learn, SASS/LESS, responsive etc.
- jcr 12y ago
  I doubt we really disagree; you're completely right on the ever increasing complexity of web development. What I was talking about is how things tend to get easier for "normal" people, not developers (but I usually try to avoid calling "most" people "normal" since it also implies that developers are "abnormal" ;). When you take a step back from the actual complexity of themes, you realize the mere existence of "themes" to control how things look has made the task of changing how things look by just changing themes extremely easy. A person using a theme enabled tool like Wordpress or Bootstrap can figure out how to replace the default theme without much effort, even if creating a theme from scratch is still difficult. The ease of use with applying pre-existing themes is what makes the good ones valuable. Plenty of people value their time a whole lot more than they value their money, so buying a theme makes sense for them. The trouble I was pointing to is the point when actually creating themes becomes nearly as quick and easy as applying them. When the choice is between easily spending a few bucks and 20 minutes to find, buy and install a new theme versus just as easily only spending 20 minutes creating your own theme by picking out some colors and styles, then the value of pre-existing themes will drop. At present, good themes are currently the result of skilled labor, but when the task becomes easy enough for everyone to do on their own, it no longer requires skilled labor.
jonathanleane 12y ago
> Just like everything else, theme creation (configuration) will continue to get easier for most people to do on their own. As the barrier to entry is reduced, the market for themes will be reduced. Thanks for the reply. Your post initially hit me pretty hard, because to be honest I had never really considered that I might have been entering a shrinking marketplace. But after spending some time thinking about it, I'm not sure I agree with your premise. It seems to me that a barrier to entry being reduced is more likely to lead to an increase in market size than a reduction. For example, programming, web design, video production, etc. Due to improvements in editing software, educational resources, etc., these things are more 'amateur friendly' than ever before, yet (as far as I know) there is no indication that these markets have reduced in size. On the contrary, the reduced barrier to entry seems to make people appreciate a premium offering all the more. I do take your point though, and I could see how something like the premium wordpress theme market's growth rate could potentially be reduced because new users are shifting to non technical / newbie friendly platforms like squarespace, weebly, or wix, though I think the closed ecosystem and lack of flexibility that are inherent to these approaches will frustrate more experienced users and people looking for custom functionality. One could even make the point that these services may ultimately increase the number of Bootstrap/Wordpress/Drupal, etc. users in the same way that smartphone users often 'progress' from iOs to Android.

by jcr 12y ago

threeseed 12y ago

Respectively disagree. Web development is harder than it has ever been. Sure there are CMS e.g. Squarespace but if you want to customise your own site then themes are basically a necessity. There is just so much complexity even with starting platforms like Bootstrap or Wordpress. Front end build pipelines to learn, SASS/LESS, responsive etc.

jcr 12y ago
I doubt we really disagree; you're completely right on the ever increasing complexity of web development. What I was talking about is how things tend to get easier for "normal" people, not developers (but I usually try to avoid calling "most" people "normal" since it also implies that developers are "abnormal" ;). When you take a step back from the actual complexity of themes, you realize the mere existence of "themes" to control how things look has made the task of changing how things look by just changing themes extremely easy. A person using a theme enabled tool like Wordpress or Bootstrap can figure out how to replace the default theme without much effort, even if creating a theme from scratch is still difficult. The ease of use with applying pre-existing themes is what makes the good ones valuable. Plenty of people value their time a whole lot more than they value their money, so buying a theme makes sense for them. The trouble I was pointing to is the point when actually creating themes becomes nearly as quick and easy as applying them. When the choice is between easily spending a few bucks and 20 minutes to find, buy and install a new theme versus just as easily only spending 20 minutes creating your own theme by picking out some colors and styles, then the value of pre-existing themes will drop. At present, good themes are currently the result of skilled labor, but when the task becomes easy enough for everyone to do on their own, it no longer requires skilled labor.

jonathanleane 12y ago

> Just like everything else, theme creation (configuration) will continue to get easier for most people to do on their own. As the barrier to entry is reduced, the market for themes will be reduced. Thanks for the reply. Your post initially hit me pretty hard, because to be honest I had never really considered that I might have been entering a shrinking marketplace. But after spending some time thinking about it, I'm not sure I agree with your premise. It seems to me that a barrier to entry being reduced is more likely to lead to an increase in market size than a reduction. For example, programming, web design, video production, etc. Due to improvements in editing software, educational resources, etc., these things are more 'amateur friendly' than ever before, yet (as far as I know) there is no indication that these markets have reduced in size. On the contrary, the reduced barrier to entry seems to make people appreciate a premium offering all the more. I do take your point though, and I could see how something like the premium wordpress theme market's growth rate could potentially be reduced because new users are shifting to non technical / newbie friendly platforms like squarespace, weebly, or wix, though I think the closed ecosystem and lack of flexibility that are inherent to these approaches will frustrate more experienced users and people looking for custom functionality. One could even make the point that these services may ultimately increase the number of Bootstrap/Wordpress/Drupal, etc. users in the same way that smartphone users often 'progress' from iOs to Android.