Template Harvest User Guide

  1. Overview
  2. Product Requirements
    1. Technical
    2. Artwork
    3. Fonts
    4. Legal & Copyright
    5. Quality
    6. Title
    7. Description
    8. Screenshot
  3. Licenses & Pricing
  4. Review Process
  5. Getting Paid

Overview - Welcome!

Welcome to Template Harvest! TemplateHarvest.com is where independent designers from around the world go to sell their homepage designs. Anyone can join!

Template Harvest is a facilitator to help you (the designer) sell your designs. At no point are you transferring ownership to us... we're just an outlet to help you make money and sell your stuff.

It's a pretty simple process to start earning money...

  1. Read the Product Requirements below.
  2. Create an account.
  3. Upload your products.
  4. Collect payments.

Product Requirements

  • Homepage design in Adobe Photoshop (.psd) format.
  • PSD files must contain useful layers for each design element (i.e. cannot be just a one-layer 'screenshot').
  • Use widely available fonts (see Font Requirements).
  • Do not use artwork or stock photography that requires a license. (see Artwork Requirements)

All that's required to sell a PSD homepage design is the Adobe Photoshop (.psd) file. You must also give your product a title and upload a screenshot of the design. Within a few minutes to a few hours, Template Harvest admins will review and approve it for purchase. A homepage design is the only layout required to be in your .psd file. If you include other page layouts, the admins will make a note of this and the Product Page will state this. Please do not include fonts with your .psd file. Even "free" fonts are almost never allowed to be distributed in this way.

Artwork Requirements

  • You must have the proper rights to use any included images, models, artwork, or properties in your design.
  • You cannot include photos or artwork from sites like GettyImages.com, BigStockPhoto.com, Photos.com, iStockPhoto.com or similar. It is a violation of their content license agreement to include these works in other pieces that are resold (like logos and webpage designs being sold at Template Harvest).
  • All of your images and artwork should come from sites like http://www.sxc.hu/, http://www.inmagine.com/ or similar. Beware, just because your artwork came from one of these sites, it does not mean it is truly royalty free and you have unlimited license.
  • At sxc.hu and inmagine.com, the license agreement lies with each individual artist or photographer.
  • At sxc.hu, you must get permission from the artist to use his or her photograph or artwork.
  • At inmagine.com, each artist's license agreement can be found here: http://www.inmagine.com/license.php?brand=designpics.

Font Requirements

Please only use fonts that come pre-installed on Windows XP, Windows 7, or Mac OS X.

We cannot distribute fonts with our products - this usually breeches most font license agreements, even free fonts.

You can use uncommon fonts, but remember, customers wishing to customize themselves may be deterred from purchasing your product if they are required to also buy the font.

If your product requires a specific font, you may wish to include a README.txt file as part of your product which explains what fonts are required.

Legal & Copyright Requirements

Products uploaded to Template Harvest cannot be used or sold anywhere else.

Products must meet our Font Requirements and Artwork Requirements.

The complete Artist Supply Agreement can be found here.

Your products should adhere to these requirements:

1. The item must NOT include any brand names, logos or trademarks. This includes images copyrighted monuments (Eiffel Tower) and artwork (Mona Lisa), trademarked products (iPod), and logos such as the McDonald's golden arches. Also, some government and military related items such as the Presidential seal are not allowed.
2. The item must NOT be based on any other item. For example you cannot submit a website template that is based on an established website.
3. You must NOT upload items that have been decompiled or otherwise reconstructed from another item (even if that item is your own). For example you cannot decompile a Flash file and resell it, even if you alter it significantly.
4. You must NOT upload an item that uses free or purchased components from any other source UNLESS you have an express license to do so. For example you cannot download a file then use part or all of it in a file for sale unless it specifically states that it is usable in items for resale.
5. You must NOT purchase or download any item then resell it. You cannot submit an item that you have purchased or downloaded from another site.
6. You must NOT use photos, videos or sounds in your files UNLESS you have a license to resell them. The only photographs/videos/sounds allowed in files are those that are:
1. Created by the author
2. Purchased or acquired under an appropriate license that allows use in an item for resale
7. You must NOT upload an item that includes a recognizable human feature UNLESS you have a signed model release. A model release is a legal document that must be signed by the model granting permission to use their face or recognizable feature.
8. You must NOT upload an item that includes a recognizable private location UNLESS you have a signed location release. A location release is a legal document that must be signed by an authorized person granting permission to use an image of the location.

The results of violating copyright rules and regulations is explained here.

Quality Requirements

We aim to make Template Harvest a source of high quality designs and templates. Our customers have come to expect great design in all of our products, and we never want to let them down. This is why Template Harvest admins always reserve the right to deny acceptance of a template or design if it will not make a great addition to the Template Harvest store.

When the admins perform their review of your items, they will be considering these criteria:

  • How useful is the item to buyers?
  • Does the item contain any potentially offensive content (Eg. Violence, sexual content, offensive language content)?
  • Is the item aesthetically of a high standard?
  • Is the item well constructed?
  • Is the item customizable?

If for some reason an item does not meet one or more of these requirements, the reviewer will outline the reason the item has not been approved and describe any specific improvements that need to be made.

Other Reasons Items Might Not Be Approved:

  • Other very similar items are already in the store
  • We believe the item is not original
  • The item is being sold somewhere else besides Template Harvest
  • The files are corrupted or we suspect it carries a virus
  • The item is difficult to use or implement
  • The item does not meet Template Harvest quality or aesthetic standards

Title Requirements

When naming your products, the titles must be one to two words and use traditional spacing and capitalization (i.e. "Blue Waves"). "eBoard" or "thebluePage" are not acceptable. Exceptions include titles like "Hand-Crafted Gifts" or "USB Madness" or "Sound & Light" - where the additional punctuation and capitalization are necessary and appropriate.

There is also a blacklist of words that are not allowed in the titles. This list includes, among others: website, site, webpage, page, company, internet, web, theme, design, template.

Template Harvest admins look for unique and interesting titles. It's ok if they have nothing to do with the design at all! Memorable and unique are the two most important parts of a good title.

PRODUCT TITLES CANNOT BE CHANGED AFTER ACCEPTANCE INTO THE STORE. This is the limit confusion on the part of the customer, to build strength in the brand of each product, and also to ensure configuration control.

Screenshot

Screenshots should not be scaled. Should include full view of webpage being captured. Format must be JPG and filesize less than 400 kB.

Licenses & Pricing

All PSD webpage designs sold at Template Harvest are available under a single "Standard" license for $14.99

After purchasing your product under the Standard license, the product remains in the store for future customers to buy. The Standard License allows the customer to use and customize the design for a single web project. They are not given the right to resell or redistribute in any way. More details about how customers are allowed to use the designs are given in the Content License Agreement.

Review Process

Once you upload a product, its status will be 'Pending Review' until an admin checks that it meets Product Requirements. Reviews almost always happen within 24 hours. If there is a problem with your product, the Admin will leave a comment with your product explaining what rework is required. You will get an email notification if rework is required or if it is accepted and pushed live to the store.

Getting Paid

We pay our members through either PayPal or Moneybookers once their accounts have reached a balance of $50 USD or more. You can set your payment preferences by going to the "Member Home" page and clicking the "Change Profile" link.