Established less than four years ago, Codester is an online marketplace focused on designers and developers. It’s designed to help coders shape the face of their projects and to help designers to power their designs.
Codester will allow anyone to create things, no matter of their skill sets. Ideas shouldn’t be hold down by limitations.
Discovering Codester
You should now that, while Codester is not as popular as other marketplaces, this doesn’t mean that it’s a second-rate market. I’d rather call it an exclusive market. I’ve found quite a lot of high-quality stuff on Codester and, I’ve run into some items that were not available nowhere else. So, you should definitely have a look at Codester before buying somewhere else.
In addition to that, Codester is also doing a good job at keeping junk away from the market, so you won’t have to find your way around hundreds of poor quality products.
Competitive prices, no hidden fees and one year support
You should know that Codester’s pricing policy was always author-driven. That’s why you are more likely to pay a just price for a premium item than on other markets. There are also no hidden transaction fees. You pay exactly what the author asks. So, when comparing prices, you should subtract the 2$ transaction fee you’ll have to pay on CodeCanyon for example.
Furthermore, each product on Codester is backed-up by a full year in support. On other markets, you’ll have to pay additionally to get that kind of support. To sum it up, Codester’s pricing model is as loyal as it can be for both buyers and sellers.
Finding inspirations on Codester
As you’ll load Codester in your browser, which, by the way, happens fast, you’ll be greeted with a traditional marketplace layout. Without reinventing the wheel, the team behind Codester managed to refine and polish the interface so that you’ll immediately notice the efforts made to deliver an uncluttered and eye candy experience.
The main page
The main page features a prominent search box for those who are looking for a particular category of items and is followed by a product showcase, packed in an elegant layout.
After you scroll past the search box, you’ll get the free files of the week. If you are a freebie collector, then you should probably be registering on Codester right now, because Codester offers four free files every week.
The freebies section is followed by several rows of products broken down into four categories:
- Featured Scripts & Code
- Featured App Templates
- Featured Themes
- Featured Plugins
Each row displays four selected items, so, by now you’ll get an idea on the specific types of products you’ll find at Codester. Next, you’ll find a grid full of Popular Items, followed by 16 newly released items.
The latest blog posts are featured under the new releases section, and you may want to check some of them.
The category page
Alternatively, from the main menu, you may jump straight to a particular category, where you’ll be greeted with three rows of products, a convenient navigation box that displays the number of items per category, and a popular products box. The products can be sorted by release date, price, popularity, rating, etc., but you won’t be able to switch views. Well, it’s something my visual memory immediately reacted to, but it’s not critical.
Categories
For now, Codester has five main product categories:
- Scripts & Code
- App Templates
- Themes
- Plugins
- Graphics
For easy navigation, each category is broken down into subcategories.
Scripts and Code
In the Scripts & Code section, you’ll find PHP, JavaScript, Python scripts and various code snippets that will help you avoid wasting times on writing boring code and concentrate on things that really matter.
For example, if you are a loan shark (which I hope you are not) looking for a script for loan management, then you may want to look at K-Loans, a PHP script designed to appeal to mortgage companies, and why not, even to private users.
Another script that caught my attention is MGvideo, a script to help you build your own video sharing site. And while you are there you could also have a look at vStream, a script that promises to be the best choice for HTTP Live Streaming. And I’ve barely scratched the surface. Contact forms, picture galleries, hotel scripts are all available on Codester.
App Templates
The App Templates category is where you’ll find templates for iOS, Android, Unity and even for Corona. Around typical templates that you’d expect to find on a marketplace such as games, fitness apps, or photo apps, I’ve stumbled upon some interesting pieces of code.
For example, WebApp, an Android Webview App may be just what you need to create a native app for your website. Local Business MEAN Stack Backend is a nice app for start-ups or any other businesses looking to improve their internal communications. A quick look revealed that it’s a flexible and modular solution that can be adapted to any news. The gem of the crowd is GeekNavi, a fully featured and scalable taxi app.
Templates
Here you’ll find both HTML templates and themes for popular Content Management Systems such as WordPress, Joomla, Ghost, etc. Also, you’ll find themes for e-commerce platforms like Magento or PrestaShop themes. Currently, there are about 600 themes to choose from.
For WordPress, for example, you may want to look at Adrift, a WordPress theme with a thing for maps. And if you are a “ghoster,” then you should definitely check out Gazette, a beautiful Ghost theme. You’ll also find more than 60 Prestashop themes, the popular e-commerce solution, 200+ HTML templates and more.
Plugins
Plugins are a great way to add functionality to you CMS based website. The team behind promises to quality check and review each plugin so that you won’t run into any issues whatsoever. Here you’ll find plugins such as Magento A/B split testing plugin, Search Suggestions Magento extension, WordPress slider plugin WordPress backup plugin, various galleries and slideshow and much more
Graphics
Graphics – This one should interest both designers and developers who are not so versed in design. This section contains pre-made graphic packs such as user interfaces, game assets, icons, logos and product mockups that can be used on websites, apps.
The product page
The product page itself is equally is concise and enticing.
At the top of the content area, you are met with a large featured image, a link to a live demo and a link to a product video.
On the top, you’ll also find tabs you can use to check out reviews, a support thread, and a FAQs section.
Screenshots are displayed just under the main content area and are followed by an overview of the product, a feature box, a requirements box, an instruction box and a change log. You’ll also find four related products at the bottom of the page.
On the sidebar, you’ll get the buy button and an information card that features the product’s release date, last update date, the files included, and any other information you need to make an informed buying choice.
Selling on Codester
For designer or developer looking to generate some passive income and promote your skills, Codester is a great place to start. You’ll just have to sign in, submit your items for review and, once the Codester team reviews your items, they’ll appear on the marketplace. Selling is not associated with any exclusivity clause so you can sell your products on any other market.
Codester will keep a modest 30% of your sale, which is, by the way, one of the best commission rate you’ll get, and you can retrieve your earnings once per month via PayPal or transfer. There is also no minimum sales limit to retrieve your money.
In addition to that, unlike other oversaturated marketplaces, on Codester you’ll have a better chance to sell your items, and you’ll also get more exposure than you’ll typically get on traditional markets. In the upcoming months, Codester promises to showcase some of the best products, so, it’s just about time to submit your code.
Each week the team releases four assets for free. This alone is a compelling reason to bookmark Codester in your browser.
Affiliate program
If you are into affiliate marketing, then you’ll be glad to know that Codester has a loyal affiliation program. Promote any product you like, and Codester will reward you with 20% on any their purchases. You’ll also receive commissions from all customers that sign up within 90 days after clicking on affiliate links.
Should you use readily available on your projects?
Is using pre-built code snippets, scripts or design assets a good idea? The web is full of projects that are using common frameworks, tools, libraries, design elements, etc. You’ll find reusable code everywhere. Even the big players do that. Many web designers and developers that deliver high-quality projects are using recycled assets in their designs. Of course, it may be easier to plan and write code by yourself, but should you do that? Should you spend time on building a contact form from scratch? For most intent and purposes, pre-written scripts are real time savers.
Of course, sometimes you may need to build a fully customized product, but even then you’ll drive inspiration from tested solutions. It’s in the human nature to create from examples.
What about visuals? If absolute uniqueness is not your target, then you’ll be fine customizing the code of an existing HTML template. Are your skilled enough to design a WordPress theme? Think about your workflow, is the time spent on creating an icon set well spent time? Especially since it’s striking similarly with 90% of the icons sets you’ll find on Codester?
Should you use Codester?
Codester was envisioned by a nice guy, who designed a concept where both consumers and sellers are of priority. It’s not as big as some established players, but this is not necessarily a disadvantage. It has great prices and an excellent support policy for buyers and nice commissions, a plus of flexibility, and zero penalties for non-exclusivity.
So, next time, when you are looking for some pre-built code or design assets, have a look at Codester first. You may get a great deal than on other markets. And while you are there, I am sure you have some great code or design that you may want to share with us. You’ll even get paid for your effort. Think about it this way: 70% of the asking price in exchange for Codester huge audience? That’s my cup of tea.