Frequently asked questions
General
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The same reason you might hire a designer. A full-time designer in the USA is easily $100k+ per year and it's often hard to find a designer who can code or specializes in Ruby on Rails at the same time. Rails UI fills the design gap for Rails developers looking to save time and headache.
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As time progresses more themes and components will get added to Rails UI so you gain ongoing access to all of those which might benefit that next big idea you or your team is working on. A subscription unlocks all features of Rails UI so you can save time and headache related to design.
Why Rails UI ?
Rails UI is an efficient tool that saves you a significant amount of time on design, allowing you to focus on building features and delivering value to your users. With Rails UI, you can easily enhance the design of your application without needing a product designer on staff.
In addition, Rails UI provides ongoing access to a wide range of customizable themes, allowing you to explore various branding and design options for your application. Unlike other UI libraries in the market, Rails UI is specifically tailored to the Ruby on Rails ecosystem, eliminating the need for a conversion process and providing seamless integration into your existing workflow.
By using Rails UI, you can streamline your front-end development and deliver a polished and professional user experience that engages and delights your users.
Can I share Rails UI with my team?
For now yes, but eventually once we start charging for Rails UI, you would need a team license
Once officially for sale we predict Rails UI will be sold as two different licenses. A solo developer license and a team license. A team license gives you access up to 25 people. If you require more than 25 people we recommend purchasing additional team licenses or contacting us for a more customized quote. I'm still working out the kinks here of course so this could evolve.
Why don't you use ___ framework?
Rails UI uses Tailwind CSS and Bootstrap at this time. Future frameworks will definitely be considered!
Why would I buy Rails UI?
Rails UI is free in alpha!
There are a couple reasons:
What icons are included?
All icons we use are open source. We tend to use some favorites including heroicons and Iconic icons. Bootstrap Icons come bundled in a theme by default for Bootstrap-based Rails UI themes.
Can I use custom fonts?
Rails UI ships with opinionated fonts per theme, but you can use other fonts that meet your branding needs. After installing a theme, you can make customizations wherever you see fit. Future updates will scope the Rails UI gem and leave your changes untouched.
I have issues with your logo. Change it.
Sorry about your issues 🤷♂️
Apparently using a gothic font typeface for a logo means different things to different parties. I don't use it for any type of historical nature the typeface might have been used for. I use it because it looks cool.
I use the font called Old English for the "Rails" part of the Rails UI logo.
Here's some history about the typeface sponsored by Chat GPT.
Old English is a typeface that mimics the blackletter script used in medieval manuscripts and printing. It is also known as Gothic script, and it was widely used in Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries.
The origins of this font can be traced back to the Carolingian minuscule script, which was developed in the 9th century under the reign of Charlemagne. This script was a simplified and standardized form of the earlier Merovingian and Insular scripts used in the British Isles.
Over time, Carolingian minuscule evolved into various regional scripts, including the Gothic script used in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. Gothic script is characterized by its tall, narrow letters with sharp angles and intricate flourishes.
In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg used Gothic typefaces to print his famous Bible, which was the first book printed with movable type in the Western world. Gothic typefaces continued to be used for printing throughout the Renaissance, but they gradually fell out of favor as more legible and versatile fonts such as Roman and Italic were developed.
Today, Old English typefaces are often used for decorative purposes or to evoke a sense of medieval or Gothic style. However, it is important to note that the Old English typeface is not an accurate representation of the Old English language itself, which was a Germanic language spoken in England from the 5th to the 11th centuries and was written in a different script called the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
Themes
Why are there so few themes?
Rails UI is brand spanking new! We just kicked off the project so as time allows more themes will be added. My goal is to offer multiple themes per industry/niche.
Can I change between themes?
No.
Once a theme is configured, you cannot swap themes. We can't predict what may or may not have changed when you first configured the theme, so it's assumed that you are creating a brand new Rails application with each Rails UI configuration.
Will there be future themes coming to Rails UI?
Yes!
I built Rails UI with the mindset of scaling it to a small theme marketplace catered to various use cases developers and software teams may need. Themes will be added in an ongoing fashion and become more comphrensive.
Perhaps whatever you are creating is never before been seen, or there are tough design decisions around more complicated logic that require tailor-fit design. Unfortunately, without contracting design services privately, we can't pioneer your app design.
Still, Rails UI can give you the design and UX foundation to at least get your application off the ground quickly and professionally.
Can I easily customize a theme?
Absolutely!
Think of a theme as a solid foundation that won't sink. There's an excellent chance your needs will differ from another developer, so since Rails UI is integrated directly into your application, it is completely customizable.
Can I submit my own themes somewhere?
We aren't offering public submissions at this time, but there could potentially be a future where that could make sense.
I want something custom, can you help me?
Sure! Check out Rails UI Custom—a tailorfit productized service that delivers professional product design and development from yours truly.
Components
What about ViewComponent or my favorite component framework?
This is on our radar and likely part of the longer term roadmap for Rails UI. To start, Rails UI will support HTML, ERB, and HAML code snippets. Let us know what we should look into adding!
Support
Do you offer technical/creative support?
Rails UI is a self-serve product. We offer support for account management, billing, and licensing related concerns.
If you have technical issues that keep you from being able to use Rails UI that you think are related to bugs or some other issue do reach out to me.
If you need custom design work or consultation I offer that on a limited basis. Check out Rails UI Custom for more details.
What is your refund policy?
If you aren't satisfied for any reason you may email me within 30 days of purchase and we'll refund you in full, no questions asked. Following 30 days there are no refunds.