Rails UI

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Why Rails UI ?

Rails UI is a time and money-saving tool for Rails developers in need of professional design.

It's built to cut out repetitive tasks and is perfect for Rails developers or teams without a design background/hire. This leaves you with more bandwidth to focus on your business.

We believe the design of UI components should be separate from their implementation. Because of this, the code you see for each component is theme-based, yet completely customizeable and simplified HTML/ERB/HAML. There is no strong buy-in to front-end frameworks or package managers.

Will this work with my existing Rails app?

Rails UI works best for brand new Rails apps at this time. We can't reliably predict the current front-end for existing Rails applications, but hope to evolve Rails UI to be more accomodating in the future

Is this another Rails application template?

No, not really. While some aspects rely on a template-like setup (e.g., Authentication), Rails UI is an ecosystem you append to a new Rails application as an engine. When installed, it provides uniquely integrated assets, components, pages, and templates ready to build your next idea more efficiently and affordably.

I already use Tailwind UI or Flowbite, why would I use this?

Great question. At this point, I can spot sites using those libraries, recognize them quite fast. There should be more options.

Optimizing for developer UX is one of our core pillars, so we value tools that seamlessly integrate with your workflow.

One of the key advantages Rails UI offers is the seamless integration into your existing workflow. With us, there's no need to deconstruct React or Vue components, simplifying your development process. Rails UI integrates with Rails-preferred frameworks like Stimulus.js or Hotwire as necessary. Rails UI also ships as a Ruby gem, ensuring it's a breeze to add to your application.

The result is more design options at your fingertips, ensuring that your next app stands out while still feeling familiar and intuitive.

Why is it a subscription?

Subscriptions play a crucial role in supporting our small team and ensuring the continuous development and improvement of new templates and components.

In time, we'll be adding more templates, components, and extended features such as iOS and Android support. Subscribing grants you access to all current and future templates and components, saving you time and design headaches.

You can cancel your subscription anytime but you'll no longer have access to the latest improvements or future templates and components.

Can I share Rails UI with my team?

To share with your team you'll need a Team license which allows that kind of use. A team license has up to 30 seats. If you require something more custom, reach out and we can help. There's more information about each offering over on our pricing page.

More licenseing related questions are answered below and in our license agreement.

How do I install it?

Rails UI is an engine. There is a free version and a premium version that requires an active subscription. You install the free version much like any other gem. The premium version requires exclusive a subscription and an activation step.

Check out the Installation page for more details.

Why don't you use ___ CSS framework?

Believe it or not, Rails UI started out with ambitions to adopt other frameworks like Bootstrap, Bulma, and more so there's future opportunity to still do that. For now, to produce the highest qualilty experience, Tailwind CSS is the default CSS framework and our main focus.

What icons are included?

All icons we use are open source. We tend to use some favorites including heroicons and Iconic icons.

Can I use custom fonts?

Rails UI ships with pre-defined fonts per template, but you can change these any time. After installing a template, you can make customizations wherever you see fit. Future updates will scope the Rails UI gem and leave your changes untouched.

What Ruby on Rails version do you support?

Rails UI is an engine but we keep it up to date with the latest version of Rails. It currently supports the latest version of Ruby on Rails 7.1.

Templates

What comes in a template?

A template is a packaged up realistic app without all the logic (except Devise authentication). Since Rails UI focuses on the "UI," we leave the implementation details up to you.

Each template includes professionally designed pages consisting of reusable and customizable components, most with accompanying JavaScript as necessary.

In your local Rails development environment, you also have access to a cohesive design system, which is a source of truth for all design patterns associated with a given template.

I just need components, not a template

No problem! Rails UI Components can be used independent of any template. While we design components with a template-first philosophy, it does not mean you're forced to use the template pages. Every page is opt-in.

Why are there so few templates?

Rails UI is fairly new. We just launched the product so as time allows more templates and components will be added. Our goal is to offer multiple templates per industry/niche so you can take your next idea and level up more quickly.

Can I change between templates?

Rails UI is for new Rails applications.

Once a template is configured and installed, you cannot swap templates. You can, however, modify the installed template to match your needs which includes modifying brand colors, bundled CSS, fonts and more.

We can't predict what may or may not have changed when you first configured the template, so it's assumed and recommended that you are creating a brand new Rails application with each Rails UI configuration.

Can I easily customize a template?

Absolutely!

Think of a template as a solid foundation that won't sink. There's an excellent chance your needs will differ from another developer. Since Rails UI is integrated directly into your application, it is completely customizable.

Can I submit my own templates somewhere?

We aren't offering public submissions at this time, but there could potentially be a future where that could make sense. If you have a niche or need for a specific industry we don't have a template for. let us know about it!

I want something custom, can you help me?

Contact us for a tailorfit quote for product design, development, and strategy servies. If we're a good fit, we'll work with you 1:1 to design your next Rails app. Keep in mind that space is limited and will be offered on a first-come-first-serve basis.

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 to keep things simple and less opinionated.

If you want to extract those to a component or presenter framework, you'll need to do this yourself for now.

Let us know what we should support if you have suggestions.

Is every template equipped with identical components?

No, and that's a distinctive feature of Rails UI.

Our approach is template-driven, meaning components are developed based on the template's unique requirements and style. This equates to real world design problems solved with real world design solutions. Not just different skins of the same thing.

Licensing

Do I need a license for each app I make?

No, you can make how ever many apps you like as long as its within the confines of our license agreement.

If you're a team or group of more than 1 individual, you need a Team license to invite up to 30 collegues to your account. If you're just one individual, the Solo license license is perfect for you.

Sharing accounts is prohibited by our license agreement.

The free version can be used wherever you wish but you cannot resell or repackage it as your own gem, UI library, or project as the UI itself.

Can I use Rails UI for client projects?

Yes, you can! You cannot build a project to resale to multiple clients, however.

Read our license which goes deeper on this.

Can I use Rails UI for my own commercial projects?

You have the freedom to create commercial projects within the bounds of our license agreement.

Can I use Rails UI in an open source project?

In most cases, yes. You can make your project open source as long as it's a genuine website or app and not a product that mainly repackages and redistributes our components, like a theme builder or component library.

As long as your project isn't simply a rehash of our work, you're good to go! If you're unsure, check out our license for more details and examples of what's allowed and what's not.

Can I create my own templates based off Rails UI and offer them for sale?

No, that's not gonna fly. Read our license for guidance on the what is and isn't possible.

If I want to upgrade or downgrade my plan, is this possible?

Yes! We prefer to help you out manually with this. Email us and we'll get things sorted.

What comes with each plan's license?

Solo license

• Access to all templates & components
• Mailer templates
• Integrated custom branding
• Ready made pages
• Authentication
• Simple upgrades
• iOS/Andriod support (coming soon)
• Single invite to private Rails UI repo. 1 seat

Team license

• Access to all templates & components
• Mailer templates
• Integrated custom branding
• Ready made pages
• Authentication
• Simple upgrades
• iOS/Andriod support (coming soon)
• 30 invites to private Rails UI repo. 30 seats.

Check out the pricing page for more details.

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 us.

If you require completely custom creative help for your next app we do offer a custom service. Please contact us for a quote.

What is your refund policy?

Due to the nature of digital products once Rails UI is downloaded, we can't offer refunds. You can cancel your plan at any time. If you have any questions or concerns before purchasing please contact us first.