Founder shadcnblocks.com 7yrs building component libraries & templates Prev Design Engineer @ Autodesk, Stackbit, Relume
Brisbane, Australia
- Tweets 3,818
- Following 373
- Followers 2,956
- Likes 2,468
Rob Austin retweeted
Template creators are rage-quitting Framer because Marketplace 3.0 tanked their sales.
Posting tearful goodbyes on X. Blaming the algorithm. Calling it quits.
But here's the kicker: they're leaving their templates up to keep collecting affiliate checks.
So you're not really quitting, are you?
Look, I get it. Sales dropped 70-80% overnight. That hurts.
But let's be real about what happened here.
These creators never built distribution. They rented it from Framer.
Marketplace 2.0 gave them free traffic. They made good templates. Some pulled multiple six figures. Amazing!
But the second the free tap turned off? Panic.
I was there in 2021-2022. Early beta. Built templates. Made multiple six figures doing it.
The difference? I built a personal brand. A newsletter. Grew my following. Every launch hit my own list of thousands, not just the marketplace feed.
Marketplace sales were always a bonus. Never the foundation.
That's why when I started Trueform, I knew exactly how to play the game. Same tactics. Different business. Built it to over a million.
Because I understood distribution from day one.
Now here's what's funny.
Marketplace 3.0 + Framer Skills + AI is about to unlock a whole new category of templates.
The opportunity is bigger than ever.
But everyone's leaving right when it's getting hard and interesting.
AI can help anyone build anything now. Tools are democratized.
What you can't build overnight? Real distribution.
That's always been the difference between renting an audience and owning one.
So if you're building in the Framer ecosystem: build your own channels. Your newsletter. Your following. Your voice.
Because platforms change. Algorithms shift. Marketplaces evolve.
But distribution you own?
That's yours forever.
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Some of the biggest Framer template creators are dropping out of the marketplace.
If you sell Framer templates, the time is now to diversify and create your own site, sell your own templates and increase your distribution through other marketplaces and directories.
After a lot of thought, I've decided to step away from Framer templates.
I wanted to give it as much time as possible, but despite the changes, things have never recovered since the new marketplace.
Template sales have dropped by over 70% (-$30,000/m) and is getting worse month on month and as we've seen on X over the last few months, the alignment with the creators has shifted too.
So I've had to make the decision to move on.
It's a sad way to end after 3 years, especially considering how creator-centric Framer were, but that's business.
Stay tuned.
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Added Soni builtatlightspeed.com/theme/…
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State of Framer.
After a lot of thought, I've decided to step away from Framer templates.
I wanted to give it as much time as possible, but despite the changes, things have never recovered since the new marketplace.
Template sales have dropped by over 70% (-$30,000/m) and is getting worse month on month and as we've seen on X over the last few months, the alignment with the creators has shifted too.
So I've had to make the decision to move on.
It's a sad way to end after 3 years, especially considering how creator-centric Framer were, but that's business.
Stay tuned.
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80% of the template creators who liked this post don't have their own sites with their templates displayed on individual urls.
The internet can't promote that...
Do you understand how many marketplaces, directories and affiliates are looking to promote new templates?
But they need the basics, a template page and URL's for each template.
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Most Framer template creators just don’t get it.
So many don’t even have their own website. And the ones that do often don’t have individual pages for each template.
It’s not hard. Build a templates page. Give every template its own URL.
Now you have SEO potential, affiliate potential, you can submit to other marketplaces and directories with a permalink you control...
The entire template business outside the Framer Marketplace already understands this model.
Get on it people. The Framer marketplace change were a wake up call.
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Here’s the first template business I built, over 7 years ago: zerostatic.io/
It has a templates page, with individual URLs for every template.
7 years later, I have literally thousands of backlinks from all over the internet: GitHub, directories, Google, AI recommendations, etc.
And they all point to URLs I control.
I can improve those pages, update them, redirect them, or send that traffic wherever I want.
I haven’t seriously worked on the site in 2 years, and it still makes sales.
This is the basic model for building a template business. You own the site. You own the URLs. You own the traffic.
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Rob Austin retweeted
just found this new shadcn registry Nostaliga ui
◆ 59 Mac OS 9 components
◆ Built with React, Tailwind CSS and Radix UI.
◆ Zero image assets.
check it out here nostalgia-ui.com
find last pulished registries on → shoogle.dev/directory
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Rob Austin retweeted
Tools you need as a design engineer. Save this.
reelfolio.io — Turn screenshots into polished showreels.
inspora.design — A curated collection of inspiring designs.
21st.dev — Beautiful React components for modern websites.
bestfreefonts.com — Discover high-quality free fonts.
spline.design — Create interactive 3D designs for the web.
unicorn.studio — Create stunning interactive web effects.
paper.design — Design and build websites visually.
theatrejs.com — Create expressive animations for the web.
bookmark these tools for your next project.🔖
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7 Years ago I started making Templates for Hugo & Jekyll. The site still runs, still makes sales. operating costs $29/month for Netlify static hosting.
zerostatic.io/
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I still love this property even tho the Hugo and Jekyll market has faded, the amount of heart I poured into it was incredible.
Some of these themes took me weeks to design and build. Full MDX driven and JSON driven configurations.
And all coded by hand... It really was something :o
At its peak it made me $2k/month. And back then I told myself if I can get to $5k/month ill quit my job ;)
Well I never got independently wealthy from Zerostatic, but what I learnt about the template business grinding on ZS for 2 years helped me go on to succeed with my new properties.
Its my first love, and when I look at the site I still smile. Its just perfectly crafted, minimal, authentic. I really believed in created privacy friendly static sites for people.
The open source legacy is also huge. Nearly 10 OS themes with over 10K stars.
Jamstack baby :)
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Rob Austin retweeted
Clearly, this @DHH Rails World 2026 keynote has become an instant classic. piped.video/watch?v=V9SxpJpH…
Highlights:
- WebApps are dead since it is so cheap, easy, and fast to build native apps with agentic coding.
- No need for a framework like Ruby on Rails if you can achieve the same functionality with e.g. Rust on the backend while saving a lot of money by reducing the number of needed servers and having a faster application.
- Your application needs a CLI. Because agents love command-line tools.
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Sometimes I just need to hit a long play of Justin Townes Earle, especially when AI is producing garbage prose.
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AI copywriting feels like its become more and more inbred. It keeps using high impact, awkward 1 sentence slammers. Grok 4.7 copywriting feels horrible.
Listen to this garbage it output for an "about us" page
What if you could create custom software without writing a single line of code? What if you could build your own tools.
With our platform, you can! Our tools let you design layouts and create functionality—all without needing to code.
We believe that everyone should be able to build their own solutions, regardless of their technical background.
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A preview of the new Built At Lightspeed website - a marketplace for modern templates. Framer category.
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Rob Austin retweeted
Really cool to see @shadcnblocks supporting React Aria across their entire library of thousands of blocks and components! shadcnblocks.com/react-aria
ALT Shadcn Blocks + React Aria: Every Shadcnblocks block, component and page is available for Adobe's React Aria Components, alongside Radix UI and Base UI. Same blocks, accessibility-first primitives underneath.
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Currently going through and reviewing the Framer templates for the Built At Lightspeed relaunch.
Probably only 2/10 Framer creators have a website were they are selling their own templates
No wonder the marketplace changes hurt so many creators...
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