We’ve been working on our project for a very long time and it’s been clear all along, that our site, when it’s finally revealed, will look and act very similar to what is already out there, although in a different language and with many, sometimes subtle, differences.

So, should I feel offended or be afraid, as has been suggested by some, of being accused of plagiarism? Or more importantly, should I make a special effort to be different?

I don’t think so. When revealed, site will indeed be very similar to its inspiration. I don’t expect this will last long and I think in few months it will be clear that we took a different approach, but at least at first, it will look like a little brother of some other well known website. I already talked about this and there’s little sense in doing it again.

Real question therefore is, how valuable and important is originality or when is it important to be original?

I think it’s important to try to build something better than what is already out there. This may not be always completely true. E.g. it might be sensible to build a localized copy of established global service to bring it to people who would otherwise be kept away because of a language barrier.

However, I find this kind of development doesn’t contribute much to my personal happiness and is hence not really something I’d like to pursue in the future. But I also don’t value difference just for the difference sake. I think if something works well and I’m not able to significantly improve on it, there’s no good reason to build something else just to be original.

I believe almost every web retailer’s website looks more or less like a copy of Amazon, because their design works well. It also means less of learning curve for new visitors, which is a nice thing as well.

So what do I do?

If something works well, I’ll use it. If it doesn’t, look at how I could improve it. But before I actually do anything, is the difference big enough to bother actually creating it?