When a Client Wants You to Copy a Competitor's Website or App (What to Say and What to Build)
- A client who says 'make it exactly like theirs' usually likes a few specific things about the competitor: a feature, a flow, a clean layout. They rarely need a copy, and a copy would make them look like the other company.
- Use the Profit Room's Borrow the Idea method: ask what they like and why, turn each answer into a feature or goal, and build it your own way with the client's own words, images, and brand. Ideas and features are fair to borrow. The competitor's text, images, logo, and code are not.
- Put it in your agreement: the client supplies content they have the right to use, and you build original work. If the client still insists on a straight copy of someone else's content, that is a project to turn down.
The Short Answer
When a client wants you to copy a competitor's website or app, do not clone it and do not refuse the job on the spot. Ask what they like about it, then build those things in your own way, using the client's own words, images, and brand. Ideas, features, and ways of doing things are fair game. The competitor's actual text, photos, artwork, logo, and code are not.
That is the Borrow the Idea method. You take the reasons the competitor's site works and leave the parts that belong to them. Most of the time the client ends up with something better, because it fits their business instead of someone else's. It is the same move as handling [revision requests](/blog/handle-client-revision-requests) well: get past the instruction to the goal behind it.
What You Can and Cannot Take
This is not legal advice, and the rules differ by country, but the general picture in the US is clear enough to guide the conversation. Copyright protects original works, and that includes computer software and the writing, photos, and artwork on a website. It does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something, though it can protect the way they are expressed. Names, titles, slogans, and short phrases are not covered by copyright, but they can be protected as trademarks.
| Usually fine to borrow | Leave alone | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| A feature, like online booking or a price calculator | Their written copy, word for word | Write new copy in the client's voice |
| A common page structure or flow | Their photos, illustrations, and icons | Use the client's photos or properly licensed images |
| The idea of a quiz, a portal, or a chatbot | Their logo, name, and slogans | Use the client's own brand |
| General style choices, like a clean layout | Their code, copied or pulled from their site | Build the feature from scratch |
Borrow the Idea: what is usually fair to borrow and what to leave alone
Run the Borrow the Idea Method
Start these steps the moment the client sends a competitor link with 'make it like this.'
- Ask what they like. Walk through the competitor's site with them on a short call or in writing, and ask them to point at the three things they like most and why.
- Turn each answer into a goal. 'Their booking is so easy' becomes 'customers can book in under a minute.' 'It looks expensive' becomes 'the design should feel premium.' Write these down as the brief.
- Find what the competitor gets wrong. Point out a weak spot, like a slow page or a confusing form. This turns the conversation from copying to beating them.
- Gather the client's own content. Their words, photos, logo, prices, and reviews. If they do not have them, scope that work in, or tell them what to supply.
- Build from the brief, not the link. Give Claude Code the goals and the client's content in the desktop app (the terminal is optional), not the competitor's pages.
- Show the difference. When you present, show how the build hits each goal from step two in a way that is clearly the client's own.
What to Put in Your Agreement
Most of this conversation is easier if it is already in writing. [A one-page agreement before you build](/blog/one-page-agreement-before-you-build) can cover it in plain language, and your [scope of work](/blog/scope-of-work-that-prevents-scope-creep) should say what the build includes and who supplies the content.
| Term | What it says | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Client content | The client supplies text, images, and logos they have the right to use | Puts responsibility for their content where it belongs |
| Original work | You build original work and do not copy third-party text, images, or code | Gives you something to point to when a copy request comes in |
| Inspiration links | Reference sites guide goals and features only | Sets the expectation before the first link arrives |
| Ownership | Who owns the finished build once it is paid for | Clears up rights before launch, not after |
Terms that head off the copy request
The ownership line ties into [who owns the code you build for a client](/blog/who-owns-the-code-you-build-for-a-client), which is worth settling up front for every project, not just this one. Have a lawyer look over your template once, so you are not guessing on every deal.
When to Walk Away
If the client has heard the Borrow the Idea pitch and still wants the competitor's words, images, or code, or wants a near copy that could be mistaken for the other company, the risk lands on you as much as on them. Say no to that part plainly, offer the original version once more, and if they will not move, [turn down the project](/blog/how-to-turn-down-a-client-project) politely. A client who wants you to cut this corner is likely to ask you to cut others.
Most clients do not get that far. Once they see you understand why the competitor's site works, they usually want their own version that works better. That is also a stronger story for your [case study](/blog/write-a-case-study-that-wins-clients) than 'I made them look like someone else.'
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Frequently asked
Is it legal to copy a competitor's website for a client?
Copying their text, images, artwork, logo, or code can create legal problems, because original website content and software can be protected. Borrowing ideas, features, and general layouts is usually fine. Rules differ by country, so a lawyer should look at anything close to the line.
What should I say when a client wants their site to look exactly like a competitor's?
Agree with the goal, not the copy. Ask them to name the three things they like most, then offer to build those in a way that is clearly theirs and fixes what the competitor gets wrong.
Can I use a competitor's site as inspiration?
Yes. Use it to understand the features, flow, and feel the client wants, then build from a written brief and the client's own content, not from the competitor's pages.
Can I ask Claude Code to rebuild a competitor's website?
Do not ask it to rebuild someone else's site page for page or copy their content. Describe the goals and features, give it the client's own words and images, and build something original.
What if the client insists on copying anyway?
Decline the copying plainly and offer the original version once more. If they still insist on using someone else's words, images, or code, it is usually better to turn the project down.
Last reviewed October 28, 2026.
Co-founder of the Claude Code Profit Room. Built and sold AI services to real clients; writes about offers, pricing, outreach, and closing with receipts.
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