What To Look For When Using A Template
Should you use a pre-made template for your website? If your web design skills are limited and you want a professional look without all the effort, getting a good website template is an option, but there is more to just buying a pretty website template design.
On the surface, getting a template for your website seems to be an obvious solution to getting a professional look to your business. Indeed, there are many people out there offering professional template packages and on the first look they are attractive designs. What makes it all that it is not cut out to be is the coding beneath the design or the hidden catches to it.
To be honest, MOST people selling templates sell them to clueless newbies who are willing to buy pretty looking garbage. They throw together an attractive look, but do not bother with the details of making the design correctly coded which can cause problems for spiders trying to access your site or make your site look completely different in other browsers.
Webhosting companies also offer website templates, but often they buy standard bulk one and do not bother with correct coding either.
It is a different story if you are asking a web designer to create a website template just for you from scratch to suit the specific needs of your website. The ones to watch for are the ones who sell a bunch of pre-assembled, one size fits all, templates. Those are usually the garbage templates.
When you consider buying a template from someone, check them out directly. Go to W3C and enter their URL. If a web site is trying to sell you a website template package and cannot create a website of their own that is up to code, how can you rely that they will do the same for you?
Even if they check out, make sure they have a good return policy if you are unsatisfied with the product. Their website may check out, but the website template they sell you may not. If they do not give returns, at least ask if they can correct the errors or ask them to pay you a fee if you can make the corrections and sell it back to them.
Website templates that use pictures or images are also deceiving. The ones who take the pictures or the models posing in them may have agreed to do it for the original owner, but did not agree to be involved in re-sells. If there are fancy graphics, be sure of the copyright involved. If it specifically states the images are meant as an example and you either need to pay for it or use your own image in its place, make sure you know before you buy. In those cases, you may have to pay a small fee to the owner to use it or replace the graphic with one of your own.
If the website template seller charges a reasonable price, gives you full rights to images involved, and the code tests out correctly, then it is a good purchase. Otherwise, avoid it like the plague unless you want to work on cleaning it up and tailoring it to suit your needs.
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