Use Website Template?
A website template can save you time
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Using a website template
What is a website template?
A website template (or web template) is a blueprint for a site to be created, supplied to you by a website designer or a template supplier. The website template consists of a collection of files, inluding HTML, CSS, graphics, flash etc. all compressed into a zip file. You are permitted to use all the supplied materials to create your site.
Start by downloading the website template file (usually a zip file) from the supplier. Then create a folder on your PC and unzip the zip file contents into the folder.
If there are no special instructions from your supplier, you should be able to view your site in your browser, by pointing it to the template's home page (normally index.html) in the folder you have created. You could also open the various pages of your template site in your web editor software for customisation.
Customizing your web template
Customisation will include adding your own content (text, and probably images) in the appropriate places, plus minor or major revisions to your template design. These may include colour changes, font changes, creation of additional pages, removal of unwanted pages, adjustment of image sizes, changes to menus, page names, titles, descriptions and links and many other possible adjustments you may wish to make.
Even with all these changes, there's no doubt that using a template can help you to complete a site more quickly than building your own from scratch, especially where the required customisation is trivial.
Web template sources
There are thousands of website templates available on the Internet. Some are free and some are paid-for (anything from $5 to $300 for non- exclusive rights). In general paid-for web templates are better looking than free ones, but there are many exceptions.
Non-exclusive means you don't own the design, but you can use it for your own site. You can buy exclusive rights too (sole rights). That means the seller agrees to sell that design to you alone. Exclusive rights can cost you anything up to thousands of dollars.)
The quality of free and paid-for website templates is continually improving, but there are still disappointing ones that do not work as promised. If those are free templates you may have no recourse to help from the supplier.
Advantages of using a website template
- A web template will undoubtedly get you off to a faster start and, probably, you will complete the site faster too - possibly much faster.
- Because you can see what the template design looks like before you start, you should not be disappointed with the end result.
- You may be able to obtain a much more attractive design from a web template than you could create from scratch for yourself.
- If your site will conform fairly closely to the norm for small business sites, or family sites, for example, you may find many website template designs to choose from.
- You can obtain really professional designs at much lower cost than if you contracted with a web design professional to create a custom-built design.
Disadvantages of using a website template
- You may not be able to maintain the website so easily. (Not having build it from scratch you may not understand how it works).
- You may not complete all the customisation you really ought to do, for the same reason as above. (These problems could be overcome by employing a professional).
- Your site may look very similar to many others, but will anyone notice?
- If you cannot find exactly what you want you may end up settling for what you can get.
- You may not learn as much as you would if you built your site from scratch.
- If you use a free web template, you may be obliged to have a button on your site linking back to the template supplier's site, or display an advertising message, in accordance with the supplier's terms.
Should you use a web template?
Your choice will depend on your circumstances and your priorities.
For many people, the time saved by using a web template makes for an overwhelming advantage. If you identify with that, you will find a selection of website template suppliers listed in our Links / Resources. Most template suppliers supply both free and paid-for web templates. Good luck with your search.
If you have elected to work from a website template you may want to skip the next page in the course (Design Web Page), but feel free to catch up with us again in the following section.
For me, time wasn't the main issue. I intended to create more than one web site, so I wanted to really understand the process thoroughly. I preferred to work from a blank page each time.
If that's going to be your approach too, then join me in the next tutorial as we look at how to Design a Web Page, from scratch...
Links / Resources
Website Template suppliers:
Freesitetemplates.com
Freewebsitetemplates.com
Freewebtemplates.com
Steves-templates.com
Templatemonster.com
Other websites by this author:
EMWatch: (ElectroMagnetic Radiation and Health)
Build Site: Use a website template? Top Prev Next: Design Web Page
Copyright © 2009 - 2011 EasyWebsitePrimer.com Last updated: September 2011
How to decide if you should use a web template