Web Templates: Some Mistakes To Avoid When Using Web Templates
When you’re trying to create a new layout for your website or blog, using web templates is an excellent cost effective way to save you a lot of time and effort.
However, there are some mistakes to avoid when using web templates that you need to know about.
Many times people choose a web template and wind up with an end result that was nothing like they originally envisioned.
Here are a few guidelines to help you avoid making those mistakes.
- Don’t choose an extremely popular web template to create your website.
This is an obvious mistake many newcomers make, thinking that everyone will appreciate the basic design.
The opposite is true. When many people use the same web template, your website loses it’s uniqueness, and your credibility as a “fresh”, “different” website is compromised.
A generic looking website does not attract as much attention or traffic as a unique site. The goal is to “stand out” from your neighbors, not to blend in with them.
- Don’t customize your web template beyond recognition.
The whole point of using a web template, is to save yourself some time and effort. In many cases, all you need to do is change the title, and the appropriate details of the web template, and you’re pretty much finished.
You can customize your web template enough to create a unique graphic design, however by over customizing your template, you are defeating the very purpose of using it; to save time and effort.
Granted, when a template you purchase is suitable for your website’s theme, but some heavy changes need to be made to suit your vision; it still takes time to make the appropriate changes.
A good example for this, is when you find a stunning web template that suits your niche market, but the header has images of seasonal Christmas decorations in it.
To save time creating your website, you can still use the web template for your purposes, and replace the seasonal graphics in the header with images that represent your niche market.
This will still save you a lot of time, without having to redesign the full template.
- Sometimes people just choose to use the wrong web template for their target audience.
- Don’t choose a web template just because of the way it looks, functionality is also very important.
Although it’s subjective, choose your web template because it serves your purposes, and try to select a template that suits the appetite of your audience.