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Part 2a - Using Website Templates

Somewhere during the course of Internet evolution, website templates got a bad name for themselves. I think it's because early templates were basically garbage ... and some of them still are. All of these companies referred to their products as professional website templates but, in truth, many of them were amateurish in appearance and functionality.

What is a Template Anyway?

Let's start out with a basic definition of what, exactly, a website template is. You probably have an idea what they are, based on the name alone. And you're probably right on the money. Basically, a website template is a pre-built website that you can make your own. You can do this by customizing the template, adding your own logo, your own content, your own images, etc.

The primary advantage of using a website template is that they save the designer a tremendous amount of time. Instead of coding a website from the "ground up," the designer starts with a pre-built "shell" and customizes it to his or her liking (or to the client's liking).

Most Websites Templates are Awful

That's a bold statement, I know. But in my experience it has been true. The vast majority of website templates are terrible, both in appearance and functionality. Here are the three main problems I have with most website template products.

But there are significant problems with many of these template-based products:

1. They are usually cookie-cutter templates that cannot be fully customized, and thus will limit your ability to visually distinguish your business.
2. They limit your ability to make certain types of edits to your own website, which should never be the case!
3. They use outdated designs, or sloppy designs, or designs that fly in the face of modern usability standards.

My Experiences With Templates

I started playing around with website templates about six years ago. I wasn't very impressed back then. Most of them were built with clumsy HTML coding and lots of table structures that made them a nightmare to work with.

Then I "went off" templates for a few years, building my websites from scratch. It takes a heck of a lot more time to build a site that way, but I thought it was the best way to go.

About a year ago, I started researching website templates again. I looked at all the big template vendors, such as TemplateMonster.com, but I was never really excited about any of their offerings.

Eventually, I stumbled across a website called 4Templates.com. Since then, I've built a half-dozen websites by customizing their professional templates -- for myself as well as for clients. I've become a template "junkie" again ... and with good reason.

I am so impressed by their templates that I've created a reference guide to their products, and you can find it on my SEO / web development site:
Website Template Guide

Let's recap a bit...

So we have talked about the many ways you could create your business website, ranging from outsourcing to self-service. And we've talked about using blogging programs and website templates to make the process easier and more affordable.

Now let's assume that your website is up and running, and you've come to the next logical step in the process -- creating website content. In the pages that follow, we will discuss website content in detail. After all, web content is one of the most important aspects of your business website (and your online marketing success in general).