An Introduction to Website Templates

Why Use Professional Website Templates?

Professional website templates are not new for many, but for others they are. When we think about the internet we think about loads of information organized by categories and served to us via websites. Now how that information is portrayed is what makes this media so interesting. From static HTML to dynamic Flash or PHP sites. Its truly amazing when you think about the web and how its evolved.

Just to give you a little background for myself, I actually designed websites, and still do, for companies or individuals out there that want an "original" site to stand out from the rest. Although I strive for appealing designs, logical layouts, and great Flash animations - mastering websites is an art in itself.

OK, So again, why Templates?

With so many sites on the web its refreshing as a designer to see a very nice and neat sites that are so easy to navigate through. Finding the information that I want fast is part of the experience, but having it served to me with an aesthetically pleasing layout is even better.

Think about it, if you were served a nice filet in a restaurant and the plate was very un-tasteful or just not appealing, it actually takes away from the meal doesn't it? Now if that same juicy filet was served on a great, elegant plate, maybe with some sauce covering the top in a nice design, now thats appetizing!

Now take that illustration to the internet. although you may have the best content to serve your audience, how you portray that is a whole different story. Also, not all of us have the big capital or budgets to spend on websites, branding, etc. Which takes me to Professional Website Templates.

A Professional Website Template is just that. A website designed for the sole purpose of being tweaked or reused for a designer, programmer, or anyone that needs a well designed website. What's great about these sites is that they use the latest design and programming techniques like Flash to show off the design elements that some would usually have to pay big bucks to use. Now for under $100 anyone can get their hands on a well designed full site ready for users to plug in their content. Also, for a very reasonable price, customers can actually purchase a website template and have the vendor remove it from the eStore so they end up with an original site.

But how can a template work for me?

Ok, so lets say you know enough about tweaking images or just a little in Frontpage or Dreamweaver to change colors. Well, thats where Professional Website Templates come in handy. Not only do you get all the raw files that were used to design the site (Photoshop, Flash, etc) but you get the HTML files too already laid out for you to just change content. Replace the default logo with yours. Change some colors throughout the site (or not), and boom! You have your new site ready to go! Best of all it didn't cost you much and you have a site that users will ahhh about. Even users that don't know much at all about Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc are able to get these templates to work for them. Crazy how that makes a designer, like me, look... But for people like me, a designer, read on...

Ok, I'm a designer and wouldn't lower myself in using templates.

Interesting topic right? Well being a designer myself I did find it at first hard to take that there were designers and programmers out there creating these beautiful templates for other developers to use, but let me illustrate it this way: Many wonderful musical artists out there not only compose or create their own music, but many times they either collaborate or even use music thats already been created, but they add their "flavor" if you will. Well too with Professional Website Templates, Designers like myself can take a wonderful design and morph it to a custom well collaborated end piece that make the client look that much better. The end result: Client is still happy since they have a wonderful design and it didn't cost them that much since the bulk of the design was already created.

Well, I hope that this article inspired you to look at Professional Website Templates a little different.