Web design templates offer a very simple and convenient way of creating easy-to-maintain and cost-effective business sites. However, with the many different templates available out there, many business owners have a hard time selecting the right template for their websites.
1. Easy-to-manipulate code
Once you have identified a suitable template, check its CSS file to find out if it can be manipulated easily. A web design template which is easy to tweak will enable you to customize its appearance by changing elements such as color and backgrounds.
2. Target audience needs
Before settling for any website template, find out if its design is suitable for your business. The appearance of the template should be relevant to the interests of your target audience. For instance, if you are selling games for children, your site needs to be colorful and bright so as to attract the attention of kids. However, if you intend to offer consultancy services to companies, your site needs to have a serious and corporate appearance. Avoid having graphics or backgrounds which would distract the attention of visitors from the content.
3. Images
In case you want to have images on your site, you could select a template which comes complete with relevant images. However, for a more original appearance, you can get graphics and photos for your site from a stock image library. You could also consider asking a professional photographer to create unique images for your site.
4. Features
What features are necessary for your business website? This is a question you need to ask yourself before selecting a template. One of the best ways of determining what features would be required is by examining your competitors’ sites. A minimalist template would be suitable for a site which simply offers details about the services offered by your business. However, if you intend to design an e-commerce site, you might require a more complex template with more features. You could choose a web template which comes with all the necessary features or allows you to add those features using plug-ins.
5. Simple arrangement
In case you are not familiar with website templates, it would be advisable to go for the basic design of two columns; one column for the sidebar and one for the text. You need to ensure that the text fits properly on the page and that one does not have to scroll horizontally to read it. When you get more conversant with templates, you can then upgrade to a template which has a more complex layout.
6. HTML or flash
Should you go for a HTML or flash-based web design template? You could opt for a flash-based template if it is in alignment with your brand image. However, such templates usually load very slowly and might end up frustrating visitors. In addition, it might not be possible to optimize flash for search engines. It would therefore be advisable to go for HTML templates which download faster and don’t need much technical knowledge. In addition, such templates can be optimized easily, thus ensuring a good ranking for your website.
This is a post by ZK, founder of www.webtrafficroi.com, a multi-author blog on web marketing. You can connect with him on Google Plus.
