How to Choose your Website Design Template? Beginner’s Guide

Website Design Template

TechsPlace | If you are new to web designing, just established your own web design agency, or have any other business, then know that you need to create a website first. The website will act as your portfolio where you can showcase your projects, interact with clients, and provide them with an overview of your business. Therefore, the website must be compelling and interactive.

You may be thinking that it will take considerable time and resources to develop a website. Well, wrong because you can opt for website design templates. These are ready-made templates that you can buy or get for free from reliable marketplaces. With a few tweaks and customize, you can tailor it to your requirements.

If you are a web design agency, you can even use the templates for your projects, i.e. clients. Templates allow you to create unique and compelling websites in a considerably short time, leading to improved customer satisfaction. Secondly, the sooner you finish the current project, then you can take on a new one.

However, not all design templates will give you the desired result. Instead, you may need to discard the template altogether and start working from scratch. This article will help you select the best design templates for your website. Before finalizing the template, make sure that you complete the prerequisites.

 

Website Design Template Pre-requisites

The first thing that you need to do is buy a domain name. It refers to the address that users will use to find your business. Whether you are a freelancer or a web design agency, ensure that the domain name is easy to remember yet unique. The domain name must be search engine optimization (SEO) friendly; otherwise, you will face issues in ranking it on Google or other search engines.

After finalizing the domain name, it is time to select a hosting provider. There is numerous website hosting providers such as GoDaddy, Hostgator, and BlueHost. Compare their packages and assess which best fits your requirements. Remember, that the quality of the hosting provider determines your website’s uptime and loading speed (to a certain extent).

Now, it is time to focus on choosing your website design template.

 

Tips for Selecting a Design Template

 

1. Think of the Requirements

The first thing that you must do is consider your requirements. Why are you building a website? Is it only a portfolio website where you list your top projects and a simple ‘Contact Us’ form where customers can contact you for further information or a marketplace where you offer different eCommerce web development products? It is imperative that you carefully think of the requirements before moving ahead with any template.

If you make significant changes to your requirements, you will need to change your template. You can carry out industry research to assess what competitors are doing on their websites. Competitor research can help you identify strengths and weaknesses in their design. It will ensure your website is better than the competition.

 

2. Free vs. Paid

There are no shortages of website design templates. It would not be wrong to say that they are thousands of templates for different niches available at top marketplaces. Some of them are free while others are paid. Now, it is up to you whether you want to opt for a freebie or a paid one.

Free templates might not have customer support or be compatible with the latest versions of website development platforms such as WordPress, Shopify, or Adobe Commerce. The paid ones are expensive but come with customer support and compatibility with the latest version of the website development platform.

That’s not all. As most people use free templates, it will be challenging for you to differentiate your website from others. Therefore, it is imperative that you carefully decide which template to use. If you are creating a website just for the sake of having an online presence, then go for a freebie. If the website is the key to your business success, then use a paid one and stand out from the competition.

 

3. Reliable Marketplaces

One thing we would like to mention is that only use reliable marketplaces when searching for website design templates. There are numerous marketplaces that offer cracked, i.e. pirated versions of templates. Don’t be tempted as they are most likely malware. After downloading the template, your computer might get hacked or cyber criminals may take over your website. So, only stick to reliable marketplaces.

 

4. Template Requirements

The template must be responsive and SEO-friendly. If not, this template is not worth the money or the free download. The reason is that the bulk of traffic comes from mobile devices nowadays. If the website does not load properly on mobile devices, it will lead to a poor user experience. If it is not SEO-friendly, you will have a challenging time ranking it and getting organic traffic. Without organic traffic, you are losing out on potential clients and customers.

 

5. Take Your Time

Don’t start building the website as soon as you finalize the template. Instead, show patience. Talk to the support agent to understand precisely what they are offering and go through the reviews. Do confirm the level of customization the template provides and whether there is a live demo available. Lastly, know more about the developer. If they have a robust portfolio, it means that they are reliable. If not, you may need to do further research to ensure the developer is trustworthy. If everything checks out, get the template, and move to the next step.

 

6. Start Designing

The final step is to start designing the website. If you run into any issues, contact the developer immediately. Ensure that the design matches your branding and is consistent across the website. If there is a mismatch, we can guarantee that the user experience will be negatively impacted.

 

Conclusion

After reading our tips on selecting your website design template, we are confident that you can avoid the common pitfalls associated with design templates. If you require any further help or have suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.