So you need your site online and looking good, though your budget isn't the biggest? Well, this is what alot of new sites and companies face each and every day. You are looking for an alternate route to get your site online but don't want to break your bank account. Oh, there you go. You didn't think I would see you looking at one of those templates sites online. Go ahead browse around, I'll wait.... Ok, back with me now. Great. Now you may be thinking to yourself "these sites looking pretty good" and "the cost of them is great", but(yes there is a but). Is buying a template from one of these sites professional? Well lets take a look.
Now it is not to say that these many template sites don't have great templates. The only problem is that if you pick a popular template then your visitors may see your website design on someone else domain name. Now if you don't mind this then great, but it is definitely going hurt the image of your company in the minds of your customers if they see the design somewhere else. Especially if they are not aware that you have purchased a template(something you are not going to advertise to them). Now this is not to say that you shouldn't purchase a template but you might want to give it more thought. A website just like a logo, brands a company. It creates an image in the mind of the visitor(potential customer). If they see this image somewhere else(especially if the other site is in the same business as you) it could lead them to do business with that site because of a mistaken identity. Which means a lost client for you.
Ok, say you don't have a high budget and have to purchase a template(just make sure you include in your future budget savings for a custom website). Remember just because the preview of the template looks good doesn't mean it will work good. Each designer and coder will develop their template differently, so you may get into a bit of a mess when you start adding your content. Some things you may want to check on before purchasing a template is:
1. Refund Policy.
2. Does the website offer support for their templates and is it free?
3. Try to do a search on google and see if there are any reviews about using templates from this site. If there are good or bad reviews out there, then you will be able to find them.
After doing this also make sure that you are going to be able to edit the template without anyone's help. When I say this I mean to make sure the template doesn't have something like flash on it. If it does then you will either have to know how to edit flash(including having the program) or pay someone to make the changes for you. This can add onto as an additional price and raise the cost of your website.
So before purchasing a template here is a little advice run down:
1. Check around to see how much a custom template(make sure you get all rights to it) would cost.
2. If your budget isn't big enough and you are going to purchase a template make sure the site has a refund policy, offer support and try to get reviews on them.
3. If your template has flash make sure to check around to see if you can get some quotes on some simple changes to the flash or purchase a template without flash.
4. Make sure your deadline is not too tight, just incase.
Good luck and hopefully everything will go well. Just take your time and you will have your site up soon enough.
Anthony Jewell has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics World. You can visit my business at http://www.logo2d.com