Web templates are a new phenomena that has sprouted up around the Web in the past few years. Templates are basically a website skeleton that includes the layout, design, graphics, spaces for titles but no content. These bare bone versions are popular with people new to the Internet - their site can still look savvy without the need to develop graphics and design expertise. The use of templates is not restricted to web neophytes though. People of all levels of design can put them to good use, especially when time and finances are a consideration.

You may well have the talent but no time to spend dreaming up an effective layout and color scheme, let alone create stunning original graphics. Experienced designers often take an interest in templates but from a polar perspective. Templates are a great way to show their stuff - to offer a wide range of portfolio material without having to wait for contracts to accumulate. They´re also a great way to earn web design money as a residual to your full out web design contracts.

Where Are the Good Templates?

People who want to purchase a template to use on their design site often ask where to go to get quality work. There are lots of free templates available for a well-displayed link back to the designer. Some of these are great, but often lack for originality and certainly, exclusiveness. If you´re looking for something unique that can´t be seen all over the net, it´s better to go to reliable sources, known for their quality work. Visions of Adonai Design is one such place. Templates are offered in a variety of themes, including artist, business, cool, sauve, wedding, youth, mystical, cultural and custom designs. The price is low, quality is high and the designs will set you apart from the crowd. Every design is unique, unlike anything else you´ve seen on the web. Big Webmaster Templates is another reliable source of nifty, simple-to-use templates.

How Are Templates Designed?

Designers who wish to offer web templates
for sale to potential customers need to devote some time to the market. Ask yourself, What is already available? Is there a special niche I can fill? Think about your talents and general focus. Perhaps you excel in an area of design that is not currently offered. Capitalize on this and create a line of templates that will appeal to your special clientele.

Basically, a template includes all of the bare bones of a regular web site. The layout, the general design, the navigation, graphics, columns and rows are all there. The only thing missing are the personalized titles and the general content. Creating a template that will sell involves knowing what´s in vogue as well as functional. What colors work best in a business site? An art site? Or, an education site? Spend some time mulling over questions like this until an idea for a "best-seller" comes to you. Again, think about your own special style and incorporate it into these skeletal web frames.

There are as many ways to make a template as there are ways to make web sites in general. Some can be frame based; others could involve java and flash enhancements; some might be simple basic layouts with judicious use of graphics and color with "we mean business" tables and columns. While another could be flowing, colorful and artistic, ready for the creative to plug in their images or poetry. The Yale Style Manual offers an excellent overview in how to tackle the general layout and apply the basic principles of any well designed functional site.

Most template designers give customers the option of a splash page and inner page. Just these two pages can serve as the backbone of any site. Make sure you tie in your metaphoric theme on both pages, coupled with color coordination and room for the client´s logos, banners and graphics. Templates need to be carefully thought - out, intuitive and clearly laid out. Remember, the person who will be using them probably don´t have a lot of web design skill. They literally need to be "plug and play" in simplicity. Plug in the content. And play the finished creation.

You probably won´t center your design company around web template creation. But they can serve as a valuable supplement to your regular contract work, especially as you first establish your design career. They give you practice in working with various design ideas, boost your portfolio and add a readily needed service to the design challenged. Why not add templates to your design repertoire? But be careful,..they can become addictive. It can become fun to develop these basic layouts. But that´s one reason we go into design in the first place isn´t it? For the sheer enjoyment of creating.