The process of website creation consists of several stages, and the first one is choosing the right template. An understanding of how to choose a template from thousands of options can save you a lot of time and even save you from the strong desire to give it up!
If you are dying to find THAT perfect template for your site, use our 8 tips below!
Looking for the modern and high–quality medical center, restaurant, model portfolio or lawyer website templates? Check out Weblium’s latest collection!
1. Decide what type of website you need
If you try, you can find so–called «niche» templates on the Web. These templates are narrowly focused: all elements of the template will be worked out to the smallest detail, taking into account the features of the selected business niche.
Niche defines the structure of your site, its functionality and the way everything is displayed. Think about what type of site you need: a simple one–pager – or a greater site, including galleries, maps, and videos?
You can’t argue with the fact that the dentistry website template won’t be a good potion for a photographer – and vise versa?! Choosing a good niche website template, you are guaranteed to get the perfect solution for your type of business.
2. Design
Design is the #1 component of a template: 98% of users look at it and are guided by in their choice.
When choosing a template, rely primarily on simplicity and convenience rather than design and an abundance of graphic elements.
The main task of a quality template is to help visitors quickly find what they need. The fewer distractions a potential buyer has, the higher the probability of a successful sale is!
Apart from the visual component, we recommend evaluating the following aspects:
- a fixed header for the site;
- website width;
- clear site navigation;
- logical arrangement of elements;
- location of a logo;
- the presence or absence of interactive elements (the choice of color or size, shopping cart, etc.);
- usability.
3. Functionality & Settings
Most modern website templates allow you to customize your corporate identity at some level. Settings options range from choosing a color and font, adding your logo, embedding any media to creating your unique layout.
Website templates also provide a wide range of functions that are either suitable for a particular niche (for example, an order form or photo gallery) – or these are general functions that can be applied to any niche.
Think about what functions should be in the site template and get rid of those templates that contain functions that you will never use.
Coolest templates allow you to export and import settings, use the prepared font library and various page layouts. You will agree that this is very convenient when you can change the colors of the site or change the position of the logo using the editor.
4. Customer Support and Documentation
It doesn’t matter how “easy to use” or “easy to update” is the website template. They should be supported by the developer of the template, which offers help if you have any difficulties.
Check out if the developer offers customer support by phone, email or chat, so you easily upload the template and get your website prepared for visitors as soon as possible.
Template support may even include theme installation and customization, hosting, server or software, and assistance from third–party resource authors.
Detailed documentation for the topic is an indicator of the functionality of the template. The more documentation with examples is there – the better! Isn’t it nice to learn all the possibilities of a new template when there is a detailed example of using all its elements?
5. SEO friendly
A template with SEO support is the key to success.
The SEO–friendly template contains breadcrumbs and supports structured data protocols. Many templates have optimized code and minimized scripts, which significantly speeds up the page load time.
6. Browser Compatibility and Adaptive for all devices
When choosing a template, open a demo in different browsers. At least I recommend four main ones:
- Google Chrome;
- Firefox;
- EDGE & Internet Explorer;
- Safari.
If the template is correctly displayed in each of these browsers, you are guaranteed to avoid any display troubles in the future.
We recommend checking site responsiveness in different browsers. I recommend choosing and buying templates only on proven sites, and it is better to use site builders.
Keep in mind that the template should have a responsive design that guarantees an excellent appearance on various devices. This will help to make your website easy to read even on a small phone.
7. Multi–language support
The template should have the ability to get correctly translated into other languages. Even better, if the template has already been translated into the most popular languages. This not only saves you time but also gives a high–quality result.
For many engines, this functionality is implemented using modules, but the template’s compatibility with the most popular plugins for each CMS is a good option!
8. Additional modules
Premium templates for popular CMS systems always include paid modules. You will agree that it’s easier to buy a template for $100, which includes modules that cost $150 in total. The price for such a template is much higher. Why pay for modules if they are already included in this set?
You will get the following benefits:
- 1. Modules with a significant discount. And if you consider that templates without modules are not much cheaper, we can say that you get them for free!
- 2. Buying such a template, you will get the updates, including new features and improvements.
- 3. You get the additional functionality.