Creating a website these days is as easy as can be. You don’t need to be a hotshot designer these days, but rather a desire to build one. That’s in large thanks to the dozens of websites out there that offer website templates to use, adapt and develop as your own.
There are some fantastic website builders currently on the market, with brands like Duda.co not only having hundreds of templates on offer but affordable pricing points too, meaning almost anyone can set up a website.
But while anyone can do it, there are a number of things you need to look for to ensure you get the right template for you, and what you want from your website…
Firstly, know what you want from your website
Of course, firstly, you need to know what type of website your putting together and exactly what it’s going to be.
You need a clear approach if you’re going to find the right template, and in turn, allow a user to know exactly what you’re all about. For example, building a small business website is going to look very different from a photography blog or a food recipe website. Once you’ve decided what your website is going to be, you can then find the best website template to suit its functionality.
Consider all the costs and your budget
You can pick up free website templates these days, while some can be expensive. As you’d expect, the more expensive options are more modern and more developed so essentially require less work.
Paid templates are typically created by expert designers and developers which will mean you can spend more time on other areas of your website. Free templates may have technical issues and could leave you with more work.
Ultimately, your budget will dictate what type of template you go with. Do remember, however, you will also need some budget to go into elements such as purchasing a domain name and hosting too.
Look for flexibility
Even when using a template, you are going to want to get a little creative with it. After all, you don’t want your own website looking exactly the same as someone else’s. Especially if you are a business and looking to monetize it.
Many templates will allow you to tweak and personalize them, adding widgets, changing colors, and adjusting layouts. Ones that allow you to do this easily are certainly worth investing in, while it will also allow you to stay up-to-date, tweaking and changing as new trends and tech become available.
Make sure you choose a responsive template!
Perhaps most importantly, the website template you choose should be responsive. This will allow people with different devices and screen sizes to view your website and navigate their way through it easily.
A responsive site adjusts to the screen size it is appearing on and in a mobile-first world, that’s integral to any website’s success.
Most good website templates these days will be responsive. But do double, triple, and quadruple check to ensure the one you have chosen is!
