One of the keys to success on the web is creating a website design that customers remember. It's the same principal as building a successful yellow page ad, or choosing the right colors for your business. You need something that sets your business apart from the others while still maintaining a certain level of comfort when viewing your website. You want to be remembered - but not for the wrong reasons.
When I speak of a template I am talking about the overall look of your pages, such as the placement of the menu, the colors you choose, and the uniformity from page to page when clicking through your website. There are two basic ways to go when deciding on a template for your website project: a custom web design or a 'box-stock' pre-made template.
Custom template designs need to be given a lot of consideration when it comes time to design your website, so you don't look like every other website out there. But in addition, a custom design can offer several advantages to it's 'box stock' counterparts. Many of today's successful websites include little bits of code that the human eye cannot see, but are extremely important to search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Semantic markup, as it's known in the web building world, is very important for your site's ranking. This often leads to improved search results within your specific business or industry. With the proper code, a custom template design can be built that best serves your target market and specific business niche.
Another area to consider when choosing 'pre-made' templates versus a custom web design is the fact that several other websites will have the same exact site you do if you go with a 'pre-made' template. Custom designs allow for key images and colors to be used that will directly reflect your business goals and create a unique online version of your business.
Roberts Web Design specializes in custom website and template designs for most open source software such as the Joomla Content Management System , Coppermine Photo Gallery and Simple Machine Forums (SMF). If you would like more information about our web design services feel free to contact me by email or phone for a free consultation.