Website templates are a great option for people who want a gorgeous website without the full investment of a custom built website.  If you’re new to the web design world, a Website Template is a pre-designed website layout that you purchase. You then add it to your website host and customize the text, colors, and images to reflect your brand aesthetic. Templates are great for people who are just starting out. When you are brand new in business, you aren’t 100% sure who your ideal clients are long term, you may not know what services you want to offer because your biz changes so much in the first few years.  This is perfect for small business owners who want a professional website for their budding business, but aren’t quite ready to invest in a custom built website. 

Business owners wear many different hats, we know web designing isn’t always one of them. Purchasing a Template can save business owners so much time. All they need to do is upload their own content! However, template shopping can be overwhelming.

Often times, templates are pre-filled when shopping so you have to look past the colors/images and focus on the bones of the design to see if it will work for you. This is similar to house shopping! If a realtor takes you through a staged home, you would focus on the size and layout to decide if it would work for your family, not the paint colors, furniture, and wall art choices.
For template shopping, you’ll need to focus on the # of pages, the types of pages, and can you showcase your products or services well with the design? For example, if you’re a photographer, don’t scroll past the Chef website example. That particular template could currently be displaying great food photos + menu that could serve you well for portfolio + package descriptions. If you have a dark and moody brand aesthetic, don’t pass on that bubbly, light and airy design! The colors can be changed, but the content layout could be perfect for your needs.

Here is a list of things that you SHOULD focus on to see if a Website Template is right for you:

1.  Do I like the navigation and footer section?

2. Does this template have the necessary pages?

3. Can I see myself using the various sections?

4. Do I like how it functions?

5. Is it easy to use and easy to navigate?

6. Do I like the mobile version?

If this has been helpful and you now think a Website Template would be great for you, we’d love for you to take a peek at ours and see what you think!  The full previews will be dropping soon… make sure you’re following us on social to be the first to know!

Loving the sneakpeeks and want to see more templates? Click here to shop our full selection of JAC ShowIt Templates!

Want to give our templates a test run? We have a great Instagram Landing Page freebie for Show it Users.  It’s a free template already laid out but you can add your branding and customize your call to actions to suit your industry! This is a great tool to seamlessly bring social traffic straight to your website.

Until Next Time,

Jade