How to Pick the Right Website Template
When you get to the module where you have to select your website or blog theme it can be very confusing for Premium members who have over 4000 options to choose from! They all have shiny bells and whistles, but which ones do you really need right now?
This is what I recommend doing to narrow down your search:
1. First decide if you are doing a full fledged website or a blog. A blog is less formal and is generally 1-3 pages with information relevant to a particular niche. It consists mainly of text, links, promotional product links, video and images. A website is for a full business offering products, services and a clientele. If you have a "team" to introduce- good sign you need a website. Think about how many tabs or heading you will need at the top for the site to be able to manage all the information properly. The more you need the more it looks and feels like a website. Blogs usually need only 1 or 2. Websites tend to be much more professional than a blog, which must also look professional, but the writing style and format for a blog is much more casual. It's often the case that people start with a blog and as they build, the create a website later. For this article, they are considered the same.
2. Now make a list of all the information (of all formats, incl video, audio, pictures, and text) you would regularly be sharing on your site and just write it all down, no order of importance. What major sections can you see forming? and how many pages will it take to disseminate all the information in an organized manner? Are you a website or a blog? Once you have a list, then start putting like with like to create sections. For example, if you have magazine and TV reviews and testimonials, you can put all that together and call it "MEDIA". Once you have put all your info into categories then you are ready to move on.
3. Look at the categories and decide what would go on the home page, or if a blog, on the entire page if only one page. Take a piece of white paper and then make a big square and then pencil in the categories in blocks on where you think the info should go. Should there be a banner on top and then a sidebar on the left? or the right? or both? What would you put there and why? What do you want to highlight and place right in front of your reader's faces to grab their attention? Are you going to post complete articles or use a "read more" link? Imagine you were receiving it as a newsletter and only had 5 minutes to read it, what is it that you want your readers to see, no matter what? This is a great exercise because it literally cuts out thousands of template options in WordPress.
4. When you finally go to WordPress and have to pick your template you now have an idea of the layout that is best for you. You cannot imagine how huge this is because if you didn't have some idea you would just get lost in the confusion of the pretty colors and pictures. You already know what layout suits your business best and can weed out thousands of templates.Odd, but I did not have the option to search the templates through my siterubix link so I just allowed myself to view 20 pages, favorite'd 4 and then picked one.
5. When you click on a template to "preview" you can see live demos of the sites and that gives you a really good idea of what it would look like bare before you make it your own. Favorite a few and then decide later which one you like the best. In the end I went with one that was largely customizable for my colors, had the right layout for my information, and reflected well on my brand image and personality.
6. When you choose one, you load and then "activate it", it takes a few seconds while it gets loaded with all the WA add-ons (spectacular value!). Then you will be able to customize the template from the right hand sidebar until you LOVE it! But, do not spend 100's of hours on it. This is your first one, simple, slow and steady wins the race. As you continue through the modules you will learn how to post information, what kind of information and even where to get it. You will also create links to sites that will make you money. If you had to do all this on your own without WA- i can speak for myself but I would never ever accomplish this alone.
7. When your site is up you can submit a request to the WA community to give you feedback and you will get some great tips from people who have a lot of experience in creating websites. The entire community wants you to succeed.
Congratulations! You have now completed the hardest task so far- picking a website/blog template. This is the foundation of your business. Start simple then add/change as you grow. Nobody learns to ride a bike without training wheels first!
Happy Money Making Day!
Lori
Recent Comments
22
Among the 3000 + Templetes we have here in WA there is none related to my niche, can i change the picture in the front page? Do we have pictures in Site Rubix that we can choose from if this is possible?
The layout is what you need to be concerned with on your theme, you can usually change the backgrounds. Also, if you don't like the theme you choose, you can change it. Best wishes,
Joe
There is always ways you can make template work for you because there are customizable to a certain extent. Images plugins widgets all these can be customized by you. So it suit better and make your website more appealing
WordPress has hundreds of themes to choose from, and you can customize them to suite your desire!
Are there certain formats that work for certain products. For example, my first product is a physical weight management product. I am unsure about how to start with it, and what type of site it should be. Any thoughts? Thanks
Absolutely- you can change it as often as you like- but you have to re-customize each time so figure in that time to get started again. I went thru 3 till i found the one I liked the best and that was the easiest for me to modify. Some templates are more complicated than others. Go for an easy one to start. You will get it running faster.
Great tips. I did not look at it this way at all - more a hit and miss exercise. I really needed this right now, as I am about to attempt setting one up for someone who needs one for their business but can't afford the considerable expense. Thanks Lori
Katharina
Thanks for the kind words, they are much appreciated. Need more help, private message me.
Good Luck, Lori
Thanks- I really try to give "practical" and simple advice that help people make their own conclusions. This way they get to really understand the process, not just follow blindly.
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Thank you so much Lori, I like it.
Much mahalo!
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