2. Which template would be better for your website?

Again, ask yourself a few questions ...

What type of website are you going to build?

The chosen website template will determine the structure of your site. You are going to need different type of templates depending on your industry, on your goals, etc. A showcase-centered and gallery-based template created for artists, designers or photographers won’t be suitable for a law firm or a service-oriented business and vice versa …

What type of layout fits best your needs?

The basic layout will determine how the information is structured on – and within – your website. There are 3 really important usability and design considerations ...

• Content width

The most common types are boxed-width and full-width. With a boxed-width your content will have a visible frame to the left and right side of the screen, and this is the somehow “traditional” approach used for business-oriented websites. The full-width layout is where the background image stretches the full width of your computer screen, and works well especially for mobile-responsive templates and graphic-heavy websites.

• Header
  

Choosing the right header type is more of a goal-oriented decision rather than a design-related issue ... Why? Because, the header is usually the first visual element your visitors will see, and you should use it to successfully communicate your core message to your visitors ...

What does it mean? It means, that you’ll have to carefully choose the appropriate header type to find the most optimal solution for your business! Here are a few tips ...

If you are operating in the catering industry (travel agencies, restaurants, hotels, etc) you should use a dazzling image or a short video to create a marvelous and enchanting visual experience.

If your business can’t be “explained” with simple graphical methods, you are going to need a header type that incorporates a nice image with an appealing text overlay; in this you’ll have to include a headline, a supporting paragraph and a strong CTA in the overlay.

If you are targeting multiple goals or different audiences you should go for a slideshow-header that will allow you to showcase everything you have to offer in an organized and engaging way ...

• Navigation

You are going to need a clean and simple navigation bar; the most common solution is the horizontal top navigation menu, but if you are going to build an image-heavy website, you should consider using a vertical navigation bar which is far more effective if you have long titles or a lot of menu items. Also, if you are going to choose a horizontal top menu associated with long-form content pieces (long web pages), you should consider using a fixed menu bar (the menu bar is permanently fixed at the top no matter how far down your visitors will scroll).