Finally, a VERY important question ...

Which template would be better for your website?

So ... Let’s see the factors that will help you to choose the right template ... Here are 4 useful questions:

1. 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 …

2. 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:

2.1 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.

2.2 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

2.3 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).

3. What kind of features and customization options do you need?

This is pretty straightforward … If there are any niche-specific features that are important for your business – for example a booking form, or an ecommerce feature -, you’ll have to find a template which is equipped with those features. Here’s an advice: consider what features you need, and as a first step eliminate all the templates with features you don’t need …

The customization options will allow you to change the “standard behavior” of the given template. In other words, you’ll be able to manipulate various functional and/or visual elements (colors, fonts, imagery, multimedia, etc) in order to enhance the template according to your needs. Leveraging these customization options in order to create a so-called custom layout is almost mandatory, but you should keep in mind, that your goal is to enhance the template and not to completely redesign it …

4. What kind of support do you get for your money?

Nowadays every single website template is “deeply customizable” and “easy-to-use”. Still, at a certain point you are going to have some questions and you are going to need some help …

This is why I strongly recommend you to choose a template with a reliable support provided via online chat, phone or at least email. A support which includes:

• providing clear installation instructions and/or installation services

• answering general questions about how to use the given template

• answering any kind of technical questions about the given template (features, functionality, third-party assets, etc)

• answering any questions about customization issues

• solving any future bug-related problems

• solving any possible compatibility problems or security vulnerabilities

• providing ongoing template updates

The above four angles should help you to choose the right template for your site.

And that's it my friends!

If you have any comments, further questions or update requests please don't hesitate to react! Like, comment and share!