Building a Website with a Template

I've been building a website for someone with a template. I don't normally do this (it's a long story) but it gave me an excellent opportunity to learn some basic things to pass on to anyone who's thinking about using a template.

• Choosing the right template is key. The client originally chose a template (zenlike by node33) with the wood-image background shown above and similar colors -- but a structure that wouldn't fit her content at all. We looked again, trying to see all the templates just as collections of boxes into which she could put the text, images, and colors that she chose. We ended up with a different one (businesscompany by chocotemplates). If you check them out, you'll see that they had some things in common,and we kept the basic colors. Mostly, though, you should choose your template according to structure and navigation.
  
• Using a template requires skills. In theory, you can just type your content into the template. In reality, that's not true. I was sitting with the client, adding some photos and changing the background and generally messing around with various templates in order to help her find one she liked. She watched me with growing consternation. "How am I supposed to be able to do this?" she finally asked. Well, you're not, actually. You have to know html and know how to resize your photos and all sorts of other things, if you want to end up with a good result.
• Even if you use a template, you still need quality content. This website is going to be a nice one, and effective, in spite of my not being a real designer, because it has the words the client needs, and wonderful photos. (The ones you're seeing are by Jason Hudson, used with permission.) If you find the perfect template for your needs, you're in luck. Most of the time, typing stuff into a template will give you a website that looks as though you typed stuff into a template -- not a move that instills confidence in your visitors. It's rare that a template will exactly suit your content. Using a template with poor quality content, hoping that the template will work magic of some kind, is a recipe for failure.

Templates are improving, and thanks to the generosity of people like node33 and chocotemplates, there are lots of handsome choices out there. If you have the skill and the tools, you can get good results with a template. Just go into it with realistic expectations.