your opinions on website templates?
- Thread starter h_freezy
- Start date
Sunburn
Active Member
If your referencing prefabs like monster-template.com well, they are good for inspiration i suppose at best, at worst they devalue the web design industry as a whole, as people who have no interest or time to understand what is a profession; force square peg projects in to round hole templates without consideration or thought or any understanding.
If your referencing to the process of templating then, this approach is highly useful and should be encouraged in the industry as it will save both time and development worries on a multipage site which shares the same layout.
If your referencing to the process of templating then, this approach is highly useful and should be encouraged in the industry as it will save both time and development worries on a multipage site which shares the same layout.
glenwheeler
Senior Member
they can be useful but to me they never do what i want, so i normally have to re code the damn things...so you might as well do the job yourself lol!
ch3tzy
Senior Member
I think it depends on your area of expertise or the area of work you are selling.
Ie a product "designer" wouldn't necessarily know how to design a website. so fair play if he/she would like to use a template to showcase work
a web designer using a template is a big no for me..shows lazyness and questions the web designers ability.
Ie a product "designer" wouldn't necessarily know how to design a website. so fair play if he/she would like to use a template to showcase work
a web designer using a template is a big no for me..shows lazyness and questions the web designers ability.
CSparkes
Senior Member
Coming from a past background of using the PSD's from templates only I have a mixed view.
As a business descion when i started out cost reduction without skimping is a huge part. When i was quoted but local designers around £7-800 for a 2/3 page design, homepage & content pages I have to take the choice that if I buy 3 templates at £30 that is only £90 and say 1-2 days at £160ish modifying them to get the design i want then that is much more wiser & cost effective, also means i can choose 3 designs that i want to go down the route of so not worrying id design comes back not how i want that i will have to spend evan more. Not all web designers are working for clients that have huge budgets so being able to offer a good design smart looking website in there budget = more business.
It is not till you find sites like these that you find freelancers that might be more competetive.
A web designer is in my view, the person that puts the site together with the help of a graphic designer to design the thing. My design skills are oksih, but far from great. I have never used a template as you buy it, always mod it and never ever use anything more than the PSD file. Always recut & code.
TBH, this is going to be a can of worms but that is my view. If I was working on a small site on a small budget with no chance of a designer being costed into it then I would still look at them.
As a business descion when i started out cost reduction without skimping is a huge part. When i was quoted but local designers around £7-800 for a 2/3 page design, homepage & content pages I have to take the choice that if I buy 3 templates at £30 that is only £90 and say 1-2 days at £160ish modifying them to get the design i want then that is much more wiser & cost effective, also means i can choose 3 designs that i want to go down the route of so not worrying id design comes back not how i want that i will have to spend evan more. Not all web designers are working for clients that have huge budgets so being able to offer a good design smart looking website in there budget = more business.
It is not till you find sites like these that you find freelancers that might be more competetive.
A web designer is in my view, the person that puts the site together with the help of a graphic designer to design the thing. My design skills are oksih, but far from great. I have never used a template as you buy it, always mod it and never ever use anything more than the PSD file. Always recut & code.
TBH, this is going to be a can of worms but that is my view. If I was working on a small site on a small budget with no chance of a designer being costed into it then I would still look at them.
Harry
Senior Member
Bad move. Would you be happy if a builder pulled your extension off the back of a truck and charged you a full build?
Reusing templates means lack of consistency in code, lack of familiarisation with the code, and more importantly, lack of quality. It's also kinda dishonest too, you're getting paid to build a website, not getting paid to lift a generic template and resell it with a hefty markup.
Even from the business sense they're not useful. If you can't price a small project without resorting to templates then maybe you didn't ought to chase those projects at all.
Reusing templates means lack of consistency in code, lack of familiarisation with the code, and more importantly, lack of quality. It's also kinda dishonest too, you're getting paid to build a website, not getting paid to lift a generic template and resell it with a hefty markup.
Even from the business sense they're not useful. If you can't price a small project without resorting to templates then maybe you didn't ought to chase those projects at all.
CSparkes said:
I agree with you cos on the business side of things it is much wiser. Also the templates i buy these days are quiet outstanding. Also i can finish my clients work quickly and on time. Also i let them have a feel of what their completed work would look like by showing them template screen shots which means hardly you'll get a return job.
Sunburn
Active Member
What ever floats your boat i suppose, for me I have spent much time learning the art and science of web development, so going down the template route is just an easy fast buck imho which doesn't give the client the best solution 99% of the time.
More importantly, by using prefabs your de-valuing the industry that a lot of people have spent a long time mastering.
Ultimately though its not about the individual its about the client, if your client is happy to have 2nd hand stuff which is likely to be shared with multiple clients / businesses then fair enough. Horses for courses and all that.
I would go as far as to say my client base wouldn't dare run the risk of their brand reputation on a pre-made solution and therefore see the true value in expertise that I and many others offer.
Personally I wouldn't be able to look my client in the face knowing I served them a 2nd hand product that somebody else has made and another company likely uses, just smacks of unprofessional.
More importantly, by using prefabs your de-valuing the industry that a lot of people have spent a long time mastering.
Ultimately though its not about the individual its about the client, if your client is happy to have 2nd hand stuff which is likely to be shared with multiple clients / businesses then fair enough. Horses for courses and all that.
I would go as far as to say my client base wouldn't dare run the risk of their brand reputation on a pre-made solution and therefore see the true value in expertise that I and many others offer.
Personally I wouldn't be able to look my client in the face knowing I served them a 2nd hand product that somebody else has made and another company likely uses, just smacks of unprofessional.
CSparkes
Senior Member
Harry said:
1 - If it was what was in my budget and I was informed of this then would have no issue.
2 - Maybe you didn't read that all i use is the PSD file, re cut files & code so that dose not come into play. Also if they are being made aware as of the cost issue then I do not see how that is Dis Honest. For example one my clients had no issue if it stayed 100% the same as template, but as a I said i only use them as a base as I do not have the design mind set.
3 - Disagree 100%. Your telling me for a small bed & breakfast that wants a nice looking website, which maybe dose not get very many people visiting site but has a budget of of say £300 for whole site then tell me how hiring a designer is beneficial? For the amount of traffic they are likely to receive is anyone going to notice it may look similar to another website they may have seen before. Alot of the major websites look similar these days especially fashion sites. And sorry to say "you ought not to chase these" Well i'm not going to comment on that at all.
Harry
Senior Member
I wasn't aiming any of what I said at you, or what you said.
Your point three is a good one, though. If a B&B came to me with a budget of £300 I'd probably turn them down. They can sort their own template out if they like, but I wouldn't give them one. I'm on about developers using templates, not other people.
Your point three is a good one, though. If a B&B came to me with a budget of £300 I'd probably turn them down. They can sort their own template out if they like, but I wouldn't give them one. I'm on about developers using templates, not other people.
CSparkes
Senior Member
My apologies for going on huge defense.Harry said:
Yeh & i guess that would come under me as the Developer. This case was one of mine and as such when starting out self employed after leaving 6th form I had to look into this route to survive & bring in an income. Now i have had these clients and shown I have teh skills I now am in the position to have higher budgets & hire designers or use inhouse designers. All I am trying to portray is they ae good as a steoppng stone. Well for some, those who spend hours re-cutting & coding the templates so that as such they are only using the graphical design & not code.Harry said:
I am against people just using the HTML pages and putting text in & making no changes.
jHouse
Senior Member
Harry said:
I kinda disagree.
But first - how the fook would you drag an extension off the back of a truck??
:lol:I think you're getting paid to provide a website. The client may not care how you go about it.
Is it wrong to use Stock Photography? Why not take them yourself?? And its nothing to do with dishonesty. I mark up shed loads on hosting and stock stuff. Its business.
I do think its cheeky to use a template to showcase your skills. Showcase YOUR skills, not somebody elses.
Harry
Senior Member
jHouse said:I kinda disagree.
But first - how the fook would you drag an extension off the back of a truck??
Prefabbed buildings. Another common one is bathrooms that are made off-site, shipped in and slotted into place.
jHouse said:
Stock photography is different completely. Using stock photos in a site is fine as you're not getting paid for photography. Using stock photography if you're getting paid for a photography job would be bad, and also comparable to using a template for a web job.