Choosing a free web template for your online business site
Posted on April 29, 2008
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization, web design |
I left off the Designing your online website for $0.00 series to write on a few other things but now I’m back to it. As usual I’ll try to tackle the challenges one at a time.
In this post I’m going to discuss how to select a free web site template . There are probably thousands of these available online now and in my next post in this series which you can read here, I’ll give you a lot of links to websites and blogs that offer these free web templates.
Usually people are a bit wary of the usual free stuff you find available on the internet. Especially if you are going to be using it for something as sensitive as your online business. There are very good reasons to be wary, especially if you are looking to grow your web site over time.
Below I’ll give you a list of 5 tips on selecting the appropriate web template for your web site. If you follow these tips carefully, you are likely to find a template that will not only suit your needs but will enhance your online business by attracting the right kind of surfers to your web site.
- Define a clear-cut image for your online business web site . Like with most free things on the internet where it seems that there’s a whole lot of choice , its possible to get confused. It will save you a whole lot of time if you have a clear cut image of what you are looking for in a web site template. This may sound unlikely, but its easier to find what your looking for if you’ve made up your mind that you want a white HTML template scheme for your web site, rather than having to go through every web site template that catches your fancy. By going through this simple process you’ll be able to reduce the amount of time and effort that it will take you to come up with the appropriate web site templates.
- Research your demography . Your demography will determine the look and feel of your online business web site . What are the new trends? What visual cues are more attractive to your prospective clients? Would a simple plain template work or do I need to use the latest photoshop effects? You can even go as far as studying what specific colours appeal to your demography and using this to build the basic concept of your website. Sometimes paying attention to little details like this will pay out in the end. Understanding how to appeal to the sub conscious tendencies of your visitors is a sure way of getting them to stay on.
- Don’t pick a web template from the first page. Usually the templates are ranked by the number of downloads, or most popular, or most reviewed. Whatever the case first page templates are usually a no no. Its likely that almost everyone who’s been to that site has seen that template and probably likes it as much as you do. It gives a funny not-too-nice feeling to your visitors when they stumble on another site that has exactly the same template as yours. You definitely don’t want this happening. Usually go throught the first three pages before you start to pick possible choices. The fact that a template is not in the first three pages doesn’t mean a thing. Usually the first few downloads determine how things play out, not necessarily based on the quality of the templates, but on the preferences of an arbitrary user. So someone downloads a template, it gets to the top of the ‘most downloaded’ list and someone else who doesn’t care to go through simply downloads it from the first page. The avalanche effect that this can have is pretty obvious.
- Look for an SEO optimized template, even if its not as ‘pretty’ as your preferred choice. There are a lot of cool looking templates, very attractive ones, where the owners have really done a good job with the images. Problem is search engine bots cant read what’s written in images. So take the time to notice exactly how the content on that template is formed. It’ll eventually be better for your google rankings if you stick to templates that have already been optimized for maximum exposure to search engines. You can’t play down the effect of having your web site do well in its search engine rankings.
- Always keep the expected growth of your online business in mind. Pick a scalable web site template. Don’t forget that eventually your hoping that your online business will grow. Always have this at the back of your mind when picking a template. It may seem to work for you now, but what happens with an expanded customer base. Will it be able to appeal to a larger set of people or are you boxing in yourself a little too much? If your hoping to go mega, you might as well start off with a template that reflects this. It will save you the extra cost, stress and time of having to do a web site redo anytime soon.
My next post (which you can read by clicking here) is a compilation of some of the best free web template sites around. I’ve also included some blogs that’ll give some more tips and help in this area.
You should read these too !
You should read these too !
Comments
One Response to “Choosing a free web template for your online business site”
Leave a Reply
I searched for \’Free Website Free Web Host Free Domain Hosting\’ in google and found this your post (\’g a free web template for your online business site | Online Business How To’s, Tips and Ideas\’) in search results. Not very relevant result, but still interesting to read.