Finding Free Website Templates

There are a few ways to begin building your business website.  You can write programming code from scratch, use a content management system (CMS), use an online website builder, or use an existing website template.  Website templates come in many shapes and sizes, from the ultra-complex using cascading style sheets (.css) and embedded graphics to the simple-to-manipulate tables with colored backgrounds.  Likewise, website templates can cost as little as nothing (free templates are readily available online), to pre-made templates for about $30-$50, all the way to custom-programmed templates costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

These website templates are the "shell" that comprises your website.  Each will include the formatting (e.g. color scheme, fonts, tables, page arrangement, and often even graphics) and all you need to then do is insert your content and you have a website!  Using templates is kind of like using a Microsoft Word template for a business letter or memo such that the formatting is all there and all you do is change the content.  Templates are a huge time saver and allow you, the publisher, to spend your time developing content, not messing around with programming code and artistic design (both extremely time consuming).  Furthermore, they inject outside creativity - often web designers end up with a "writer's block" where they lose their "creative juices".

There are ample free website templates available for download right from the internet - most will simply ask that you leave a reverse link on your site that gives credit back to the author's site (consider it a "thank you" link).  The next echelon is the paid template.  These are typically more complex, display a greater sense of artistic talent, and appear more customized and less generic.  Obviously, you get what you pay for.

When browsing for your templates online, try to envision your content implanted on the templates as you view them.  Does the color scheme match what you had in mind for your site?  Does the navigation scheme (Ieft-hand bar, top-bar, etc) fit your site's needs?  Is the template modular and scalable (can it grow as your site grows in categories and overall size)?  I tell my customers to download at least three templates so that they can compare them to each other (the more options the better).  After you download your choices, take a look at how easy these templates are to manipulate.  Sometimes the .css code is overly complex; other times the embedded graphics are blended into the background or are difficult to customize for your specifics.

Once you have narrowed down your pick, go ahead and start inserting your content into the template.  You will never know for certain how good the template is until you place your content in the site and imagine what the user is thinking as they browse the site.  Once you are confident that you have picked the perfect template, all you have to do is insert content and copy the template to a new page and insert more content (use the SAVE-AS feature to replicate the page template as a new page).  Voila!  Next thing you know, you have created a half-dozen pages for your site!

Free website templates are available from numerous sources including: http://www.steves-templates.com/templates.html;  http://www.freewebtemplates.com/templates/business;
http://www.freetemplatesonline.com

Writing good copy text is a delicate process - learn from our tips and advice.  You will have to consider how to monetize your website once your site is receiving steady traffic - a lot of web entrepreneurs turn to affiliate marketing to generate income.  Also, check out our archive of the best SEO/Affiliate Marketing articles.