One of the biggest developments in website design in the last few years has been its democratization. With the emergence of the likes WordPress, Wix, Weebly and Squarespace, you no longer have to be a coder to create a professional-looking website. Despite the incredible power of these website building software packages, however, most people could still do with a little assistance when it comes to choosing the right website template when they are a creating a website so that it is fit for purpose. Here are a few pointers to help you decide on which template to go for.
- Think About the Type of Website You Are Building
Choosing the right template will depend largely on what the website designed to do. If you are building it to sell a certain product, do some research into the type of layout, functions and color scheme that is most likely to lead visitors to buy your product.
- Customization and Flexibility
The last thing that you want is for your carefully chosen template to make your website look just like tons of other websites out there. Look for a template with as many options for customization and flexibility as possible. The ability to change small aspects of your template will help you achieve a personalized feel to your site that will set it apart from the rest.
- Prioritize Responsiveness
Make sure that the template that you choose is responsive across all of the formats that people will use to access it. Many people these days barely use a desktop or a laptop, instead doing the vast majority of their internet browsing using tablets and cellphones. Choose a template that is optimized for responsiveness across all devices and formats.
- SEO-Friendly
It may surprise you to learn that something as small your choice of template can affect where your site ranks on major search engines. Google algorithms will discriminate against clumsy templates which take an age to load, so it is a good idea to pay attention to whether your template is SEO-friendly or not. Fortunately, website building services like WordPress indicate which of their range of templates are SEO-friendly, making it easier for the user to choose.
- Do Not Launch Too Soon
Building a website can be an exciting and fulfilling process. But beware! Your pride will probably lead you to be eager to share your creation with the world much sooner than you should. Hold off as long as possible in order to give yourself the best chance of ironing out any bugs before you finally go live.
Today’s website building software packages come fully equipped with a wide array of powerful features and add-ons that can help even those with absolutely no experience of building a website turn out something that looks and works great. When it comes to design, however, most people would do well to consider the points laid out above. If you would like more information on this topic, click here to register to a newsletter.