Web Templates: Replacing Designers?

Web Templates: Replacing Designers?
by:
William T. "Chip" Lane

I’ve seen articles (and websites) that suggest you can buy a
website template and skip the expense of hiring a professional website
designer. Recently, I read several testimonials from the very satisfied
customers of a website template vendor that mentioned how quickly they
were able to get their sites done. The template vendor commented that
he/she had known people to complete their websites in around two hours.

With experiences and statements like these, it not
surprising that more and more people are attempting to build websites
themselves. I think that’s great in a way. For those of us who are
concerned about the trends in the web industry and community, it’s great
to see more people becoming web oriented and involved.

However, I think there is a misunderstanding by many of
these people about what a website template really is – and is not. At this
point, I think it only fair that I should mention that I am a professional
website designer (the person you supposedly don’t need anymore). I should
also mention that this is not my sole motivation for questioning this idea
of templates replacing web designers. As a matter of fact, I think website
templates are extremely useful. I recommend using them to my clients as a
way of getting a great graphical look for their site. What I hope to
convey is that template consumers need to know what they are and what they
aren’t getting with a template.

Consider an analogy for templates: pretty boxes for very
important gifts. If you buy a pretty box, and put all the right stuff
inside it – won’t everybody want to open the box and use the contents?
Doing it yourself will save time and money – so why not? Sounds good, and
the people who wrote those testimonials would certainly think it was a
good idea – right?

But let’s consider the contents of the box. Aren’t you the
best possible source for information about your company, organization,
product or service? Of course you are! So the content of your box is bound
to be great – right? Well – yes and no. Good web designers know that their
clients are the best sources for the information that needs to be
presented on their websites. However, they recognize that not everyone can
organize that information in the optimal way for inclusion in a web page.
If the contents in the box are wonderful, but jumbled, or hard to get out
of the box, people may not like the box (or worse yet – the owner of the
box). Just as a badly considered gift (even a beautifully wrapped one) may
offend someone, a poorly organized site can actually harm your efforts.

Take the analogy a bit further. Assume that all concerns
about the content are dealt with: it’s perfectly organized and you’ve got
a knack for writing copy that would make most professional journalists
green with envy! Voila: great looking presentation, content and
organization! Now you’ve got it made – or do you? Where is the box? Your
audience needs to find this incredible box before they can open it.

A website template, no matter how beautifully designed or
filled, is a box in the middle of a desert. Without adding content and
description meta tags, titles, alternate content, proper use of text links
and alternate navigation and registering the site with search engines,
directories and obtaining useful links (to name but a few of the technical
considerations), your pretty box may remain in the middle of that desert.
It does no good for anyone if it isn’t findable on the web.

A website template is a pretty box. Pretty boxes make a
difference or we wouldn’t all spend so much time wrapping all the gifts we
give. Some people make their own boxes and wrapping paper – and that’s
really great. But most of us buy mass-produced boxes and wrapping paper.
It saves time and money. So do templates. But none of us would assume that
boxes or wrapping paper would make up for a poor gift. Website templates
make sense if they are kept in perspective as a specialization of labor in
the production of websites. They are not however, a substitute for the
experience, knowledge and judgment of professionals who have a vested
interest in your success.

About The Author Chip Lane is the owner of Lane Web Design http://www.lanewebdesign.com a full-service web design and consulting firm located in Mebane, North Carolina. You are welcome to republish this article as long as the link is kept active. chiplane@lanewebdesign.com