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When it comes to your website, there are a lot of decisions you’ll need to make. But you don’t have to do it all from scratch if you use a website template.
What is a website template?
Website templates are for anyone looking to have a professional website that will help them showcase their work, sell out their offers, and book more opportunities!
A website template is already designed for you so that you know you’re doing it right, attracting your exact dreamboat clients, and increasing your conversions.
They’re entirely customizable, too. You can insert your logo, fonts, colors, change the navigation options, and really make it your own. So, you don’t have to worry if someone else is using the same website template as you because yours will always be 100% unique to you and your business!
Why should I buy a website template if I could just get one for free?
Investing in a completely customized branded website design is often not an option, especially when you’re first starting out. But that’s where website templates come in.
Website templates are one of the BEST choices for small business owners on a budget. You can get a professionally designed website for a fraction of the cost! We’re talking a few hundred dollars, instead of the few thousand dollars that a completely custom website design would run you.
But why would you pay for a website template, when you could just get one for free?
Well, here’s the reality....
A free website template is going to cost you more in the long run.
When you choose a website template, you’re not only choosing whether to invest your money in it but your time, too. To customize almost any website template, you’re going to need to change all the colors, fonts, and images on your own. And even if for some reason you just leave all that stuff as is, you’ll at the very least need to input some text.
So, what does this have to do with free vs. paid website templates?
Paid website templates will save you soooo much time because of all the unique features they can offer you. (As an example, all of our website templates come with conversion copywriting guidance that tells you exactly what to say and where to say it.)
And at the end of the day, free website templates just aren’t going to be built out with the same kind of love and care that paid ones are.
How do I choose a website template?
There are four things you should always consider when choosing a template for your website design:
1. Is the website template optimized for search engines?
You want your website to be found on Google, right? Well, that can pretty much only be done with search engine optimization, or SEO.
The best website templates are optimized for search engines. (And that’s why all of our website templates come with a step-by-step SEO guide.)
2. Is the website template optimized for mobile devices?
We say this alllll the time, but your website must be optimized for mobile devices. And you don’t have to just take it from us….
50% of people said that even if they like a business, they’ll use them less often if their website isn't mobile-friendly (source)
61% of people said that if they don’t find what they’re looking for right away on a mobile website, they'll quickly leave (source)
67% of people said that when they visit a mobile-friendly website, they're more likely to buy a website's product or service (source)
So, make sure you choose a website template that has a mobile-friendly layout, or else you’ll be leaving some serious money on the table.
3. Is the website template easy to customize and update?
Remember how we said that you’d need to customize your website template on your own? That’s why you should choose a website template that’s easy for you to use. And that’s also why we use Wix for all of our website designs.
Websites built with Wix are really easy for our clients to use on their own because everything’s super intuitive! You can literally drag and drop your text and pictures to any spot on a page. (But just in case, we always include a custom training video showing you exactly how to edit and use your new template.)
4. Is the website template from a reputable website designer?
Anyone can sell a website template on the internet. So, make sure you choose a website template from a website designer you can trust.
Do a little investigation! See if they have any social proof (like testimonials) on their website that shares what it was actually like to use one of their templates.
And if there’s any information you can’t find on their website that might help you make a more informed decision, just send them a quick email and ask. Website designers don’t bite! Or, at least we don’t. ;)
Ready to snag a website template for yourself? We gotchu, friend!
Click here to shop the Wix website template collection because you deserve a website that works for you.