Blog – ADS Print & Web

Any designer who is not integrating the use of templates at some point during the web design workflow/ process is working hard, not smart. For those who don’t know, website templates are basically ready-made web designs, that can be used to create high-quality websites quickly. I thought it would be a good idea to start reviewing templates in order to help people get a better understanding of what templates are, how they function, etc.

I first came across web design templates in 2007 while working at Blue Cross of Jamaica Limited. As Graphic Designer (Print & Web), I was responsible for developing the website compositions for their website redesign project. I submitted my original designs and also recommended purchasing a web design template which we could then customize to our preferences. Back then I had very little experience developing websites but I did my research and came up with some very good concepts. The project never got off the ground, however I gained a wealth of experience working on the concepts.

Most of the website companies here in Jamaica try to distance themselves from using web design templates, and this has resulted in clients becoming wary of using website templates. However, my background as a print designer has predisposed me to appreciating any tool that simplifies the design process without sacrificing quality and professional standards. The truth is, we all use templates whether we create them from scratch or we buy and customize them.

One of the first things I did when I decided to write this post was googling “template reviews“, as I wanted to check out the template review landscape before I plunged in. The results on the first page were good as it included websites that reviewed the top web design template providers as well as ones that did individual template reviews. I was more interested in the latter as I’m already familiar with most of the template companies, I actually wanted to see how other artists reviewed specific templates – since that’s where I wanted to go. I liked Andreas Viklund‘s website and his post on Template reviews which got some good comments. Like the people who left the comments I believe its a good idea to review templates as well as “remixes” of templates. I will focus on the remix and customization side of things since I haven’t started promoting my own templates as yet.

I’ll be reviewing templates from TemplateMonster, DreamTemplate, ThemeLayout or any other independent provider who designs great templates/themes. I also found a pretty comprehensive review on TopTenReviews website.

Let me know what you think about using website templates…