Template Customization FAQ

A template based web design is by far the quickest and most cost effective way to get your new website online. This option is ideal for companies that:

• Are looking to launch an attractive site in a minimal amount of time
• Want a professional looking site but have a limited budget
• Are just starting out, and do not have specific goals or objectives for their site

Below are some of the questions that we encounter on a regular basis. If you landed on this page from somewhere else on the web, you might want to check out our web design pricing page so that the questions below make a little more sense.

Are there a variety of web template choices?

Yes, the choices are virtually endless. If you would like to browse some examples of good web site templates, a couple of the sites we recommend are TemplateMonster, ThemeForest and DreamTemplate. Visiting these sites will give you an excellent idea of the variety of quality designs that are available.

I just looked at the links you provided. Why do you charge so much when the templates generally cost less than $100?

This is a very common question. Even though the template may not sound expensive at all, our prices include a lot more than just buying and delivering the template. In almost every case, the template will need to be customized. This could be as simple as a logo or color change, but in most cases, a fair amount of design work is involved in making the template unique for each client.

Obviously the price we charge includes the cost of the theme itself. Outside of that, there are several value-added services that we include in our packages to make sure that your site achieves your goals. In the case of WordPress for example, these will include:

• Setting Up Your Database & Hosting Account
• Installation and/or upgrading to the latest version of WordPress
• Any customization of the theme based on your requirements
• Initial set-up of menus and site navigation/hierarchy
• Installation of plugins to optimize your site for search engines
• Installation of plugins that optimize your site for speed
• Creating a proper robots.txt file to deter unwanted spiders and bots
• Configuring a self-updating XML Sitemap and submitting it to Google
• Initial optimization of Title, Description and Heading tags on each page
• Loading your content into the site
• Purchasing and personalizing stock photos where necessary

Can you add my logo to the template and/or change the colors?

Absolutely! We can perform any customization that is necessary. Obviously, the more work we do, the more it will cost, but as long as you have a good general idea of what you are looking for, we can estimate the cost very precisely.

What causes the price to fluctuate so much on a template-based site?

Some of the factors that will affect the price of implementing a website template for your site include:

• The number of revisions that we have to make to the template before you approve it
• Whether or not you already have a logo, and whether you can send it to us in a format we can use
• What type of stock photography we need to license for your site
• Whether or not you want custom photography throughout the site
• Whether or not you already have content for every page of the site

If I use a template, will my site look like everyone else’s?

Without adequate customization, the answer would be yes. However, we go to great lengths to customize your site so that it differs from the base template you choose. When it is all said and done, the basic structure of the site may have similarities to the original template, but your site will generally have its own personality.

What if I have other questions?

We’re always trying to improve this FAQ, so if you don’t see your question answered here, please contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you might have.