Think You Have Got it Made with a Web Template
31 May 2008Think again. The deal with web templates is, we assume, that we can just purchase the web template off a website and then start publishing our website in a matter of minutes, right? We’re thinking of an easy-to-use and completely dummy-proof web template that just about anyone can fine-tune and publish, right?
The truth is…this is not the case.
As a freelance graphic designer who has been freelancing for the past 8 years, I continue to get lots of new clients who plead with me to help them change and publish their web templates for them. Some of them have purchased non-exclusive web templates which could cost anything between $20 and $100 each template. Some of them thought that they would make their lives a little bit easier if they purchased the exclusive templates…which can cost about $100 - $400 each web template.
They pay, download the file, open it in their Adobe Photoshop program and realize that…shucks, they don’t know how to change a thing and publish the website. It’s not as easy as those web template designers make it out to be. I should know - I work with those templates all the time.
Cripes, the slices
One of the biggest problems people encounter when dealing with a web template is that they don’t know how to change the slices to suit their needs. When you add your own logo or insert your own company tagline, the size of that portion might change. Therefore, you’ll need to resize the slice. A slice determines the portion of that image that makes up the cosmetic aspects of the web page.
Converting PSD to HTML
Sure enough, the package might include a HTML file for you to change and publish but after you’ve made some changes to the web template, republish the HTML file, everything has to change in the HTML files. For people who don’t deal with web publishing, they may not know how to implement the changes in the Photoshop files into the HTML files.
Conclusion
In conclusion, even though you’ve purchased a web template, it may not be the end of your problem. In fact, it could be the start of a whole new set of problems! hence, even when you’ve purchased the best web template you’ve ever seen, you may STILL need a web designer to deal with the web template you’ve purchased for you.
Which, sometimes I think, defeats the whole purpose, don’t you think?
Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and copy writer who works from her home in Selangor, Malaysia. She loves nothing more than blowing bubbles in the park with her 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She designs apparel and premium items at http://www.allmomstuff.com and is the author of “Raising little magicians”, and the popular “The Lance in freelancing”. More information can be found at http://www.marshamaung.com
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