Small businesses cannot ignore the potential of a website anymore. Although it may sound intimidating to develop and maintain, it doesn’t have to be — with the right tools. Web page design templates enable you to create and customize a website in less time, with little cost, and without technical knowledge.
Web page design templates are pre-designed, just add your own text content, images, and videos.
Some templates are pre-designed for a specific business like restaurants or fashion. Selecting the right one will ensure you get a stunning professional website in no time -- with no coding skills required.
All popular website builders and Content Management Systems (CMS), like WordPress, support pre-built web page design templates. They’re often used for quick and easy website development.
Editor's note: GoDaddy now has a hosting centre located in India, enabling faster load times and better security for customer websites. You can read more here.
Advantages of using pre-built web page design templates
In this section, let’s discuss the primary reasons why web page design templates are so popular. We’ll also look into why you should consider using one.
1. Faster to implement and easy to set-up
With web page design templates, you simply preview and choose the one that satisfies your business needs. These templates have built-in functionality such as social media buttons, Google maps and clickable links to contact you. Because they’re designed by professionals, they deliver a smooth shopping experience.
To customize, all you have to do is paste your text into the placeholders and add in some stock photos. You can independently build your website using a template -- even with no coding experience and zero technical knowledge.
2. Requires less investment
The development of a website using pre-built web page design templates is not only faster, but more cost-effective. There are many free templates available on the internet that you can easily download in one click and start using.
However, paid or premium theme templates have their benefits as well. Most are readily available and range between ₹ 4472 to ₹ 8945 (one-time cost).
These prices are quite reasonable if you compare them with the cost of hiring a web designer and developer.
Hiring a professional design team could easily run you upwards of ₹ 55909 for a basic website. You could also expect a waiting time of several weeks before seeing your completed website.
3. I designed for use on mobiles
Mobile design is any website that can automatically resize to fit the screen it is being viewed on. Since you want your website to be seen by as many people as possible, you’ll want to make sure your web page design template is responsive.
Customers expect convenience when shopping, so it’s important your mobile site caters to their needs.
About 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business, if it has a mobile-friendly website.
Most popular web page design templates — including all of GoDaddy’s — are mobile responsive out of the box. Still, before finalizing the template, it’s important to:
- Verify that your description mentions either a 100% mobile-friendly or fully responsive online experience.
- Check the preview or demo mode of the template and resize your browser window to the size of a mobile screen. This will allow you to correct any issues with the overall functionality of your mobile site.
A fully responsive website increases your chances of attracting more mobile customers and ultimately boost your profits in the long run.
4. Industry-specific
You have the liberty to choose the template which closely aligns with your industry or business.
For example, if your business falls within the eCommerce industry, you can choose a template that supports a shop design. You’ll want to have an option for uploading multiple product images and provide easy navigation to different product categories.
For businesses in the real estate industry, you could go with a template that provides virtual tours, house viewings and pinning properties on a map.
Most industry-specific themes come with industry-related stock photos, which makes the design process even easier.
What are WordPress themes and where to get one?
WordPress is the most popular CMS on the web and powers around 39.5% of all websites on the internet. The main reasons behind its popularity include the following:
- Easy to install and customize
- Open source (free) with a strong community always improving it
- Flexible enough to develop varied websites
Pre-built web page design templates for WordPress are called themes. They define the design and functionality of any WordPress site. A WordPress theme is a zip folder with a collection of files that include:
- Page templates
- PHP scripts
- CSS stylesheets
- Images and more
Themes help change the appearance of your site through things like:
- Layout
- Typography
- Color
- Functionality
You can change the theme by simply downloading and installing it from your WordPress admin dashboard. After the installation, you can customize the theme without writing a single line of code.
You can also download your desired WordPress theme by searching through some of these popular sites:
Editor’s note: Scroll through the templates that come with GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress — designed for industries ranging from real estate to fashion, education, food service and construction. Just choose a template and GoDaddy downloads WordPress for you!
How to choose the right WordPress theme
There are other factors you should keep in mind before purchasing the theme or investing your time in customizing it. Below, we’ll review important points to help you narrow it down to find the right theme for your business.
The features you need
You need to know what features are essential for your website. Start by searching for themes that only support the functionality you need.
For example, let’s say you’re planning to develop an online store.
In this case, you should search for themes that are compatible with the WooCommerce plugin.
If you are a real estate broker, you should look for a theme in the real estate niche that’ll help you easily display property photos and details.
Mobile-friendly
As already mentioned, you’ll want a theme that’s mobile responsive and renders well on any screen size. It’s important your mobile site is equipped with the right functions to attract new customers and invite the existing ones back.
SEO-friendly
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the best way to bring free traffic to your website. When you use SEO tactics on your website, you increase the chances of ranking higher in Google search results. This helps attract more visitors to your site and your business.
One of the key factors in determining the SEO rank of the website is its speed. You should choose a theme that is neatly coded and has excellent loading speed of less than 2 seconds.
Documentation & support
Documentation and support are extremely important if you are customizing a theme on your own. If the theme is well-documented, you can easily refer to the articles and videos whenever you are stuck during customization.
Moreover, efficient customer support makes life so much easier when it comes to resolving problems and issues on your website. Not all themes come with help — check to be sure you can call or email for help before you buy a theme.
Look and feel
Finally, you should select a theme that matches the color scheme of your brand. It’s always best to choose one that supports a modern look.
As with most of the themes, you can customize and change the look whenever you need to update. However, this requires a significant amount of time and effort. Instead, try and choose a theme you can easily install and use straight off the bat.
Free vs paid WordPress themes
Several online marketplaces offer free theme download options. It’s best to begin with a premium (paid) WordPress theme, considering the cost is fairly low. More importantly, it provides several other benefits over the free themes:
- Security: A large proportion of free WordPress themes contain malicious code that can leave your site hacked. They also don’t provide regular software updates; this could make your website susceptible to malicious attacks.
- Unique design: Since premium themes are not purchased or used in bulk, they are often unique and appealing.
- Support: Premium themes provide professional support, which comes in handy when you’re customizing a theme for the first time.
- Updates: A premium theme allows you to receive regular updates from developers. This means they’re more involved in the functionality and performance.
- Compatibility with other plugins and apps: You can easily integrate premium themes with several popular third-party apps and plugins.
Get a feel for premium WordPress themes by checking out all the options available at GoDaddy.
Final takeaways
Web page design templates help you to get a professional website at a reasonable cost. If you’re looking for one of the most popular pre-built templates, your best bet is to go with a WordPress theme. These will help get your website up and running in no time.
Remember to choose wisely when selecting the right theme for your dream website. Consider your business needs, key features, and industry elements you want to display on your site. If you need additional help, invest in a premium option for extra support and benefits.
