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TheFuture
Joined:
29 Oct 2005
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USA
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:13 am
Post subject: Template vs.building from scratch
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What exactly is a template?
Is it better to use a template or build a site from scratch for affiliate marketing? Does it even make a difference? |
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Avalon
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:57 am
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I very strongly believe in the use of templates for HTML design. Not only will they save you a TON of time by not having to write all the HTML yourself, they'll also give you a more professional looking site if you're not too hip on design and the use of graphic software. I wrote an article about using templates... [Self-promotional reference to sig file deleted. Admin.] Unfortunatly... I got a lot of heat from some Web Deisgners for it (on a Google forum). Their opinion is that templates hurt their business. I disagree as people who buy templates don't have the big budgets for web design teams. Anyway, templates are a very good way to go in my opinion.
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Avalon
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edburdo
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:51 am
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It depends on your skills. If your a HTML Designer, then it makes sense to build a site from scratch (actually, you build your own template to use).
But for most folks, it's easier and cheaper to buy/find a template and build from that.
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paul7252
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:50 am
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I've never used templates, but it's not true you'll
have to spend a ton of time writing html without them.
The best way is to use a web page editor, which is
quite simple to use (if you can use a word processer
you can use an editor). It will write the html code for you. There are a number of good freebies available to download. the one I use is Netscape composer which comes free with the netscape 7.2 browser. One idea,
Paul
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Avalon
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:43 am
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| paul7252 wrote: | I've never used templates, but it's not true you'll
have to spend a ton of time writing html without them.
The best way is to use a web page editor, which is
quite simple to use (if you can use a word processer
you can use an editor). It will write the html code for you. There are a number of good freebies available to download. the one I use is Netscape composer which comes free with the netscape 7.2 browser. One idea,
Paul |
I have to disagree on this. Yes, web page editors make things easier for a novice, but they also are very clunky to use. Also, they tend to write really bad HTML (ex: FrontPage). Finally, they still require you to have an artistic sensability and be able to do graphic editting to customize the look and feel.
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paul7252
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 9:59 am
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Editors aren't just for novices. Professionals
use them (dream weaver for example). They are not clunky to use either, they are quite easy. And you are learning a bit about the business of design as you go instead of being dependent on other peoples designs. I'm not saying you shouldn't use templates, just that designing your own siteis an alternative worth considering.
Perhaps use them both,
get your first site up with a template and also download an editor to practice with.
Paul
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jaysongray
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:01 pm
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We're professional web designers and we often use Dreamweaver which actually creates a template (a .DWT file) that you then use to roll out to the rest of the site. Creating the DWT file in the first place takes a little time, the rest is a breeze.
Dreamweaver takes some learning though and as stated previously if your HTML skills aren't up to much an online template based site builder is probably more suitable.
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Avalon
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:12 pm
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I'm not too familiar with Dreamweaver... I've used MS Visual Stuido for several years now and the HTML / Design view on that has always been garbage. I guess it's easier when starting out. If you don't use templates, I think it's better to do HTML by hand as using an editor is just going to keep you from understanding basic HTML design. There are many good HTML guides and once you understand HTML it's much easier and faster than any web design tool / editor I've ever used (though Dreamweaver may be an exception... never tried it).
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Kathryn Beach
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Canadian urban wilderness
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:31 am
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A template is like the skeleton of a website, the structural bones that you hang your content on.
I started out writing my own html and, I have to admit, I made a couple very primitive but pretty nice websites. Now I'm using a template and I'm thrilled with the added professional look.
I learned html at first, then got the template and learned css. It's been kind of like taking baby steps, for me. It works.
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nuvru
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Norway
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:02 pm
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I'm a big Dreamweaver fan but it does cost money and takes time to learn if you're new to it. And even if you do buy a template you still have to edit it with some kind of editor. Templates do help you get going but I believe they must be customized if you don't want your site looking like a lot of other sites. With enough customization your site can look totally unique.
The people worried about templates hurting their business are (I believe) talking about the html footprint left by multiple sites using the same layout/html code. You can get around this buy doing enough customization.
If you do go with templates go with a complete CSS template as they are better for SEO. Even Allan knows that. This whole site is done in CSS.
If you are wondering why go with CSS. CSS simply seperates the design from the content so search engines only see your content giving them less html code to transverse through as all your design is in the seperated style sheet.
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Hendry Lee
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:09 pm
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If you'd like a free and good HTML editor, try Nvu.
Also, I can't think of a reason why you should create a page one by one when you can manage pages with CMS and blogs nowadays. But that's another discussion.
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crm911
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Australia
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:14 am
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I have my own server and a couple of shared hosting accounts which all offer Cpanel + Fantastico, which make it very easy to create a content management system site or forum, or both in one site. These include CMSs such as Joomla and Xoops and forums such as phpBB and SMF. A "template" in that context is more of a "skin" than a template in the Dreamweaver sense.
I sometimes buy a commercial template to make the site look different from the majority who use the free templates.
I often use Wordpress, which is a blog, as an entry page for a regular site, as it comes with a mechanism that helps to promote the content via the blogosphere.
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buddy16cat
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 1:41 am
Post subject: hmm depends on what you are doing
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If you are doing a site for affiliate marketing a template is easy to use and don't have to do your own photos and graphics (you can go to istock.com to get pics too). If you are a company and looking for original graphics and logos you can patent then go for a designer. Seems the work in hand coding sites is doing the graphics. You can also use Dreamweaver which you can hand code, use a site builder to build it for you, use a template, or create your own templates to make sure your site pages are consistent.
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Bina
Joined:
21 Apr 2006
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17
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:17 am
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For a beginner, I recommend using a template to begin
with. I'm a web designer turned affiliate marketer and
have built sites using just html and also with software
such as Dreamweaver but I find myself now using
templates to create my sites quickly. And then I'd just
tweak it to give it a more customized look and feel.
I admit that, for you to tweak your site, you will need
to learn html. And I highly recommend that you do but
at your own pace.
So, whirl up a quick page with a template and then take
your time to learn html so you can fine tune your pages.
Just my thoughts.
~ Bina.
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