A great way to start your website is to use a ready-made website template. This is especially true if you are new to web page layout and graphics techniques in general. By using a website template you will save yourself a lot of time and learn a lot in the process also it will go a long way in helping you to learn how to design a website.

You can save a lot of time and effort by using a website template as the backbone of your site. I say backbone because no matter what type of template you use it will be impersonal and not necessarily a reflection of what you are trying to express. In other words you will want your website to be unique to you and your message. So select your template carefully.

Selecting a template

I personally like to start with a template that suits my needs (i.e. color, style, etc.) then customize it by editing. Be careful about copyright infringement and be sure that the source of your template offers it without any strings attached, even if you are purchasing it. Some of the sites offering free website templates retain their copyright and the templates they provide are theirs, not yours. Buying the rights to a successful web template can be an expensive proposition so choose with care.

There are literally thousands of website templates available on the web. Some are free and some can run up into the hundreds of dollars. Just do a search for website templates on one of the major search engines and you will be overwhelmed by the number of offerings that are available. Have a good idea of what you are looking for before you start and that will help narrow down your search.

Once you have decided on a template download it to your computer and place all of the files into a new folder named for your website. Using your browser click your way through the site and become familiar with it and have a good handle on how it works. Now its time to consider the one element that will make or break a website, content.

The importance of content

Decide on your content up front. Your content is the heart of your website. This is what will make it unique. Other people may be using the same template that you are so the content of your website is what will make it different from theirs. Also, knowing the content of your website helps you in the selection of the proper template to showcase what you have to say.

Gene DeFazzio is the author and webmaster of the Rocketface(R) Workshop. http://www.rocketface.com/

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