Templates are the layouts/templates of a CMS.
CMS stands for Content Management System and is the system behind your website that ensures that texts and photos can be easily adjusted.
This can be done largely without knowledge of code like HTML en CSS.
Well-known CMSs are WordPress, Joomla en Drupal. But also online store systems such as Magento en PrestaShop working with templates.
A template ensures that even though a CMS is the same at the back (the admin part), the front is completely different in terms of look and feel than other websites with the same CMS.
The difference is in the shell at the front, where visitors see the website.
Wordpress provides a standard template upon installation. This template can be customized with knowledge of CSS and HTML. There is also a choice of several basic templates.
Having a unique template created can cost a lot of time and therefore money. In addition, it is often not a good idea in terms of reliability and functionality.
Milcraft therefore chooses to work with high-quality templates, licenses purchased from well-known web designers.
These web companies do nothing but create templates. Well-known companies 8Theme, Fusion Theme en Theme suite.
The templates in this case are usually non-exclusive. This means that people all over the world “buy” this same template.
I say “purchase” because you are not purchasing the template itself, but the right to use it.
This is similar to the operating system on your computer. You do not buy this either, but you buy the right in the form of a license to use it.
Is it bad that everyone can use this template?
Wholeheartedly: NO.
First of all, the templates are highly customizable. Literally everything, from photos to color and fonts, can be adjusted.
In addition, even the best-selling templates are sold less than 10.000 times. That sounds like a lot, but with over 80 million WordPress websites, that's only 1 website in 8000, not including inactive and unused templates. There are templates such as Avada with more than 200.000 templates sold. However, this template is so highly customizable that it can be difficult to tell that it is the same template.
A non-exclusive template ensures that you have a layout packed with features and plugins for around €60. And because hundreds or thousands of people also use this template, any bugs are quickly noticed and resolved and the makers will often add all kinds of functions afterwards.
In fact, everyone pays the builders. Due to the low design costs, a non-exclusive template is a good solution ZZP en MKB. Your website will look very good for a relatively low amount.
Quality
Are all templates of good quality? Certainly not.
Just like with all products, there are good and bad suppliers and products.
For example, pay attention to how a template is rated by people who have already purchased the template in question.
Also look carefully in the comments on the sales page to see how quickly the maker responds and resolves a problem.
Also try to look carefully through the photos. Is the template still beautiful without the slick photos and does it remain beautiful with its own photos and text?
Features
Customizing a template should be easy and comprehensive out of the box. Certainly the advanced builder will be irritated by a template with too few standard customization options. This includes options to pin menus, turn animations on and off, adjust colors, etc.
Do you see something on the demo website of the template in question that you would like to see differently? Then ask the makers if this standard can be adjusted.
Plugins
Many templates include standard plugins. Plugins are software that provide additional functionalities to the website.
Consider a photo slider or application to easily build and customize pages.
There is also a lot of difference in the included plugins. One template contains no plugins, the other template contains premium plugins worth twice the purchase price of the template. Often there are plugins without a license or a bulk license.
So careful research pays off here.
In addition, there is the compatibility of the plugins. Certain plugins can cause interference with the template.
This is difficult to predict in advance. It's mostly a matter of testing.
Therefore, try to work as much as possible with plugins that the makers have added to the template or that the makers believe are compatible with the template.
Where can I find good templates?
The best place to buy a template is Themeforest. This is a marketplace for templates.
This Envato website contains thousands of templates that are previously tested by the team Envato.
There are plenty of other places on the internet to buy templates, but with Envato you know that the creators must meet certain quality requirements and procedures.
Do you see a nice paid template but don't feel like paying for it? Don't make the mistake of downloading the template elsewhere from the internet.
These templates are often provided with code, so that after installation your website is open to spam and other activities that cannot tolerate the light of day.
If you want a free template, it is best to download one from WordPress itself.
These are less extensive.
Purchasing and installing templates has more complications.
We would be happy to tell you more about this and can take care of this for you.
Interested? Contact us at info@milcraft.nl, Facebook, LinkedIn or 0172-897789.
