by Ms Informed

Created on: August 17, 2008

Before you consider searching for sites that offer free website templates and page layouts, I recommend that you learn some basic xhtml and css. The reason for this suggestion is because the majority of the templates found on the web will involve pro activity on your part through adjusting the xhtml and the css. The xhtml is the content of the site, and the css-also called cascading style sheets contributes to the look and feel of the whole site, including photos, menus and the color of the whole site, including other connecting pages. I tested a few of the templates myself, and found it quite easy to change the color as well as the layout of the templates so that they looked sleek and sophisticated.

Let's start with a template site for absolute beginners. A template site that I found with the most basic of basic layouts is steves-templates.com, which has both free and premium templates. The site also has many templates from which to choose and when you download the files, they are very clean and straight-forward. Pretty much all you have to adjust are the xhtml, the css, and the photos if you don't like what's already on the template. The templates from this site is probably a good place for a beginner to start.

If you have more than basic experience with websites, there is a template site that might be good for you. One good site that I found is freewebsitetemplates.com, which-you guessed it-has a variety of templates from which to choose. The templates all come with menus, photos, and placement text which you will have the opportunity to change to suit your own needs. The good thing about freewebsitetemples.com is that you do not have to link back to the site when you use the template. If you use the template for an online business, however, it's a good thought to donate something to the site. Not only does it show support for the work that is being done, but also is just common courtesy-in my opinion, at least.

When you go to the site, and find a template you like, you will download all the files necessary for the template to show up properly when you upload to your own web host. Should you get stuck as where to start customizing the template for your needs, the site also has a very helpful forum to guide you. There are plenty of novices that will probably have the same questions that you will, so don't be afraid to give it a try.

If you really want to get into the meat of things as far as a template site is concerned, try a flash template. The only thing about flash template sites is that if you want to (or need to) change the flash content, you will need Adobe Flash software in order to customize the flash part. The reason being is that many flash template sites will have done the flash with Adobe Flash, which is a proprietary software. If you are one of the lucky ones who could afford Adobe Flash, then a flash template provides the most dynamic range of interactivity for your audience.

A good site for flash templates is called flashmo.com, which has really awesome templates complete with sound and loading pages. Like the other two sites mentioned, you will download xhtml, css, a photo file and a .flv file (for editing the flash component). My train of thought is that if you have software of the caliber of Adobe, then it's a pretty good chance that these templates will turn out to be child's play for you. However, if you want to learn flash, get your hands dirty with a trial of the Adobe software and see what you can do with a flash template. You just might impress yourself.

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