A web page template is a group of professionally designed files that you can modify to build your own website. Free Dreamweaver templates are constructed with the Dreamweaver web editor in mind.
Web templates are the framework of your website. They are used as a starting point for web site building. The framework of a website is the most difficult, and often the most crucial, part of web design. If the framework doesn't function your users won't be able to find their way around. No amount of flashy, whiz-bang dancing baloney is going to satisfy the reason they sought you out in the first place. (Unless they were just looking for flashy, whiz-bang dancing baloney!) Web page templates allow you to either just "fill-in-the-blanks" or modify the files to more closely reflect you or your business. They are built specifically to be adjusted and edited.Many web page templates are created to use with specific web editors. HTML templates, Dreamweaver templates and Flash templates are all available for you to use. Most of these templates are for sale for (approximately) $20-$70 dollars each, but it is possible to find web templates for free! Free Dreamweaver templates are built with that web editor in mind. There is a big difference in the coding behind a Dreamweaver, FrontPage, or hand-coded HTML web site.
Why would you want to use a web template?
- When you don't want to build the frame of the layout yourself. These layouts make it easy to quickly put up a page that looks good and works well.
- When you don't have years of schooling in usability, layout, graphic design, and web design.Web site templates make creating your web pages simple and easy. You don't need to know every bit of HTML code to use web templates. All you have to do is copy the code from a web site template page, paste the Web site template code into your HTML editor and fill it full of own text and images.
- When you want to save money! You can find a high quality design for around $20-$70. If you use a free website template you're obviously going to save even more! And what could be cheaper than free? (Dream on, but no one is ever going to offer you money to use their web design!)
- When you don't have a lot of time. One quick download from a website, alter the text, pop in your graphics and you have a website. It can takes 5-15 days for a good web designer to produce a web page of such quality. A good web designer has to learn your needs, interpret them, and then create what she/he thinks you just asked for. That first design comes back to you and you either OK it and it gets built or your designer goes back to the old drawing board and does it again.
So should you scour the web for free Dreamweaver templates? Or HTML, FrontPage, or Flash templates, for that matter?
This is where I have to slow you down. Templates are great, but you really need to make sure that they meet your basic requirements before you download them (for ANY price!) Some templates come with a variety of options. Some are just a background with text on them. Take your time to choose one that is close to your idea of perfection. The closer it is to what you want the less fiddling you will have to do with it.
Do you want to be a web designer?
One of the best ways to learn web design is to look at the coding behind other websites. It's amazing how much you can learn by tearing one apart and putting it back together again! And it's easier to do when you have all of the files downloaded on to your computer. Try pulling apart a free Dreamweaver template, or any of the others, and see what makes it tick!
