Website Development
Web Designers Beware
by:
Gene Tewksbury
As a
web designer, I have a personal interest in a new trend which
threatens to put me and my kind out of business. That “threat” is Web
Design Templates. In short they are ready-made web design products
which can be used as a basis for a fast and high-quality website. You
usually receive a Photoshop file (.psd), Flash file (.fla), HTML files
with your tables and initial scripting already complete, fonts, sounds
and anything else which may be part of the website design.
A
couple of years ago these templates were a small issue in the world of
design. Most of them were of minimal quality and there were not all
that many out there. Now some of the “big players” like BG Website
Templates, The Discount Directory and Plantillas De Website are
supplying spectacular designs which include 3D animated Flash,
multimedia and dynamic programming for prices comparable to dinner
out. Many of these templates rival even the best custom designer's
work. So how can we (the humble designer) survive?
My
first suggestion is to “aim high”. By that I mean start targeting a
“higher end” clientele. Most companies of any size will not want to
have a website design which may well be found on dozens of other
websites around the world.
These
templates, while very impressive, are still templates. They still
require the knowledge and skills of a professional for them to
function to their full potential. So consider promoting your
customization skills to those clients who are looking for a low cost
solution. You can still make a pretty profit on the website and you'll
get it done much faster. Another advantage to this method is that the
client has already chosen a design, so the process of “back and forth”
designing is removed.
Finally, you may choose to directly promote templates on your own
website. You may feel that you're cutting your own wrists, but as
mentioned before, the clients who wish to use a template most likely
didn't want to spend the money for your custom work anyway. Once
you've saved them money on design work by selling them a template, you
have a much better chance of upgrading their order with add-ons like
chat rooms, help desks and newsletters. In the end you may end up
coming out ahead.
Whether
or not our careers as designers will survive this competition remains
to be seen; but in the meantime it doesn't hurt to at least become
familiar with web templates. Knowing your competition is key to
success.
by-http://www.bluegelmedia.com |
