Templatemonster.com

[michaeijd]

What do you think about sites like this? Do they have a positive or negative impact on our industry?

Templatemonster.com

[clews30]

I think the site templates are great! I think a lot of people on here have used them...they look familiar. And why not...saves time right?

[Cycle]

I believe they have absolutely no impact on my area of the industry.

Some people may hate sites that sell templates because they think that it hurts their business. I do not think it hurts my business. If someone wants to buy a template instead of hiring me, I tell them to go for it. They will get what they're paying for.

A template website will never be specific to the company that is using it. Companies will never be able to get a website that is tailored for their specific needs by buying a template. They will have to go to a design firm or freelancer if they want a specific, quality website. Let's also not forget the lack of support available for someone who buys a template, and no, I will never work with a client that wants help with a template.

Besides, would you want to work with someone if they want to use a template? I personally hold my skills and services to a higher value than that.

[aversion]

They look familiar because many of them are based on existing designs. I know one well-known designer who has had to get them to take templates off a certain template site that had obvious rips (copied almost exactly) from his sites nine times. They still use the same designer who ripped and put up other rips they've done.

I don't think they give a toss about it.

[Ultima Designs]

Those are very nice templates.

But, I don't think they have a negative impact on the industry - at least not in the sense of hurting custom designers. People want customization and they want to trust somebody to do their website. They want it done right, done well, and they want to be able to trust, rely on, and communicate with someone who knows what they're doing - and they are willing to pay the money to get it.

That's my experience, anyway.

[Peter Rogers]

Totally agree with Aversion.

They obviously don't care...

Design is not about saving time, right ?

[clews30]

wow Aversion..I had no clue..thats horrible. Dont people have any integrity. I have no respect for folk that steal other designers hard work and creativity.

[aversion]

Originally posted by Peter Rogers
Design is not about saving time, right ?

I'd say design is about finding the right solution to the design 'challenge' in hand, and that's rarely a 'cookie cutter' solution.

I think templates have a place for designers that may need a ready design that can be customised to the right solution, but most of the people I know who use templates are simply inserting a few bits of relevant info and spitting them back out without concern for the client's needs, the fundamental design priority.