Best practices when using website templates

So you've decided to get a template to assist with your next launch or website build - congrats! You've made the right choice and will save tons of time and money! 

Here are my top tips to help you choose the right template that you'll get the most out of.

1.) Don't worry too much about the colors of the template, instead pay attention to the design and layout. In a properly made template, colors will be easy to change, but the design can be harder. For example, is there a photo with a black and white zig-zag border? You can probably make the zig-zags different colors, but you may not be able to change them to something other than zig-zags as easily. 

2.) Buy a template BEFORE you write your page copy. The biggest hiccup my clients encounter when it comes to templates is the copy throwing things off because it differs too much from the template. Although the copy doesn't need to exactly match the template, it should be pretty close. If the template calls for five horizontal blocks where you planned to have two paragraphs and a photo, that will be really hard to reconfigure without some major redesigning. So I strongly recommend writing your copy around the template - which is often easy because most templates come with copy prompts per their plug-and-play nature!

3.) Look for an all-inclusive template. Make sure you're not going to find yourself in a pickle partway through! A good template will contain EVERYTHING you need for the entire project (i.e. a sales page template should include a thank you page and a website template should include your static pages like 404 error and privacy policy). It should also include detailed video walk-throughs on how to customize the template from top to bottom. Even if you're experienced with the platform the template is designed for, you may encounter design tricks or custom code hacks that the designer included, so tutorials and/or a place to ask questions are a must. 

To check out some Kajabi templates that are fully customizable, come with plug-and-play copy prompts, AND are all inclusive, check out my template shop!