Is it okay to use free templates ?

[Vbblogger]

Do you use free templates for your site ? When I started out , I used free templates because I didn't have enough time to learn designing web pages.

The problem is that many people use the same template and even if your site is unique , visitors might not be interested if you are using a template they have seen at a site where they had a bad experience. Moreover free templates doesn't give the professional feel that a unique web page gives. Do you think it's ok to use free templates ?

[crazyqueen]

I think you could do the same as some do for regular HTML sites. Have a template, and customize it. Since your not too savvy with design yet you could use a WYSIWYG editor, it will let you manually edit the code, type it like you do things on word (and highlight and click the bold button, etc) and then be able to see it before you upload it to your site, to make sure its right. Another thing you might be able to to, is get an idea of what you would want to change for the design and have either someone help you with it, or pay a couple of dollars to a starving designer (some are), who are online and have them do it.

[CodeJunkie]

I don't think that theres anything wrong with using free templates. There are hundreds out there and you can edit/customize them however you want so you should be able to change it enough to where it doesn't look like any others besides the layout. On that note, I know how to code, but have no conccept in design so I either have to get help somewhere or use a free template to start with and go from there!

[crazyqueen]

Think of it like remodeling your house, you have the foundation, now how do you really want it setup inside that square or rectangle, or whatever shape you can think of. I would also say there are thousands, not hundreds. Codejunkie I feel for you, I am the same way, I can have an idea of how I want something to look, but no way to do it on the machine or by hand.

[navybrat03801]

I've never seen an issue with using a free template, and these days there are plenty of pen source or unlicensed templates you can legally change as much or as little as you like. Even if you can't change the entire thing most will allow the addition of a personalized header which can totally make the template yours and look different from another site with the same template. A free template is also better than a generic site with no effort put forth at all and can reflect your sites theme better.

[chatter]

It's OK as long as you are able to modify it as much as needed so that it does look unique. I used to download free skins and use them, this way I started modding a colour, some images, then re-code a header. Now I would make my layouts in Photoshop, slice and put the HTML codes in the forums. I cannot stand a stock theme on any of my forums, so I made efforts to make them stand out. Of course, this is hard work, but over time you'll see it's not that difficult, once you have some experience with it.

[Sierra]

I use the free themes...and I haven't modified them yet. Mostly because I just don't have the experience and the know-how. That will come. Right now I am just trying to get some good content and some good users. Then I'll try to make it pretty!

[encoder]

Originally Posted by Vbblogger

The problem is that many people use the same template and even if your site is unique , visitors might not be interested if you are using a template they have seen at a site where they had a bad experience. Moreover free templates doesn't give the professional feel that a unique web page gives.

I see what you are trying to say here. Some people would not be so much interested in joining your forum just for a simple reason of having a generic template.

Here is what I could tell you. If you own a car that has a specific name (lets say Ford Escape), do you think other people would not like it? I think some people would not like it for their own reasons but I think that there more people who will like your car. You make improvements into it but its still the same Ford Escape.

I think this is the same with forums using free templates. Even if you have the same template, you can still make yours as unique as possible.