Think again. The deal with web templates is, we assume, that we can just purchase the web template off a website and then start publishing our website in a matter of minutes, right? Were thinking of an easy-to-use and completely dummy-proof web template that just about anyone can fine-tune and publish, right?

The truth isthis is not the case.

As a freelance graphic designer who has been freelancing for the past 8 years, I continue to get lots of new clients who plead with me to help them change and publish their web templates for them. Some of them have purchased non-exclusive web templates which could cost anything between $20 and $100 each template. Some of them thought that they would make their lives a little bit easier if they purchased the exclusive templateswhich can cost about $100 - $400 each web template.

They pay, download the file, open it in their Adobe Photoshop program and realize thatshucks, they dont know how to change a thing and publish the website. Its not as easy as those web template designers make it out to be. I should know I work with those templates all the time.

Cripes, the slices
One of the biggest problems people encounter when dealing with a web template is that they dont know how to change the slices to suit their needs. When you add your own logo or insert your own company tagline, the size of that portion might change. Therefore, youll need to resize the slice. A slice determines the portion of that image that makes up the cosmetic aspects of the web page.

Converting PSD to HTML
Sure enough, the package might include a HTML file for you to change and publish but after youve made some changes to the web template, republish the HTML file, everything has to change in the HTML files. For people who dont deal with web publishing, they may not know how to implement the changes in the Photoshop files into the HTML files.

Conclusion
In conclusion, even though youve purchased a web template, it may not be the end of your problem. In fact, it could be the start of a whole new set of problems! hence, even when youve purchased the best web template youve ever seen, you may STILL need a web designer to deal with the web template youve purchased for you.

Which, sometimes I think, defeats the whole purpose, dont you think?

Marsha Maung

Marsha Maung is a freelance work at home graphic designer and writer residing in Selangor, Malaysia with her husband, Peter and 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She is the author of "Raising Little Magicians", "No Products to sell" and many other books! Please visit her website for more information.