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In the world of web design, templates are a wonderful thing. They make everyone’s job easier, no matter how much experience you have in building a website.
But one lesson I’ve learned from spending 6,000+ hours creating Wix website templates is that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all design. Even though a template might be a perfect fit for one type of website, it might not work well for another.
And while most people might decide if a template is right for them within the first few seconds of looking at it, I’d recommend that you take your time. The template you choose can impact how your website both looks and functions, so the process of picking one should be slow and deliberate.
Here are my personal tips for evaluating your options and picking the best template for your website.
What are your deal breakers?
My first piece of advice: don’t judge a template simply by its looks. Think about what you need your website to do. At minimum, you should know:
The main purpose of your website
The main pages you need
The main action(s) you want visitors to take
The types of content you want to add
Some websites are inherently more complex than others. For example, an eCommerce website is much more complicated than a typical app landing page. It needs to handle information for hundreds (if not thousands) of products, online payments, user logins and promotional assets (like pop-ups or reviews).
Design-wise, you must also consider that people interact with online stores very differently than they do with a landing page. Online shoppers are much more likely to hop between multiple pages, comparing products and prices—whereas people who reach your landing page just want to make a quick decision.
At the end of the day, the template you choose should reflect your unique needs. Don’t get too distracted by how attractive a template is—look first at its features and usability.
Tip: Search for templates that are not only made for your industry, but are also closer to what you sell. Chances are, the designer who created a sportswear store template did a ton of research specifically on athletic brands and shopping behaviors.
Read more about the essential parts of a website or the difference between a multi-page website vs. one-page website.
Are you looking at a newer or older design?
People don’t talk enough about how consumer preferences and design trends are always changing. If you were to look at a recent Wix template next to one that was created years ago, you’d probably notice a big difference.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use older templates. (Most of our templates are designed to stand the test of time.) However, with Wix introducing newer, better features and designers experimenting with new styles, it’s only natural for our templates to evolve.
Let’s look at a recent website template together. Here’s one that I designed for an eCommerce site focused on selling shoes.
Notice:
Welcome section: At the top of the homepage, you’ll see a widget (which didn’t exist in Wix years ago) that promotes the specific item shown in the homepage image. This mimics the “shop now” behaviors that we see everywhere online and on social media these days.
Loading effects: This template combines a few different loading effects to create a fresh, modern experience.
Scrolling banners: We’re constantly adding new features to our editor and tracking new trends. This is how we found that movement can draw attention to parts of a page where people normally have “banner blindness.” So, you’ll see that the banners at the top and middle of the homepage take this into consideration.
Product page design: Each product page puts a big emphasis on the product images, mimicking the design of many popular, high-end sites. The layout is more minimal and streamlined than older templates, too, to align better with modern web experiences.
Customer reviews sections: Reviews are incorporated throughout the website, alongside “buy now” buttons, to encourage quick shopping. It’s another trend we’ve seen pick up speed over the years.
Navigation and footer: Between the breadcrumbs, search bar, menu and footer—there are dozens of ways for shoppers to explore products in a way that they’re familiar with.
Keep in mind that just because a template is new, doesn't mean it’s necessarily better. You might find that a more classic or minimalistic design is better suited for your brand. Nevertheless, newer templates can give insight into recent trends and serve as good inspiration.
View this shoe store template up close or check out other online store templates.
What’s easy vs. difficult to customize?
Templates are meant to be customized. With that being said, some elements are easier to change than others. Colors, logos and fonts are some of the easiest things to tweak—and a website builder like Wix lets you set a site theme so that any custom colors or fonts are applied to your whole site.
Here’s where it gets tricky: If you need to add lots of pages with specific functions (such as product pages, checkout pages, booking pages, etc.), you might be better off finding a template that already includes a few of these pages. This way you won’t have to start from scratch with the design, interlinking or overall user experience.
Another thing you’ll want to look out for: the overall “vibe” and website layout. If you search for “tech” in the Wix Template library, you’ll see a lot of futuristic designs. That theme is mirrored in most of the preset colors, button styles, animations and image arrangements. While you can technically adjust any of these components from the editor—you might end up spending more time than you’d like making it all work together, especially if you’re trying to make a futuristic theme feel less futuristic.
Ultimately, the amount of time you spend on customization is up to you. Just make sure to manage your expectations accordingly.
Quick to customize | Time-consuming to customize |
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Did you know? Creating new images or illustrations for your website is easy with Wix’s AI image tools. Check out all of Wix’s AI features.
How much space do you need for images vs. text?
Similar to my point above, you should think about the type of content you plan to include on your site. I don’t just mean picking from text-heavy templates if you’re planning to start a blog. I mean observing the balance of text versus images on any given page.
Some homepage designs are very design-heavy. They’re only meant to include a few lines of text next to a large, full-scale image. Forcing more text into these areas could throw off the balance of the whole page if you’re not careful.
As another example, let’s say you’re working with a template that has big text blocks and proportionately small images. If you end up writing minimal content or adding large images in spaces better suited for icons, then things can start looking awkward.
Make it easier on yourself by selecting a website template that gets you 80% of where you want to go with your content. Know the hierarchy of your content ahead of time and let it guide your decision.
How does the mobile experience look?
Don’t forget about the mobile experience. Today, more than 60% of website traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. So, neglecting the mobile experience means leaving money on the table.
From the very beginning, you should consider how your website looks on a smaller screen. Preview the mobile version of a template before committing to it. It doesn’t need to be 100% perfect (just like the desktop version, you should be able to fine-tune certain details of the mobile site from your website editor). However, it shouldn’t require too much redesigning.
Ask yourself:
Does the mobile version prioritize the right content and features?
Will my average customers be able to navigate this easily?
How does the mobile version handle buttons and forms?
Does the template offer a mobile-optimized checkout experience (if relevant)?
How does the mobile version handle large tables or data (if relevant)?
To summarize, look below the surface
Picking the right website template is a balancing act. You need to strike the right mix of aesthetics, usability and flexibility.
As you explore your options, you might find yourself liking different aspects of different sites. That’s an added bonus of this exercise; it allows you to see how various web designers bring form and function together. You can then use this information to shape your final website.
On that note, here’s my last piece of advice: Take your time. Gather inspiration. Choose wisely.