Does anyone know a place to find Web Site Templates

Templates

[bentley coup]

Hi, I was just trying to figure out a place I could get some good templates from. Do you guys know of any?

[Quadrille]

Let Google be your friend.

There's many, many sources, and it all depends what you are looking for; no sense (and against the rules), being specific about it!

Whatever you choose, do look under the hood. Many templates - especially, but not only, free ones - are pretty poor on a functional basis, and that matters as much as the visual design.

Probably best to draw up a list of the attributes you seek before you start; else you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers :)

[jtara]

There are a number of sites where templates can be uploaded and critiqued.

The CSS Zen Garden is a particularly good one.

I'd go for this type of site, vs. the ad-supported ones screaming "free templates!".

[Swanny007]

I like OSWD, I've used a few of their free designs.

[bentley coup]

Thanks you guys are some good people.

[WhiteWebServices]

As we can't discuss where to go to get templates, perhaps we could discuss how to tell whether a template is up to scratch instead. When you 'look under the hood' what should you keep an eye out for?

Checking that the code validates (http://validator.w3.org/) would seem to be a good start, but what other checks should you do?

[Quadrille]

Good idea!

Check for code bloat; especially nested tables and pointless fonts.

These days, a decent template should use CSS for all font styles and sizes, even if it still uses tables for positioning - but between those extremes, you decide exactly how much CSS you can use!

On the security side, check for hidden links (or any unwanted links), and check any pre-installed js very carefully indeed.

Some 'free template' sites best left well alone!

[piatkow]

I have seen novice webmasters have a lot of problems with templates. A few common pitfalls:

Images: if there is a space for an image then resize the image file to fit. Obvious but so many people forget.

Browser compatibility: there are some free templates around that turn out to include browser specific features. Create a test page and check before committing too much development time.

"Free" web hosts: if your host puts ads on your page then they may end up overlaying the content. Again create a test page and check first.

[Grandmas Cookies]

just type this in google:
intitle:website templates inurl:website templates inanchor:website templates

[Gilsan]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here and I would like you to explain the meaning of googling the way you sugested:

just type this in google:
intitle:website templates inurl:website templates inurl:website templates

Why write; intitle: inurl: and inurl: followed by website templates

Does it also mean that all these sites have good and reliable website templates?

Gil

[jtara]

Why write; intitle: inurl: and inurl: followed by website templates

That will search for pages that have "website templates" in their page title or URL.

Does it also mean that all these sites have good and reliable website templates?

Of course not. Google doesn't review the quality of products that appear on result pages (nor in Google ads, for that matter).