what are templates? ....

[007ced]

i see companies advertising templates for $25.00 and up....

[ncw164x]

They are site layouts to save you time in doing your own

Some are fixed at what you purchase but others can be customised to your own requirements

ncw164x

[anallawalla]

Chances are that many of those templates don't follow good SEO principles. Choose with care.

[robert adams]

many templates are free do a search and check them out.
as far as SEO, the template has very little to do with that, your content and how you edit the template will deal with SEO issues.

robert

[balinor]

Also be careful if you are designing a site for a client and you use a template. Chances are, there are hundreds of people out there using the same template (especially if they are free), and clients don't typically like having a site just like someone else :)

[runre]

Yes, templates are often based on copies of previous templates. Many sites use them; the free ones are used even more.

I would think twice about using someone else's site design. Think of the number of FrontPage-themed sites that you see on the net. How professional do they appear to you?