Best Website Templates to Build Your New Site

Businesses in all industries, entrepreneurs, and even individuals nowadays need professional website design. However, designing a website from scratch can be time-consuming and expensive. Fortunately, website templates are a cost-effective and efficient solution. We’ve scoured the Internet and found some of the best website design templates you can use!

Studies reveal that a staggering 91% of consumers trust an online presence as a reliable source of information. Coupled with the fact that 75% of users form judgments about a business's credibility based on its website design, it’s evident that a well-crafted online platform can make or break an organization's success.

But custom website design cost ranges from a couple to tens of thousands of dollars. Many small businesses and startups don’t have this kind of money to spend upfront. On the other hand, you probably can’t run a business a single day without having a professional website.

So, let’s start with some basics. What is a website template and how to use it to your best advantage?

What is a website template?

Website design templates act as pre-designed frameworks that encompass various layout options, color schemes, and content structures, saving valuable time and resources. They empower users, irrespective of their technical expertise, to establish a professional-looking website that resonates with their brand identity and aligns with their unique goals.

So, a website template is a templated version of a website? Duh!

But how do website templates work? How can you go from finding the perfect template to launching your website live? We’ll go over the steps in the next section.

How to use a website template?

Unlike most other design templates readily available online, you can’t just download a site template and magically have a website. Here are the steps you need to follow to put a website template to use.

Step 1: Research and selection

Before you dive into the hundreds of free website templates, it’s crucial to know what you’re looking for. Having a business plan and/or brand strategy is useful, but there are still some things you need to define for your website to be successful.

• Who’s your target audience? For example, if you’re launching an ecommerce website, not all of your customers will be those that shop through the website.
• Consider factors like design, layout, responsiveness, and features. Browsing through tons of templates can be daunting. So, make a list of features that you absolutely need and look for templates that have them.

Step 2: Obtain a template

Like we’ve mentioned, there are many free templates, but some might require purchasing, or even a subscription for a specific platform. Once you’ve found your template of choice you’ll need to download it. There are many great platforms with website templates, but here are some of the best ones:

• Wix
• Canva
• Envato Elements
• Colorlib
• Creative Market

Step 3: Choose a website platform and hosting

A website template is merely how your website will look. In order for it to exist online, you’ll need a site building platform, such as WordPress, Wix or Squarespace. You’ll also need to purchase a domain name and find a reliable hosting provider (most site builders have a pretty easy, automated flow for this).

Step 4: Customize the template

Customization is the most vital part of using website templates. Some platforms, such as Wix, will allow you to customize the template before you download it. With others, you’ll need to download the site template and then upload to your site builder of choice for customization.

Make sure to optimize the template for mobile responsiveness if needed, although most website templates nowadays are already mobile optimized.

Step 5: Configure functionality and plugins

Most website builders nowadays contain helpful plugins, which are additional features that can help your website run better. For example, this might be an ecommerce plugin, or security plugins to protect your website from hackers.

Step 6: Test and review

Website glitches and mistakes happen even when you use website builders rather than developing it yourself. That’s why it’s super important to test your website before launching the final version. Make sure you test it with different browsers and devices to ensure compatibility.

Step 7: Publish your website

Hooray! It’s time to publish your snazzy new website. Don’t forget that all websites need regular upkeep and maintenance. Aside from updating your content regularly to help your website rank better, you regularly need to check for glitches and issues, as well as available updates.

Best blog website templates

You may put a lot of effort into creating fun or informative content, but if your blog website doesn’t look good, chances are people will ignore it. If you take a look at the most popular blogs, you’ll notice they all vary in style, but have modern website layouts and sleek design.

If you want to find the best templates for a blog, look for multi-purpose templates that you can customize to fit your brand’s style and tone. Ensure that the template has features like social media integration and search bar functionality to enhance user engagement on your blog.

Blog Template 1 - Features and functionality

This Wix template is one of the best blog templates thanks to its simplicity. If you want to focus on your content, but still provide a pleasant user experience with crisp, modern design, this might be the template for you. Heaps of white space, gorgeous fonts and a solid layout would make for a wonderful reading experience.

It also offers great functionalities, most importantly a search bar and social media integration. The blog homepage also has an integrated Instagram feed, which could make a lovely addition for travel or lifestyle bloggers.

Blog Template 2 - A variety of options

This blog template available from Envato Elements, comes with 18 pages and no less than 6 homepage variations. The pages are fully responsive and tested on several devices, which is vital for blogging websites, where you want to keep people around for as long as possible

The layout is nice and clean, with important design elements, such as blog categories/tags and social media integration.

Blog Template 3 - Best design

A simple white background might be the obvious choice for a blog. Still, color draws attention and this gorgeous Wix website template illustrates that perfectly.

It’s designed as a “coaching blog”, but thanks to its crisp, professional design it could fit virtually any business or industry. The homepage search bar is a terrific feature that enables readers to find exactly what they’re looking for in seconds.

The blog itself has a very clever layout, prominently featuring the writer with the possibility to add links for their social media. Whether or not you’re using your blog to build your personal brand, this is also a great way to make your site look more professional, and add credibility to your content efforts.

Best startup business website templates

Startups have a reputation of being “cool”, and it’s no surprise that their websites often reflect this. Beyond great looks, startup websites should have easy navigation and a clear layout that doesn’t confuse users.

Other important features could include a dashboard template, plugins, CMS, privacy policy, email subscription forms, social media integration, contact form and more.

Startup Template 1 - Features and functionality

I’m pretty sure that if you googled startup website design, something like this would come. Jokes aside, this is one of the best free website templates for startups, as it has the perfect setup to get your website up and running in no time.

Aside from a virtually perfect layout (all the most vital sections are there, such as pricing, contact and product), it also has a simple design that could easily be adapted. With the homepage, you’d need to do as little as adjust the copy and change the color of the illustrations to fit your brand kit.

Startup Template 2 - Endless customization options

While there are plenty of free website templates, sometimes spending a bit of money pays off. This WordPress theme called DashCore costs $129, which is virtpretty decent for web design!

The design is so slick and timeless it could quite possibly be used as is. If you’re considering building a site on WordPress, a high-quality theme (i.e. website template) will make the process even smoother.

It comes with unlimited colors and styles and could be editable quite easily thanks to demo content which is included in the pack . The developers are also available for customer support should you need any help.

Startup Template 3 - Best design

This gorgeous Canva website template comes free with 2D animated illustrations, to give your website that extra modern flair that’s expected in your industry!

Thanks to its minimalist color scheme, it couldn’t be easier to adapt this template to your needs. Simply switch out the green for whatever your primary brand color is and you’re good to go!

The great thing about Canva’s free website templates is that you can customize them in the platform, which is well known for its ease-of-use. Another great feature about using Canva for your websites is that it allows you to publish it in one click, to a free Canva domain, or to your own existing domain.

Best ecommerce website templates

Online shopping has skyrocketed during the pandemic and isn’t showing signs of slowing down. You might think that great website design isn’t all that important for an online store - after all, it’s the product shots that count.

Still, if you consider that 42% of people won’t buy from a website they consider ugly, it’s evident that website design plays a vital role in influencing purchasing decisions. Here are a few great website templates that you can use for your online store.

Ecommerce Template 1 - features and functionality

If you want a template with heaps of ecommerce features, this design from Colorlib is definitely worth checking out. It includes everything you need to build a successful online store: from a great navbar with lots of options, to a shopping cart as well as a wishlist section, down to currency conversion!

If you have lots of products, website templates like this one can be a real lifesaver to help you navigate design and ensure everything fits. At just $19, it’s one of the most affordable website templates you can find.

Ecommerce Template 2 - the perfect layout

This Wix template may not be the first of their many stunning free website templates to capture your attention (I mean, an ecommerce website selling toy slime is pretty niche). Nevertheless, it provides one of the best layouts for an ecommerce website you can find online.

The homepage includes an online shop where you can easily scroll through products. It also includes “Add to cart” buttons which are a must for any ecommerce site.

This website only includes the homepage and separate product pages. So, it’s great for companies that focus on selling products, such as beauty, jewelry or clothing stores.

Ecommerce Template 3 - Best Layout and Design

When researching where to get free templates, and what might be the best one for you, it’s easy to get sidetracked by gorgeous photos. Remember, no matter how stunning the photos are on the template, they’re usually there for illustrative purposes. It’s on you to choose photos and product shots that are relevant to your brand.

This Wix template does have pretty nice photos, but what’s much more important is the way color and layouts are used to make those photos shine. Swap the orange with a pale pink or elegant beige, and this website template could make a perfect beauty website. Use an abstract background instead of the road, and you might have the perfect setting to showcase high-tech gadgets.

The shop page comes with great filter options that you can customize to your needs.The layout is equally clean and elegant. I think the light gray background is a particularly great alternative to white, as its equally user friendly, but a bit less ordinary.

Final thoughts: Template or custom design - what’s better?

Before you pick one of these gorgeous website design templates, or go on exploring to find another one, we need to address one key question.

Is it better to use a website template or hire a website designer?

The answer is - it depends. With so many great templates and user-friendly site builders, there’s no doubt you can end up with a stunning website. However, using website templates still requires design work. Each template needs to be customized and not everyone will have the necessary skill or vision to do this well.

You can always seek the help of a skilled freelancer, but finding the right one might take time and communication can sometimes become an issue. On the other hand, you’ll need to agree upfront whether you want someone to adapt an existing website template or design something from scratch. In the freelancing world these two tasks are quite different and have vastly different price tags.

How about a smarter alternative? Our own unlimited graphic design service at ManyPixles gives you the best of both worlds: we can adapt existing design templates and design something custom. Moreover, at the price of a flat monthly subscription, you can request as many designs as you want, including social media graphics, email banners, ads, and more.

Learn more about our website design service here, or book a call with us to ask any questions!