Canva vs Templates for September 2023 | Website Template Providers

Item: Canva vs Templates
Rating: 2.5
Author: Top Consumer Reviews

Saturday, September 30th

2023 Website Template Provider Reviews

Canva

Searchable/filterable directory of business website templates
Preview and customizability
Over 600 templates
Instant publish to a free subdomain, purchased domain, or existing domain
Site password protection
Insights of views in real time or by country or device, traffic, and engagement
Full creative control over elements, text, styles, images, video, backgrounds, and logo

Canva has name recognition among marketers, social media influencers, and people needing quick graphic design in a DIY fashion. However, it's not particularly great when it comes to creating and publishing websites from scratch or from its pre-made website templates. Too many reviewers give Canva negative feedback for us to recommend it very highly, so look at other options first.

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Templates

Over 12,900 web templates
Over 3,800 CMS templates
Over 3,300 eCommerce templates
18 categories

Templates has many problems with the browsing and purchase experience for anyone looking for website templates that will be the basis for great website design. Browsing the site had the feel of opening someone's junk drawer and trying to make sense of what's in there. Demonstration versions of the templates had responsiveness issues that we could not overlook. Look elsewhere for quality website templates.

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Where Can You Get the Best Website Templates?

While it's easier to create a website now than ever before, it's not so easy to design your website in a way that will be visually appealing, easy to use, and fast to load. For that type of attention to detail, you still need the skills of creative people who can pull those elements together into a beautiful website that meets your needs. You generally have two choices: hire expensive people yourself, or use a website template.

Website templates are example layouts that website designers can use to create functional and beautiful websites faster than if they were to try to design a whole website from scratch. They're a way to accelerate the pace of website design and development using tried and tested design techniques and patterns common to most websites. They're also a way to quickly get design inspiration from the efforts of others, usually for a low purchase price or, in some cases, even free!

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What are the best Website Template Providers

Website Template Provider FAQ

What is a website template?

A website template is a premade structure for your website. It applies a set of comprehensive layout and display features to your site and is a great shortcut (both time- and budget-wise) to get it up and running fast, with a look unique to your business, service, or personal page.

How much will a website template cost?

There's an affordable website template for every use. If you're really on a budget, you can find templates for under $5! On the other hand, if you need something bespoke or that is practically guaranteed not to be in use by another business, your template may cost as much as $500 (or more).

Why would I pay for a website template? Can't I use a free one?

Free website templates aren't terrible. They definitely save you money! They come with some downsides, though. You usually can't get any support, and with so many people using free templates you run the risk of having your site look just like someone else's (or LOTS of "someone elses" ). It might be worth it to consider buying a website template: after all, you can get some really well-designed ones for less than $15.

There are so many website templates to choose from! Where do I begin?

There are two main approaches you can take: how do you want your site to look, or what do you want it to do? If appearance is everything, we recommend shopping for a website template by topic. Many providers let you browse according to a category, like Food & Restaurant or Business & Services. That's a great way to get a template that will deliver the overall appearance you want your site to have. On the other hand, maybe you have specific requirements for what your website can handle: appointment booking, testimonials, or events calendars, for example. That's another good way to start narrowing down your choices.

How do I use a website template I've selected?

Sometimes you can simply download it to your computer and then give it to a web designer to load onto your site. If you're doing it yourself, you can upload the template into the website content management system (like WordPress) and activate it. That's it!

Which service should I use for buying website templates?

That's a really smart question to ask, because they're not all the same. Use a provider that's known for offering solid customer service in case you hit any snags when applying the template to your site. Also consider whether you're making a one-off purchase or you'll need access to many different templates: there's no need for a recurring membership if you're only building a single website.

What if the website template doesn't work as expected? Can I get my money back?

Maybe, maybe not. If you've purchased a monthly or annual plan, you may be able to cancel future payments but there's no guarantee you'll get a refund of what you've already spent. If you bought a single website template, you may be able to request your money back from its author, especially for reasons of security vulnerabilities or it not being as described prior to purchase. Always read the refund policy before purchasing a template.

I know nothing about websites. Can I really use a template to do it myself?

Yes...and no. A website template is a great starting point for most smaller companies, organizations and individuals. It's enough to get you up and running, and maybe keep you there for a long time. As you start to grow, though, your website will need to grow with you - and, at that point, you may need to consult with a web design professional who can add in any features or requirements you have that go beyond what a website template can do for you.

Continued from above...

However, it's very important to know what you're getting yourself into when you download a website template with the intent to create your own website with it. Here are some things to consider when researching and buying a website template.

Page Builder. Does the website template include a page builder? Page builders can make the task of converting a website template into a live website with your own design, images, and content a lot simpler than trying to create it by learning to code. The easiest page builders to use are ones you pay for and that have been around for a long time. Some page builders are better than others when it comes to flexibility and generating responsive design.
Variety. How diverse are the different types of designs in the catalog of website templates a vendor provides? If they all look the same - like they were produced by a small group of designers or copied from a low number of original designs - move along to a different provider. Bad templates are also dated-looking as if they came from the early 2000 internet era, so keep an eye out for more modern designs.
Support for Modern Web Design. Modern web design means that the website template conforms seamlessly to different screen sizes on multiple devices and browsers. If you find that a template scrolls horizontally on a mobile device or that the elements seem to "fall apart" when changing the browser viewport width, then the template is not a good one.
Reputation and Support. Does the website template vendor enjoy a high number of positive reviews? It's important to choose a vendor that provides quick, reliable, and thorough support, preferably via live chat so you don't have to wait long for help.
Cost. Quality website templates shouldn't be cheap, but they also shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg like a custom design would. Fortunately, most website template vendors don't have high costs for their templates, although some do have low quality for the cost. Be sure to test the template demo thoroughly before buying.

To help you get the best templates for your website, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked the top website template vendors on the market today. We're confident that this information will make it easy to set up your own website!