Commercial Joomla Templates - A Buyers Guide

What is Joomla?

Open Source content management systems (popularly referred to as a CMS) are all the rage these days. And with good reason! 5 years ago, the type of functionality that you can get from an open source CMS like Joomla! (www.joomla.org) would have easily set you back $50,000 and required 2 developers and a phd in rocket science to get value out of it! Thankfully systems like Joomla have made webmasters lives a LOT easier when it comes to providing our clients and customers (or our own websites) with an easy to use but powerful CMS for managing our website content.

What are joomla templates?

One of the biggest challenges with a CMS is getting a nice looking template that differentiates your website from the competition. A major challenge with any CMS driven site for someone who is not a skilled web designer is achieving a look and feel that avoids the "sameness" of a lot of CMS driven websites. Luckily Joomla templates are quite easy to build if you're already a skilled designer. If you're not then you are still in luck as there are literally hundreds of Joomla templates out there that will get you up and running in no time. Joomla templates can be grouped into roughly 3 categories:


free joomla templates
joomla template clubs
commercial joomla templates


There are advantages to each group. Free templates are obviously free! Having said that you'll most likely easily find another website using the same template as you pretty easily. If that's not a problem for you then great - off you go! If this is an issue then commercial Joomla templates could be the way to go.

Why commercial joomla templates?

Commercial joomla templates can be of significant value to you as a Joomla website administrator. Key advantages include:


can be of exceptionally high quality - you'll generally find joomla template designers churn out some of the best looking templates for any CMS on the market. But do be careful to ensure the build quality (including HTML/CSS, javacript) is up to scratch. Buyer beware, there are also commercial joomla templates out there who sacrifice quality for quantity! Bestofjoomla.com is a great site for getting great feedback on joomla template designers.
support, support, support - let's face it, your going to want to tweak a logo here, a few colours there and maybe even make some layout changes. That's where a good support network comes into play. Check out the joomla template creators website and make sure you can get support online.
Price - don't get ripped off! You'll find most commercial joomla templates range in price from as low as $10 up to $100 - don't pay any more than that unless you want an exclusive license for the template just for your site - unless you're happy to be potentially ripped off!


Anyways, that raps us up for the moment. If you've not yet had a chance to play would Joomla! I would encourage to check it out - it's a fantastic open source CMS that will run just about any site with ease.

Ed Bloom is nuts about Joomla and has been building Joomla templates since the project was born. Ed is the CEO of the highly successful joomla design agency Joomlacreative.com, which specialises in creating beautiful commercial joomla templates

Website Template Guide - Introduction and More!

Q.) What are web templates?

A.) Web templates are readymade web-pages. They make the job of putting web pages on the internet really quick.

Q.) How do the templates manage to do it so easily?

A.) Web templates perform as html coded dummy web pages that carry model content. These templates can be edited with ease and can be customized. You can add content, graphics, logo, pictures etc. to create master web pages in no time.

Q.) How do I edit web templates?

A.) That's very simple! Almost all web templates can be edited. You can use common html editors like FrontPage, DreamWeaver and GoLive along with image editors like Photoshop. These editors are user-friendly and have an easy to use interface. One doesn't need to be an expert in html editing to use them. But if you want to add minute details and perfect them, opt for template customization services that are offered by most web template providers.

Q.) But why will I use web templates - does it do me any other good?

A.) Web templates can in fact lend a fair bit of hand to save lots of money and time. The blend of these two with expertise makes web templates - the best option. A web designer can ask for anything in the range of $50 to $200 for designing a single web-page and he will take 15 days minimum.

With a web template to create a website, it would come around $40 max and save 12-13 days. Isn't that a deal? Websites designed with web templates can go live within a day after editing and pasting graphics. Now, you don't need to be an Einstein to figure out which one is the cost-effective and time-saving option. Do you?

Q.) What about Flash websites?

A.) Have you ever been to one of those famed jewelers websites - if you have been you will know how much time they take to open up? With an average time span of 14 secs as attention, not even 5 out of 10 people will wait for them to open up. Designing a flash website costs you money and consumes a lot of your time. This extra time is saved using web templates. But if you are really rigid on getting one, look for the template websites that offer flash website templates of good quality @ low-cost. Insert content and put 'em up.

Q.) I need to create a copyrighted website. Help!

A.) Almost all website template providers offer an option of copyrighted or non-copyrighted templates. The difference is that the copyrighted templates are sold only once. If you buy one, as the owner of the copyrighted template you will get all user rights over it.

In the case of a non-copyrighted website, the rights of usage are reserved with the template ownership company - which they use over and over again. So in a sense, a copyrighted website is unique as it uses unique copyrighted website templates.

Q.) All this is very theoretical...just tell me how do I find a quality template?

A.) There are little things to keep your eyes on.

Good quality web templates have the following:

- These web-templates are editable

- The web templates are 100% compatible with popular html and image editors

- The coding is uniform and friendly. This means that there is no change in the structure of the template on content or graphic inserts when you customize.

- The web template should be easy to upload on the web

- A webpage created by a web template should download in any browser minus hassles

NOTE: If you buy templates that don't meet the terms above, sorry but your deal was a bad one. The said web templates are of poor quality.

Website templates are easy and fun. They give you flexibility and help you host your website.

There are many good web template providers on the web. Some of the ones I have had memorable experiences are buytemplate.net, templatemonster.com, templaterover.com and trendytemplates.com. They provide high-quality web templates that are easy on purse and work beautifully.

The author, Sharon Anderson is a Content Developer at TemplateWorld.com [http://www.templateworld.com]

For further information visit TemplateWorld.Com [http://www.templateworld.com]

FarmVille Templates & 3d Guide

One & Only FarmVille Template & 3d Guide on the Internet! 75% Commision. Affiliate tools include a video and brandable mini guide for your audience. Visit http://www.fvtemplates.com/affiliate for more details

Check it out!