As a web designer, I'm interested in a new trend that could put me and other people like me out of business. Web Design Templates are the "threat" in this case. In short, they are ready-made products for web design that can be used as a starting point for a fast, high-quality website. You usually get a Photoshop file (.psd), a Flash file (.fla), HTML files with your tables and initial scripting already done, fonts, sounds, and anything else that may be part of the website design. A few years ago, these templates were not a big deal in the design world. Most of them were not very good, and there weren't very many of them. Now, some of the "big players" like BG Website Templates are offering amazing designs that include 3D animated Flash, multimedia, and dynamic programming for the same price as a nice dinner out. Many of these templates are just as good as the work of the best custom designers.
So how can we (the humble designer) stay alive?
"Aim high" is the first thing I'd say. That means you should start looking for "high-end" clients. Most businesses, no matter how big or small, won't want a website design that could be on dozens of other sites around the world. Even though these templates look great, they are still just that: templates. For them to work at their best, they still need the knowledge and skills of a professional. So, think about letting clients who want a low-cost solution know that you can customize things. You can still make a good amount of money from the website, and it will go much faster. Another benefit of this method is that the client already has a design in mind, so there is no need to go "back and forth" with the design.
Lastly, you could choose to sell templates right on your own website. You may feel like you're cutting off your own hands, but as we've already said, clients who want to use a template probably didn't want to pay for your custom work anyway. Once you've saved them money on design work by selling them a template, you have a much better chance of upselling them with extras like chat rooms, help desks, and newsletters. In the end, you might come out on top. We don't know if this competition will hurt or help our careers as designers, but in the meantime, it doesn't hurt to at least learn about web templates. The key to success is to know who you are up against.
