Member Avatar for Master Rattley

Setting up a website, what would be the best program for a Template? the widest source of different Templates, i no that Dreamweaver has a few options... any others??

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Picking a "best program" for templates really comes down to scope: is the template a visual skin, a site boilerplate you can drop content into, or something you need to hand-edit for full control? asked for wide choices and the thread touched on theme-based vs build-from-scratch approaches (see and ). Below are practical, evergreen criteria and a short vet/test workflow to apply to any template source.

Look for these quality signals before committing: responsive, mobile-first layout (test with real content); clean, semantic HTML and CSS (run the W3C validator: https://validator.w3.org/); basic accessibility support (start with WAI guidance: https://www.w3.org/WAI/); small, modular asset footprint (fewer heavy libraries is better); clear documentation, recent updates, and an explicit license that fits your use. Also prefer demos that use realistic content, not just placeholders.

A short vet-and-adopt workflow: install the template in a staging area and swap demo text for your actual content to reveal layout issues; run a performance audit with Lighthouse (https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse); inspect source for minified/obfuscated scripts; remove unused CSS/JS and optimize images; test across browsers and devices. Apply custom styling via an override or "child" approach so updates don’t erase your changes, and keep everything under version control.

Trust and maintenance matter: pick templates or vendors with a clear update history and support channel. Free options can be useful but require extra vetting. As observed, these tools lower barriers for DIYers but do not remove the need for design work when branding, accessibility, or performance are priorities. If starting from a generic base, choose a well-documented responsive grid or starter kit (for example, a modern grid system like Bootstrap: https://getbootstrap.com/) and validate everything before launch.

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Member Avatar for gunnarflax

What you should do is use templates for Content Management Systems and not just from a program like DW. Try integrating a CMS like Joomla! or WordPress on your server and then download a template for that particular CMS. That is my advice :)

Member Avatar for gunnarflax

If your problem has been solved, please also mark the thread as solved :)

Member Avatar for jerinjames

What kind of template did you mean? Do you mean a design template which you can refer? Or something like Wordpress which has a CMS that you can easily apply to any template design?

Member Avatar for gunnarflax

To me it seems that your questions are the same :) I mean't that working with a CMS is much easier than what DW has to offer. Especially since you can create a whole other site by just applying a different theme. While DW's templates are a whole lot harder to make dynamical.

Member Avatar for teedoff

The thing is, the more these "simple" programs like wordpress and such are used...the less work we web designers will have...lol Besides, using DW isnt hard....is learning all the languages and scripts. DW is just a tool for writing and organizing them all. Just a thought.

Member Avatar for gunnarflax

Well, actually they would produce more job for web designers since the programs make the coding for you, not the design :)

Member Avatar for teedoff

lol true, but it also allows for novice do it your-selfers to create their own websites using premade templates. It's a catch 22 situation. Much like how prefab houses and buildings have hurt the contruction industry. Poor analogy I know, but it was the best I could think of..lol

Member Avatar for gunnarflax

The question is how much the "novice do it your-selfers" are willing to learn just to get a website running. I think that they rather hire a designer/coder to do the work for them - if it is a professional site they are creating, maybe not for a personal site though :P

Member Avatar for ﻼim

and there are lots of free good web template designs in the internet.
it's easier to edit one of those. :D

or if you really want to start from scratch, photoshop combined with dreamweaver would be very helpful.

Edited by ﻼim because: additional
Member Avatar for Master Rattley

Thanks everyone, all info shall come in handy. :)

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