Choosing a Template

The first step in making a Web site through DM2 is picking a design template. There are several options to choose from. How should you choose?

I had fewer templates to choose from when I started building DM2 sites. The templates I used most often were “Daily News,” “Iced Lightening” and “Dotized.” For some sites, I knew which templates I would use before my copy was finished. For other sites, I needed to decide on graphics and art before I could visualize which template would look best.

Here are some reasons for why I used the templates listed above:

Daily News: This is a great template when you want your site to have a more refined, professional feel. The template’s unique menu tabs and simplistic color schemes make this desirable for sites pertaining to business, finances, disease awareness or other serious topics. Sites with this template are most visually pleasing when you have a dominant vertical photo to insert into the main text block.

Dotized: The Dotized template is great for building sites with strong vertical elements; this blog is built on a three-column Dotized layout. This template works best when you can slip an extremely vertical photo or graphic into one of the side columns. For example, this page about cell phones wouldn’t look as crisp and balanced without the photo of the woman on the right. I often just switch to another template (such as Iced Lightening) when I can’t find a vertical photo that fits neatly into that side column.

Iced Lightening: When I’m building sites with more casual themes – or when I can’t find strong vertical art – then the Iced Lightening template is always a dependable choice. This template includes more gradient coloring, reducing the need for multiple graphics or photos to make Web sites visually pleasing. The two-column Iced Lightening layout leaves more room for horizontal photos in the main copy block, which is something that can’t be pulled off as easily with Dotized or Daily News layouts.

Nowadays, DM2 users have several new templates to choose from: there’s Cloud Nine, Clear Blue, Click Portal, Convergence, Elementary, Warped Steel and Level 2. More templates are on the way, too.

In my experience, the Dotized and Daily News templates remain the best choices to use when building sites that contain strong vertical art. The Daily News template is still tops when aiming to build sites with a highly professional feel. Dotized is great when you want a clean, crisp site with minimal clutter. That said, many of the new templates combine the crisp feel of Dotized with the functional nature of Iced Lightening. Convergence and Cloud Nine work well when you have single, large horizontal pictures; just drop them in above your main copy blocks.

Don’t just take my word for it though. Make a few test sites and try out the templates for yourself. In time, you’ll develop your own reasoning and preferences just as I have.

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Choosing a Template

Here are some reasons for why I used the templates listed above: