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Joomla Templates - What Are Your Options?

Richard Pearce
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Over the next few weeks we'll be giving you some insights into how Joomla templates work and how to create your own template. If this seems too advanced, don't worry because these topics will only appear every second week.

So, what options are available?

Free templates

What’s great about free templates? Well, they’re free. They are also very abundant. You really do have quite a lot to choose from. If you don’t like a certain template after using it for a bit, ditching it doesn’t mean any loss in investment aside from time. Free templates also give you some good experience using different developers’ work. There are sometimes idiosyncrasies that you have to work around, and figuring this out without spending money is a good thing.

 

Free Joomla templateFree Joomla 1.7 template by Theme Republic

 

On the downside of free templates, you have the obvious quality issues. There are most definitely some very decent free templates out there that are even suitable for a small to medium production website; however, the majority of free templates are very basic or sometimes even buggy. Realize that developers often use free templates to draw in customers to their paid site or club subscriptions. This is fine, and it’s a great service if you’re able to use a decent template in exchange for a little marketing on the developer’s part. Just realize that most of their energy is probably spent making the commercial templates the best that they can be, not the free ones.

Some developers will require that you leave a link back to their website included somewhere on your site if you use their free templates. Find this out before you build your site, and make sure you’re OK with including this link.
Commercial templates
Just because a template costs money, doesn’t mean that it works and looks better or is more stable and safe. The main consideration here is definitely the developer, not how much or little the template costs. Do some research on the developer or company that you intend to purchase from.
Commercial Joomla templateCommercial template by RocketTheme
There is a wide variety in the look and feel of each template developer’s offerings, but another thing to consider is what different functionality they focus on in their templates. For instance, some developers spend a good amount of resources integrating eCommerce platforms like VirtueMart, while others are very good at media integration.
The other thing to consider is the framework each developer uses, if any. RocketTheme has developed Gantry and JoomlaBamboo uses Zen Grid. Warp, Morph and T3 are some of the others to check out. A template framework should make administering the site template easier without requiring a Ph.D. to learn. You can usually get a glimpse at them without having to purchase a template to do so.
Desktop software
If you are already developing your own websites, then some of your current tools may have Joomla integration that you may or may not be aware of. For instance, beginning with Dreamweaver CS5 (and 5.5) has some direct integration with CMS systems, including Joomla. So if you’ve been using this program for some time, you may be able to learn this method of creating or modifying Joomla templates relatively quickly, especially if you’re already familiar with connecting Dreamweaver to local and remote sites.
There are also other web development tools like Artisteer and Microsoft WebMatrix that are gaining popularity. It’s particularly interesting to see Microsoft getting involved in open source products.
Other options
You can always just design your own template too. If you have design skills, but lack the programming skills to complete the job on your own, there are loads of contractors out there these days that can code it for you at a reasonable rate.
If you already have HTML/CSS and some basic PHP skills, you can always learn how to create your own Joomla templates, especially if you have a good eye for design and know how to use web design tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. Starting with a framework can even accelerate the process for development if you have a good head start with the tech know how.
In two weeks, we will teach you the basic Joomla template structure. So if this last option sounds intriguing to you, you will want to stay tuned for sure. 
Don't miss next week when we start to explain how to profit as a Joomla developer. You won't want to miss this! 
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Comments

  • frith
    frith Thursday, 20 October 2011

    Hi Richard

    what do you think is the best option for template development;
    1. Dreamweaver
    2. buying a commercial template
    3. Artisteer
    4. Your preference
    Thx
    Frith

    Reply Cancel
  • Richard Pearce
    Richard Pearce Friday, 21 October 2011

    Depends on the project - depends on your budget - depends on your skills. Commercial templates are a good choice for beginners. Artisteer is arguably the next level up because you get more control. Dreamweaver is for Pros and for most people unnecessary.

    Reply Cancel
  • frith
    frith Saturday, 5 November 2011

    Thx for the advice.

    Reply Cancel
  • frith
    frith Saturday, 5 November 2011

    could you list some good developers for commercial joomla templates?

    Reply Cancel
  • Richard Pearce
    Richard Pearce Friday, 11 November 2011

    Have a look at the Joomla Resources Directory or see the report we provide in the Beyond the Basics course.

    Reply Cancel
  • Giovanni Yarabek
    Giovanni Yarabek Wednesday, 16 May 2012

    Any recommendation on zootemplate.com? I downloaded on, and was not able to upload it. any experience w/ this company? (I did a Simple Script install of Joomla 2.5.4, from my host, as they offer it - so I never actualy downloaded from joomla.org, then uploaded it to my host) maybe the reason for no luck w/ zootemplate. Would like you opinion on this company. (I really love one tempalte in particular)

    Reply Cancel
  • Richard Pearce
    Richard Pearce Wednesday, 16 May 2012

    There are dozens - probably hundreds of Joomla template suppliers and I am not familiar with all of them. I hadn't heard of zootemplate until you mentioned them. The designs look nice. You'd be best to ask them why it didn't work.

    Auto installers SHOULD work. But can you install other extensions? If not, you might need to enter the FTP settings within Global Configuration. If you can then get back to zootemplate.

    Reply Cancel

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