Considering that most small business websites are not particularly complex there are reasons that webpage templates are the easiest and least expensive solution to website design.

If a business does not have national or international scope the SEO becomes less relevant. So you don’t need major emphasis on keywords, tags, html, and links. Which means you would do much better coupling your webpresence with telephone directory and signage than SEO expertise.

If a business has more static content than constantly changing services, merchandise, or information then content management doesn’t need a webmaster. Content Managment Systems can be handled by the small business personnel or owner. CMS systems can be found in webpage templates or such platforms as WordPress Themes on the free host at WordPress.

Many businesses don’t want to pay a designer to compose an original webpage. This might be especially true if the business would benefit from Flash elements, good art and photowork, fonts and logos, possibly a great soundtrack and motion - which can be prohibitively expensive, and usually needs continued management by a webmaster. In this case a business can choose from hundreds of already designed webpage templates that may need only a few alterations if at all.

Also, considering many designers of original pages charge dearly for their services, it is probably a better idea to use a template. Most designers adopt a look or style of layout and specialization from which they have essentially made their own templates, which are then individualized to a particular customer’s wishes.

So, for the local and regional business that can manage their own content and make their own periodic changes by CMS - a template is usually the best answer. Especially if they can find a template that looks and sounds great. This means the owner only needs to replace the photos and texts examples in the template.

Touched by a Template,
Arthur Browning