When designing a website, is it better to start from scratch or modify an existing template?

A serious online marketer will never compromise on design.
The web page is one of the most important elements of the conversion ecosystem and compromising by using a template is really planning to loose out.
Always carefully craft a web page from the scratch, keeping in mind the user conversion funnel.
Its very unlikely you would find a template that can solve the purpose

Let me guess is ther anyone who still design with the scratch method, to be honest in this era of boosting technology and high class innovative implementations the word "SCRATCH" has lost its mark.
Its the age of IDE's and Frameworks that does everything almost everything for you except reading your mind when it comes to creativity, you know what I mean.
Even an existing template can be made authentic and awesome if you got that factor in you.
Lets not waste time, let us give time a lead to chill ;)

Lots of factors to consider.
Using a template is practical, cheap, and fast.
Not all templates are horrible and if you want basic functionality, such as running a company blog, then a template is not a bad way to go.
Starting from scratch will require that you hire someone to design and code.
It will be a lengthier process and cost you more money.
However, it will also allow you to design it exactly how you want it.
You can have added functionality.
It will also give it a more unique look.
In the end it all depends on your companies size and available resources.
For some people it is more convenient to run a template.
For bigger companies it is better to have a unique layout.

well, it's kind of hard to choose because both choices have their pron & cons; To consider a modification of a template saves time, effort, and any unplanned mishapps; as you already depend on almost a perfected template.
However the cons of this is the corporate identity thing; in other words, there's nothing to set you/your company apart from the rest who adopted the exact same template & modified it..

It is a great idea to get ideas from existing templates, but if you decide to modify an existing template, you will end up "wearing" the same with the rest of the world! Design the template that meets your needs and sends to your target markets the right message! Give the right impression through your website and the results will be rewarding!

Hello George Durzi, I agree that lot of Companies face those issues which you have mentioned above.
In my opinion, I would prefer to Schedule a Meeting with Management Team or the Concerned Person from the Management Team to discuss about this Issue.

As far as I am very passionate in Web Development & Product Development, this question has raised a lot interest in myself to respond to this question.
Well According to me both options should be best as far as any company goes for their web Development but the thing that always needs to focus is that, Web Design should be Professional look, User Friendly Website, Utilization of JQuery Slider can be a good option, but Breadcrumb link navigation should be the most essential phase specially if you have E commerce Website.
Have a Nice Day.
Syed Waqas Saghir Internet Marketing Expert, SEO Consultant, Social Media Evangelist.
http://www.facebook.com/syedwaqassaghir http://www.cointelligence.co

Ready made Templates are never a good idea to be used and edited for an medium and large businesses, templates are best suited for small or start up businesses.
Large and expanding businesses should not limit themselves to a thinking of some designer who created a random template, good Creative Director, Art Directors and Design Managers don't make these mistakes...
Following are some of the problems they will face in future.
1) Ready made template can not fulfill the need of customized business venture, adding or subtracting visual elements from an existing template will also destroy the look and feel of the selected template.
2) Branding will be hurt, anyone who knows the difference between a corporate ID and Branding of a company will not be pleased with any amount of editing, colors can be changed, look and feel can be changed but the X factor will be missed.
3) Designers will have to work more as they are working on a plan which never existed for them, it was a plan of a template maker to have certain elements where they are...
and as any designer will tell you, editing an existing work takes more than presenting new ideas which are flexible to future and current requirements.
4) All the hard work of Higher management in creating policies and vision and mission comes to an end as they are not being followed by a customized solution...
I know...kinda complex to understand this one...but trust me...
Only advantage I see in using a template is for an Idea sake, narrow down to the final structure, or for a small business who wants to try the online thingy :)

If your existing web site is made from a Wordpress template, changing it's design to a more modern template design (or theme) is not that difficult to do. Experience has taught me that doing this is not as simple as uploading the new template theme and selecting it as your web sites new design! I have found that formatting errors occur, which can usually be fixed using the web sites Content Management System.

Serious consideration should be made to ensuring your new web site is responsive - as Google now has a separate index for responsive web sites (web sites that automatically reformat their content to fit the screen of the viewing device - pc, tablet or smartphone).

 

Examples of responsive web sites created by my company - 

http://joemurrayaccounting.co.uk/

http://commercialphotographylondon.co.uk/

(delivering first page search results against thousands of similar web sites in London, UK)

 

peace,

Stephen Bradley

creative director

www.veetoo.com

USING a template is far far different from COPYING it and that says it all. You are free to create a design as long as you will be On-time. On the other hand, why would you spend your time when all those thousands of templates are available online for download and use. At the end of the day, it is you the designer who has to present your ideas for the client. :P

When you are redesigning a web page, you have to look into the current website for a reference of their existing layout and after that you must collect the brief from the client for their expectations, their business type, The targeted market, Their suggestions, type of management and most of all the type/classification of their product or services..