Website templates are terrific when it comes to the time, effort and money involved in creating a new layout for a web site. Many times the web template that you choose may not turn out to be exactly what you had pictured in your mind's eye. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes.

The first obvious mistake you should be aware of is using a template that is very popular. If many people use the same template, your website will not appear unique at all and your credibility as a solid, different website will be tarnished. In other words, you will appear generic just like your next-door neighbors.

The whole point of using a web template is to save time and effort. You simply change the title and appropriate details and you're pretty much done. The biggest mistake one makes is to customize the template beyond recognition. While that may be good in the sense that you're creating a unique graphic, you're defying the very purpose of using a web template -- saving time and effort.

However, on the opposite side, if a template you purchase is suitable but some changes must be made to suit your site's theme, then you will have to take some time to make those important changes. For example, you can find a very nice template that suits your hobby site perfectly, except the original template designer has put an image of stamps in the header. You can easily find images of garden plants and spades to replace the stamps for your gardening hobby site. However, do only make the necessary changes and don't end up redesigning the whole template.

In some circumstances, some people simply make the wrong choice of templates. Simple as that. This is a very subjective issue but you have to be careful in selecting templates to suit your audience. Do not choose templates just because they are pretty, choose them because they serve your purpose.