BUILD / SHAPE / CONNECT
Template-Based Websites
Adapt a template to the content, not the other way around.
Review a template using real headings, images, navigation labels and representative page lengths. A visual demo may conceal constraints that matter to the actual site.
ORIGINAL EXPLANATORY CONCEPT / NO CLIENT RESULTS
CONTENT / EXPERIENCE
Context
Context
Experience
Ownership
Template-Based Websites — the relationships to plan.
01 / THE IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS
Start with the decisions that shape the experience.
Use context, experience and ownership as a starting point for a focused discussion.
01
Context
Start with the pages, people and systems involved. Identify the primary visitor task before choosing features.
02
Experience
Review the content hierarchy, interaction states and responsive layout together. Resolve unclear journeys before development.
03
Ownership
Evaluate a template using your own headings, images and navigation. Check accessibility, responsive behaviour and editing constraints before choosing it for visual appearance alone.
THE APPROACH / FOUR USEFUL STAGES
A process built around a useful decision.
01
Define the customer task
Start with the pages, people and systems involved. Identify the primary visitor task before choosing features.
02
Shape the content and interface
Review the content hierarchy, interaction states and responsive layout together. Resolve unclear journeys before development.
03
Build and connect the platform
Implement the agreed content model and connections in the selected platform. Keep ownership and third-party costs visible.
04
Test, document and hand over
Check real tasks on representative devices. Document editing, access, backups and the responsibilities after launch.
A LITTLE CLARITY BEFORE THE NEXT STEP
Questions worth asking.
What should I bring to a template-based websites discussion?
Review a template using real headings, images, navigation labels and representative page lengths. A visual demo may conceal constraints that matter to the actual site. Bring the existing website or a representative example, explain the customer task and identify the constraints or decisions that are still open.
How do we review context?
Use a representative scenario and agree what a useful outcome would look like before changing the wider experience. For Template-Based Websites, the discussion should connect context with experience and the people who will maintain the result.
What happens after the initial discussion?
The next step is to agree whether a scoped review or project is appropriate. Deliverables, access, dependencies, costs and timing need to be confirmed for that engagement. A conceptual illustration on this page does not represent a completed client project or promise a result.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
Make the next decision about template-based websites a clearer one.
Tell us what you want to improve, the content and systems involved, and what a useful next step would look like. We can use that context to discuss a suitable scope.