Choosing a website template usually starts with scrolling through dozens of good-looking designs and picking the one you like most. That is understandable, and it is also why so many small business sites end up as a nice design that does not quite fit the business.
A template maker on X put the right question simply: "Who is this actually solving a problem for?" This guide turns that into seven questions to ask before you choose a website template, plus a few practical checks that save hours later.
Start with the job, not the look
Before you look at any designs, write down in one sentence what the website needs to do. For example:
- "Get people to book a consultation"
- "Show my work so galleries and collectors get in touch"
- "Fill classes and sell memberships"
- "Get small hotels to book direct instead of through booking sites"
- "Show landowners and investors our record"
That sentence is your filter. A template that looks beautiful but is built for a different job will need much more work than a plainer one built for yours.
Templates built for a specific trade start with that job already worked out. The sections, the order and the type of content are already shaped around what your customers need to see.
Seven questions
1. Who is the visitor, and what are they trying to decide?
A patient choosing a clinic, a parent choosing a club, a board choosing an adviser. Each needs different information first. Pick a template whose first screen answers your visitor's main question.
2. What action should they take?
Book, buy, enquire, apply, join or call. Check that the template makes that action obvious and repeats it at sensible points down the page.
3. Which pages do you actually need?
List them before you look: home, services, prices, about, gallery, booking, contact, news. Then check the template has them, or something close. Adding pages is possible, but it is easier to start with the right structure.
4. What will you update often?
Prices, events, news, projects, menus, products, sessions. Anything you update regularly should run on the CMS, so it is a form to fill in rather than a page to redesign.
5. Will your content fit?
Templates are designed around demo content. If the demo has twelve projects with large photos and you have three projects with phone pictures, it will look different. If the demo has short punchy text and you need to explain a complex service, check there is room.
6. Can you edit it yourself?
Open the template and try changing a heading, an image and a colour. If it is built with native layers and named styles, edits are quick. If it relies on custom code, you may need help.
7. What will it cost in total?
The template price, the website builder plan, a domain, photos and your time. A free template on a paid builder plan is not free, and a paid template that fits your business can be cheaper overall than a free one you need to rebuild.
Check the demo on your phone
Most visitors will see your site on a phone first. Open the live preview on your phone and check:
- Is the main message readable without zooming?
- Is the menu easy to use?
- Are buttons large enough to tap?
- Do images and galleries work?
- Does the page load quickly?
One template creator on X described checking performance scores before every release. You can do a rough version yourself by opening the preview on your phone over mobile data and seeing how long it takes.
Look for setup guides and demo-safe forms
Two details save a lot of time:
- A setup guide inside the project, explaining what to change and in what order.
- Forms that ship demo-safe, meaning they do not send enquiries to the template maker by default, with clear instructions for pointing them at your own email.
Several getsites templates include a start-here or setup guide, and some state on their page that their forms ship in demo mode, with connecting the form as the first setup step. Whatever template you choose, send a test enquiry before you publish.
Count the pages you will actually use
A template with 20 pages is not better than one with 6 if you only need 6. Extra pages mean more to replace, more to delete and more to keep up to date. Look for the template whose pages match your list most closely.
Equally, a one-page template can be the right choice for a simple business, as long as everything a visitor needs fits on it.
Think a year ahead as well. If you plan to add a journal, a second location or online booking, check that the template can grow in that direction without a rebuild. A CMS collection that is empty today may be exactly what you need next spring.
Try the three-question matcher
If you are still unsure, the getsites homepage has a "Find your template" matcher that asks three quick questions:
1. What are you building? A portfolio, a stay, club or restaurant site, a business or finance site, a site that books clients, or a creator page that sells.
2. How should it feel? Warm and personal, quiet and luxurious, editorial and precise, dark and cinematic, or playful and surprising.
3. What matters most? Photos doing the talking, enquiries and bookings coming in, looking established, publishing events or journal posts, or standing out completely.
It then suggests a template and tells you why. You can try it on the getsites homepage, or browse all templates by purpose.
Once you have chosen, read what is a Framer template? and how to edit a Framer template to get started.
The right template is not the one you like most at first sight. It is the one that already does your website's job, with pages you will use and content you can keep up to date.