Hey!
I’ve been moving towards creating templates for the Wix Studio Template Marketplace and wanted to share some of my experience to inspire other creators.
I’d love to hear from others about how they’re creating templates - but in the meantime, here’s a few thoughts and reflections from questions I’ve been asked along the way.
How do I find inspiration?
I’m constantly checking out Dribbble, watching YouTube videos, and skimming through Wix blogs to stay on top of design trends. I like to pull ideas that resonate with my style and help me grow as a designer. It’s fun to blend elements I love into my designs in a way that fits where I want to improve.
Being out in the world helps, too; I recently went to a cool coffee spot to work and checked out their website, and it was surprisingly pretty good, which helped me be inspired going into the workday.
Do I have a specific target audience in mind when creating templates?
When I first started venturing out as a web designer at the beginning of the year, I worked with a few agencies that worked with various companies in different industries. I worked on creating white-label sites for agencies, so I used my older designs, gave them a facelift, and turned them into templates. My goal was to make small business sites look professional, like the more prominent companies out there. Now, I’m shifting gears to real estate. That’s how I began, and the templates I create will draw heavily from what’s happening in the real estate world. I’ll be building templates and app blocks that real estate professionals can use to really elevate their online presence and add value for their clients.
Where do I come up with ideas for templates?
My process is free-flowing. I’ll open Dribbble or scroll through screenshots of sites I’ve liked and dive right into the Wix Studio editor. I just play around until something clicks. Sometimes, I’ll pull inspiration from elements on various sites and give them my twist, or I might start from scratch and freestyle based on something that inspired me.
For example, I once encountered a site that used a cool 3D spin with a sticky element. I decided to incorporate the animation but completely freestyled the container layout. At first, I wasn’t sure what photo to use, so I played around with different options from the Wix gallery. I found a blue-toned image and adjusted the color to match the site’s theme, which inspired me to choose similar images for the other containers. It all came together from there.
Played around with the design of this container from scratch
Scroll and 3D Turn effect.
Every great site is supported with good media. Where do I find the images I use in my templates?
I typically use images from Wix or Upslash. When I need to get creative with the provided photos, I use built-in tools like the cutout feature or tweaking colors. Sometimes, a photo sparks the entire direction of a site. I’ll start with a basic design and add a picture, and suddenly, the site’s vibe shifts to match the energy of that image. It’s a fun part of the creative process.
What methods am I using to keep templates customizable and easy to use?
I keep things simple and easy to customize. I make sure everything is user-friendly, whether it’s fonts, colors, or images. I’ll often include multiple sections or elements so buyers can mix and match what works best for them. Plus, I use global sections, so they only need to update things in one place, saving time.
How does feedback influence template creation?
Feedback from agency projects is golden. Once, @dgreen , owner of the agency Digital by DG, pushed me to create a mega menu instead of the usual dropdown. I’d never made one before, but I took the challenge. I was working on a template called PulseFit at the time, and thanks to the feedback, I created a better menu experience. It’s still my favorite mega menu today!
How am I incorporating branding and consistency?
I pick up branding tips from all the high-end sites I visit—these companies have teams paid big bucks to establish their branding, so why not learn from the best? I also use ChatGPT to help me craft stories for the mock companies featured in the templates, ensuring a consistent and cohesive look throughout. I’m beginning to use tools like Relume to help me format the structure of sites to help me create faster.
I’d love to hear how other freelancers and agencies are tackling template creation. What’s keeping you from developing your own?