As you already know, a Joomla! template is the front end power of a Joomla website. All the CSS, styles, images, scripts, and layout positions are determined by the active Joomla template.
When designing a Joomla! web site, some of the first decisions you'll have to make are:
- Should I consider the investment of joining a Joomla template club?
- Should I consider purchasing an individual Joomla template?
- Should I just try one of the available free Joomla templates?
- Should I attempt to create my own Joomla templates from scratch?
- Where can I find some honest Joomla template resources?
Free Joomla Templates
Free Joomla templates are sometimes (not always) just a crappy excuse for link bait. If you're looking for a quick and dirty landing page template and don't have plans of integrating many third party extensions, then you may find exactly what you need in the "Free Joomla Templates" search results. You may however, find a free Joomla template to be a good starting point for a custom template project.
The Pros
- Free - You can't beat free
- Custom Friendly - Sometimes a good starting point wireframe for custom projects.
The Cons
- Non-Unique - Sooner or later you'll come across other sites that look just like yours.
- Not Well Supported - Sad but true, free Joomla templates are usually marketing pieces or just plain link bait, so they and are not always very well supported.
- Security Hazard - The way these things fly around, it's always smart to check the code for malicious includes.
Joomla Template Clubs
The Joomla template clubs that remain active are a bargain. For as little as $50 you can get access to dozens of templates. There are pros and cons to the club approach as well.
The Pros
- Affordable - Ranging from 3 months to 1 year or as little as $50
- Supported - Issues are resolved quicker due to larger community support base
- More Stable - Club templates are usually hardened against third party code errors and common conflicts.
- Variety - With club access you can try as you go with different templates. Sometimes your first choice may not be your best bet, so you're less likely to end up throwing money away.
The Cons
- Non-Unique - Sooner or later you'll come across other sites that look just like yours.
- Difficult to Customize - In some cases you'll spend a bit more time trying to sort through the bloat just to make a simple change.
- Branding Restrictions - Most template clubs require you to pay extra to remove their branding/copyright.
Individual Joomla Templates
Some Joomla template vendors offer single template purchases (a la carte). This is good if you find a template that is absolutely perfect for you, or if you're just wanting to do something simple and need a quickfix.
The Pros
- Even More Affordable - You can get a single template for as little as $20
- Somewhat Supported - Vendor support varies but some form of human contact is usually available
- Stability - A good balance of quality and price. Perform fairly well in general.
The Cons
- Non-Unique - Sooner or later you'll come across other sites that look just like yours.
- Branding Restrictions - Some template clubs require you to pay extra to remove their branding/copyright.
Joomla Template Resources
- Joomla Template Information Project
- If you're looking to build your own Joomla templates or just want to dig deeper into the subject, this is a good place to start.
- Joomla Template Builder
- The Joomla Template Builder is a very powerful tool for beginners and creatives to build their own Joomla templates.
- Joomla Template Providers on the Joomla Resources Directory (JRD)
- The Joomla Resources Directory (JRD) is a good place to find certified information about legitimate business people in the Joomla template arena.
- Best of Joomla (BOJ)
- BOJ is a great site for template ratings and reviews.
- CMS Lounge
- CMS Lounge has some very nice minimalistic and simple template styles for Joomla!
- Gavick Pro
- Gavick has some very clean and well presented templates for portals and corporate media styles.
- Joomlart Template Club
- Joomlart has been around for a long time and have some very nice looking corporate/blog templates for Joomla as well as Magento themes.
- RocketTheme Template Club
- RocketTheme has been around for a very long time as well. They have some beautiful corporate, gaming, and portal designs.
- YooTheme Template Club
- YooTheme has some beautiful corporate, blogging, and portal designs as well as a nice expandable template framework (zoo).