Adam-

Thanks for your comment. I agree with you.

Karen-

I think I understand what you're asking, so let me know if this doesn't answer your questions...

When small business owners come to webprodigy.com and request a template site, we start with a professionally-designed template, then change color schemes and images and add their copy. In the end, the site often looks very different than the original template. At webprodigy.com, we think of the template as more of a wireframe.

Our template files become independant files that are transferable to any hosting company and owned by the client. (However, we do also host sites for our clients if they so choose.)

Yes, you are right, a "template site" is a general term and could mean a site was developed using one of the "online wizards" which requires a monthly subscription through an online hosting company and is not transferable, or by taking a template file from a company like templatedemo.com and saving it as your own and adapting it as needed.

The template term is confusing. Thanks for asking for clarification!

Thanks to all the people who have posted a comment about my article.

To answer Karen Richards' question, we direct people to the following website to view templates: http://www.templatedemo.com/

I also want to point out something that Karen's therapist friends should know. Sometimes a couple of hours of consulting time comes out to be nearly the same immediate out-of-pocket cost as hiring a developer to create a template site!

With Webprodigy.com, the set-up fee for development of a template site is only $250, (which includes up to 5 pages and 16 images), whereas two hours of consulting time is $200. (I also want to be clear that Webprodigy.com also charges $45/month for 24 months which includes hosting and an interest-free payment that goes towards the development of the site).

My point is though, that if you factor in consulting time and your own time, sometimes it's not that much more to hire someone to create a template site for you!