Responsive HTML templates that don't all look the same

September 5, 2014 8:52 AM

I'm looking for a responsive HTML template for a small business. It should include the usual pages "about", "services", "portfolio", "contact" etc...

However, when I look at what is available, they all look essentially the same, but just with different typefaces, colour schemes and imagery. For example I have seen some variation of this repeated very often:
http://startbootstrap.com/templates/agency/

I do tend to like the clean minimalist design of many of these templates, but maybe it is the one page scrolling thing I am starting to find trite.

Can you point me in the direction of good quality templates that have a distinctive look, or at least that have designs that are not overused? Would prefer free but would pay for the right one (up to $20 say - I know I'm cheap...)

Bonus question: do I even want a responsive HTML template? It seems to be the way to go for device compatibility but maybe there is a better way?

Thanks.

posted by piyushnz to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

If you're comfortable with WordPress, many (I think most/all, but I'll stick with "many" to be sure) of their modern templates are responsive, and give you the standard Wordpressy freedom to give a distinctive look...
posted by COBRA! at 8:56 AM on September 5, 2014

I think Squarespace is pretty much all responsive these days too.
posted by COD at 9:04 AM on September 5, 2014

Yeah, it would be helpful to know what system you're using (Wordpress, Drupal, etc.), but there are tons of Wordpress templates that are responsive. For example, here's Edin, which is minimalist, free, and I use for a blog.

And, yes, you DO want a responsive template.
posted by General Malaise at 9:06 AM on September 5, 2014

Response by poster: I thought I should mention, I will be putting in a python backend (probably django or flask) so would prefer something that is straight html/css
posted by piyushnz at 9:06 AM on September 5, 2014

http://themeforest.net/
posted by humboldt32 at 9:41 AM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

How pretty do you expect things to be? How much included imagery? Foundation (a responsive CSS framework like Bootstrap) has some simple basic templates to work off of here:

http://foundation.zurb.com/templates.html

I like putting Foundation on top of Django sites. When you use the SASS version, it works out very well because you can change the colors and recompile all the CSS.
posted by foxfirefey at 11:59 AM on September 5, 2014

Originality can be bad, very bad. When you get to a web page, you don't want spend 15 minutes figuring how it works. Your content should give the page its flavor, not the layout.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:24 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your answers. I will spend some more time on themeforest and check out zurb. SemiSalt, your point is well taken, although I don't always find responsive sites that intuitive to navigate (maybe it's just me!!!).
posted by piyushnz at 8:10 PM on September 8, 2014