HostReview.com Web Hosting Interviews

An Interview with
David Braun, CEO Templatemonster.com
Part 3

By Milena Sotirova
Editor DevStart, Inc.

February 08, 2005

8. What are the three core requirements for a good design?
1. Usability.
2. Creativity.
3. Style integrity for all elements.

9. If you can travel with a time machine, what will be the most curious impressions and ideas you will be concentrated on, regarding the site design development?

I would have taken a couple of DVDs with our current products and traveled about 10 years into the past. I think today I would be more famous than Bill Gates. :-)

10. Tell me more about the lessons learned through the last year. What are the things you wish you could undo and is there any opportunity you has missed looking back in 2004?

This was perhaps the most difficult year for us, because of the hacker attacks, about which I have already spoken. The most expensive lesson of 2004 - if they are trying to destroy you - you should fight. Fight with everything at your disposal. Fight while you have at least a drop of life left. And then you are sure to win. As regards things you wish you could undo - perhaps we did everything well. And I don't regret anything.

11. How do you receive a feedback from your customers and users and how do you implement results from the marketing researches?

First, we have 24/7 online chat and people practically always tell us what they think and what they want.
Second, we constantly analyze incoming correspondence, and summarize as well as systemize repetitive offers and inquiries.
Third, we constantly conduct research regarding long term customers as well as first time customers and on the basis of their answers develop a plan to improve our site and products.
And finally, we have a Customers Complaint form - we pay special attention to this.
In every case, an in-depth investigation is conducted and the guilty are cruelly punished.

12. Where do you see the alternatives of the template industry? Offering beautiful and unique templates for users website is a service with growing popularity, how do you see the trends in developing of this industry niche?

The alternative for the template industry is custom design. Many people prefer to pay hundreds even thousands to be unique. This is their right. Everyone makes his own choice. However the are many amateurs on the market, people who offer relatively inexpensive services in the area of custom design, and in this bargain the person who places the order receives something that he absolutely does not want. My advice in such cases: if you have enough money to order a custom design from a professional studio (in the USA this costs about $2,500-$5,000), it is far better to buy a template, begin to work, and spend the money you saved on advertising, to attract new clients.  Only after the clients you have attracted bring you profits can you afford to order a professional design. As to development of the templates industry itself, the options are simple. If earlier everyone offered 1-2 page templates, then today this is 5-6 pages, with Flash enhancements, besides which we give full packages in which there are banners and corporate identity, relatively stylish templates. I think that the tendency in 2005 will be to express oneself as striving to keep pace with the modern and new wave CSS design, Dynamic Flash templates, etc. 

13. Where do you see Internet in 10 years? Can you describe for PromotionWorld.com readers your vision about the new internet technologies?

Gosh, even to imagine it is difficult. Judging from the development of the Internet for the past 5 years, it is terrible to imagine what will become of it in the next 10. But I will try.

1. The growth of the capacity of Internet channels on the user end enables expansion of bandwidth-consuming technologies. I think streaming video will find wide acceptance and in general video animation.  This will give once again a push for the development of 3D technology.
2. The mobile Internet is beginning to grow very well. The result of which will be the demand to create WAP versions of websites. Certainly, studios specializing in WAP design will appear.
3. I suppose that society will at last adopt unified internet legislation, regulating the questions of rights in the Internet.
4. We will see the toughening of punishment for internet crimes (spam, scam. phishing). The Internet is becoming less anonymous. 
5. Practically any information can be found without leaving home. Recall the Google project is currently scanning the world's greatest libraries.
6. At TemplateMonster more than 50,000 designs will be available. 

14. What is your biggest achievement through 2004? What do you expect in 2005 to be expanded in your structure?

The more or less important achievement was that we stopped being simply an Online Shop and became something more akin to a contributor to the industry. We constantly participate in educational programs. We sponsor different educational institutions, and at last, we released our own educational project:
Web Design Library - webdesign.templatemonster.com.
I think that we will continue to develop this project in 2005, and by the end of the year, we are planning to transform this project the most successful informational resource devoted to (web) redesign in the world.

15. What is the question you would like to answer and still nobody asked you?

It seems that I have already said all that I wanted to say. I want to wish all your readers success and prosperity in this year, and likewise aggressiveness, meaning this of course only in the good sense of the word. I have my own motto, which I use as a signature or calling card in forums - Be the best - or have a rest. I guess this is correct. I hope you each find your own niche in which you will become the very best.

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