David Braun

4. Where do you see the challenges for the expansion of Templatemonster products and services?

The next logical step is horizontal widening and the integration with related industries. Currently, we are working with hosting service providers and domain registrars. Website templates have become as necessary a product for webmasters as domain names and hosting services are. Besides which we are planning to actively integrate with different producers of Web-applications (CMS, shopping cart, etc.).

Working in the area of integration with products of different companies, we always have a common goal - to maximize profits received from every client and likewise to provide more complex gratification for customer's requests and accordance with affordable turnkey solutions for everyone.

5. If you have to back at the beginning, what was the main goal Templatemonster was designed to accomplish and where is the company now in this frame?  

Well, those times we just had a goal to serve those 3,000 customers from whom we got low budget requests. Now we are far beyond this goal, having developed more global goals, and founding from these goals accordance of high tech, easy to use, affordable web design solutions for everyone who wants to enter the alluring and seemingly boundless universe of the World Wide Web.

6. How was your site design developed? You provide a rich spectrum of design products, what was the main requirement when you decided on your design view?
 
In less than three years the work of our designers changed three times. I will give you a screenshot representative of each of these changes so you can better imagine how we have developed during this time. I took the screenshots from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

1. http://web.archive.org/web/20020802162816/http://www.templatemonster.com/ - the very first design, which we sold for a short time, which will nonetheless remain dear to my heart.

When we became crowded in this design, we moved to a somewhat different conception.

2. http://web.archive.org/web/20030130204751/http://www.templatemonster.com/ - This design differs in that it offers well-planned navigation and more flexibility to add new products.

3. Finally, the most recent design can be seen here www.templatemonster.com. Many clients tell us that in placing this design we lost our face and became less memorable, transforming into one of the many identical businesses in Yahoo. However, I believe that in the first place it is necessary to consider the comfort of our customers; after all, they once they have come into our shop, it is necessary to do everything in our power to ensure that their visit is comfortable. As well, putting customers at ease is necessary in order to win their hearts with all the extraordinary and crazy ideas that we put in our templates.

7. How do you see the role of the design in site popularity and success? What should a company look for when choosing a design?

Design is an integral part of any company's image. If in offline business the role of design can be considerably low, then online business design must be given much greater attention. After all, it is the only face of the company, and most web businesses frequently do not even have offline offices and are home based. A good design can frequently help increase your sales several times, just as a bad design is capable of decreasing your sales several times.

Above all, when choosing a design for your own company site, you should think about the site as an instrument for the realization of your goals. A site can be built for one purpose alone - like a business card, where information about the company's services will be placed. For others the site can be designed like a reception area where information about support for existing clients and order forms for services for new clients. A third type of site can be a fully functioning instrument for the conduct of business - everything from advertisement to processing online orders, delivering services and after sales support.