OK, I have recently purchased HostAffect.com and it definitely needs a new site. It is geared towards the low-end market, mostly teens, etc. I would thus imagine the site should be smewhat flashy and was looking for a template, but I can't find any that I would actually be willing to use. They all either have:
Terrible spelling and grammar in images/flash
Horrible use of color
Incredibly cluttered layout
Images of desktop systems and LCDs all over
Images that are completely random
Flash animations that are completely random

Is there anyplace I can find a design like I'm looking for without needing to spend $1k+ on getting a custom design? Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should be looking for in a design for the low-end/teen hosting market? I'm used to marketing to the mid-high level clients, not these lower end clients, so I can use all the tips I can get...

The templates I found at those sites like templatesmonster, templatesbox etc actually look very neat and professional. Just that if too many ppl using the same templates, it would look nice for the hosting co. Maybe you should get a template provider that set a limit on how many times they sell their templates.

I don't mind if other sites used the templates if the templates were any good. The designs are either overly simplified or have one of the issues I mentioned above. Could someone please point me to a template that will appeal to the target audience, but doesn't completely kill my aesthetic ideals?

I suggest you look in the Template Offers Section in here. I see some good designs in here and sometimes unique at a good price. You just need to wait for the right design to come and be the first to grab ;)

Originally posted by DediPlace
I suggest you look in the Template Offers Section in here. I see some good designs in here and sometimes unique at a good price. You just need to wait for the right design to come and be the first to grab ;)

That is basically what the plan is, just request a logo and design in the offers section of the forum. I had good luck there for the Steadfast Networks logo.

Templates are good as long as you can edit them propaly!

Originally posted by chambersinternet
Templates are good as long as you can edit them propaly!

So you're supposed to redo the whole thing? :-)

I can't help but cringe every time I see a flash header on a web site. Finding a solid template that meets the expectations of our intended market while not making my head explode should be interesting. :)

Of course you are not supposed edit it all but make sure that they are easy to edit so you can add text and other bits!

I agree with you Kevin - i hate the flash ones!

http://www.4templates.com/
http://www.templatemonster.com/

Both have some decent templates, however also do have a lot of rubbish - And it takes ages to sift through all the rubbish to find a half-decent looking one.

It may also be a good idea to have one made - The thing is, there is a lot out there, and it'll take ages to go through everything, and in the end what you find may not be exactly what you want.

http://www.pixelaxis.com/ - I've not used them, however I'm sure if you were to contact them, they could work something out with you.

Hire someone at GetAFreeLancer.com maybe?

Templates are not suck but they could make a site looks suck if too many sites are using the same template. I'm not a big fan of templates. A site with a unique design will make it looks a lot better.

Karl, look here. An 'true life' example of template polishing.

An original: http://www.templatemonster.com/website-templates/3343.html

A polished one: http://www.serveriai.lt (sorry for non-English one).

Good luck!

Try going to www.designoutpost.com. You can post contests there and for about $300ish, you can get a GREAT looking website!

If you have any questions, Palmer is always there to help. His e-mail is palmer@designoutpost.com. Browse around and see what DO is capable of.

(I have no affiliation with DO. Just a happy customer.)

http://www.designmyhost.com/ (formerly hostskin.com)

They have some nice designs. About $300 for the average template.

My best advice? Hire 4design.tv. 'Nat has done some awesome work in the past and her designs usually won't run more than ~$400. Eventually once you grow your market share you're going to want a new design anyway, so why throw away that $90 or whatever it costs for a template and possibly drive away customers? I find ANY template to look unprofessional and they're usually easy to spot right away.

It's not that I feel $400-$2k or so is too much to pay for a design, I just feel that money would be wasted on this market. I'm getting a logo done here in a WHT contest, we'll see how that turns out and see if we can develop a design off that.

I looked around a lot of those template sites etc, seeing if something caught my fancy. Nothing did. I'm more of a plain text site kinda guy. The power is in the ad_copy/brand etc, and I don't go for all the eye candy. The more white on the page, the better, in my books. :D