Hello Everybody,
Its been quite some time that I have been using the Free CSS templates available for my new websites. And have also noticed a lot of Premium templates available for sale.
I do understand that Premium templates definitely have an edge in terms of better looks as compared to the free one's but my point of confusion and discussion is whether they actually help the site in terms of SEO, Traffic and the overall site value.

In simple words, I want to know if anybody here has taken up a paid membership or something for such templates and have actually found that it is value for money.

Thanks in advance

It really just depends on the code itself and if it was written to be SEO friendly. Even if it was not, you should be able to change/add to the code to improve it. I have never used a template but I'm sure it can be rewritten to improve its worth. After all, the code is not set in stone.

I agree with the last message, I'm not sure that the price would really affect the code and how 'clean' it is. But there must be some way of editing it if you have the skills. I think that if you feel that it will really make a difference on the look and feel of the site then go for it!

You're probably just paying more for the design efforts and not the XHTML/CSS/SEO code.

You can have a £1000 template and a £10 template - a good coder would know how to make that £10 as optimised as that £1000 template.

Thanks for your suggestions/advice guys. I think its better to stick to a low budget and optimize the code. I have been doing this in the past and plan to do this more rigorously. I would also like to know if there are any free template sites you all visit continually apart from the popular one's.

Dealers are not in the business of giving driving lessons. However, you could ask that they deliver the car to your house.If you cannot drive a manual transmission very well, are you really sure you want to buy one. A manual transmission has to be something you love to drive and are already good at. Because otherwise you will hate it.

A unique design will prove much more successful. It will help you stand out from the crowd.

If these premium templates insure usability and accessibility at the same time then it's worth paying for.