In your guys mind, what do you think makes a template "good"?

Do you thnk that in order for a template to be considered good it should be a one of a kind?

What type of ad placement do you think is best for proxy sites specifically? (EX. Around the URL bar etc)

I am currently looking around and tweaking some of my own templates right now.

Simplicity, Functionality, Usability

Generally these 3 things I look for in a website. Also make sure the design is pleasing to the eye and not any "strong" colours. I would recommend using a colour chart or something to try and find the best colours that fit.

If you have a bad website design your customers will leave straight away and not come back. People like eye candy!

I would try and avoid ads of any kind if you are selling products on a website. It makes the user confused. You need a clear marketing concept and layout in order for someone to purchase products from your website.

Kind Regards

I think all templates are bad, just my opinion. I think there are only really two good choices when it comes to a website, build it yourself or hire a professional. Seriously, how long can a template stay "one of a kind"?

It depends on what kind of a template you are using. An open source template is usually rarely seen anywhere like its starting point because it can be thoroughly rearanged and abused before being put up. A template you can't change is often icky and shouldn't be used for a big business, but thats pretty obvious.

I agree it should be pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate, and work well with different browsers as well as SEO usage.

Clean and easy to navigate / find things.

i prefer CSS template, it's easy to work with and if a change is necessary it's done easy

design, usability, eye catching or not, browser compatibility

Color and style.
These days, fancy webistes use aqua style.

It really hard to say if a template is good or bad. They are neither in my book. They are usefull for people who want a good looking site but don't have time to do it from scratch. The thing is just to find a site where you can get good looking templetes.

Just how stylish and nice to the eye it is.

Thanks

Stylish and compatibility. =)

I think that a nice clean design sell sthe customer. I find there are too many companies with a ton of links, random images and text which overwelms or confuses customers. Keep it simple with a nice clean design easy for customers to navigate.

A good template has to be Simple,efficient and informative and not to mention it needs to look good as well.
generally Css templates are preferred now a days.

www.designerstalk.com can help you much with this.
However, I'd probably say
Color
CSS
NO FLASH - Mostl templates with flash look bad.