If you’ve bought a Showit template, or really any website template, chances are, a competitor bought it too. 

Now, don’t misunderstand.

Templates are great.

As a Website Designer, I’m all for both templates and custom design. It really just depends on where you’re at in your business journey and what your business is (more on that in a later blog).

That being said, if you did go the template route, out of all the pros of templates: professionalism, time saved, guaranteed functionality…

One major con is: you might end up looking like everybody else.

And if you know me, you know I stand up for originality. 

Brands that differentiate are memorable in customer’s minds.

So, you bought the template, you don’t wanna blend in with everyone else, what do you do?

Well, even with tiny tweaks, no code, no heavy-lifting, you can totally make that Showit template look a lot more custom.

*Although this blog is going to be specific to Showit, many website builders offer the customizations I am about to describe below, so feel free to apply it to your site if applicable.

Now, before I get into the custom-feel website tips even a beginner can follow… I do want to say there are a few things you should do to prep before customizing. 

The big overarching advice is:

KNOW YOUR BRAND

You can’t customize a template without knowing the look you’re going for. If you’re totally new to this and don’t have branding experience or a brand look yet, keep it simple.

Decide on: 

• A Color Palette 
• Shape Style (rounded, sharp)
• Line Style (thin, thick, no lines)
• Typography Style (serif, sans)

Now, of course we can get very technical when it comes to the design elements and how to use them, but we’re keeping this beginner-friendly. So, decide on what feels right for you, and then, let’s proceed.

(Along the way I’ll give tiny tips on elements and how they feel)

Okay, you’ve got your branding style down, now what can/should you customize to make this template your own?

I’m going to break this down into a few categories, and you can decide what’s best for you, and once again, your brand!

Now, Without further ado,

The Big Impact, Beginner-Friendly Customization Menu

1.) DESIGN SYSTEM (fastest whole site transformation)

a.) Shapes

Buttons and cards. 

These should all be whatever shape your brand is, rounded, pill-shaped, sharp corners, you can even do a mix of two, but it must stay consistent. It’s easiest to choose one shape style and run with it.

In Showit’s Design Settings you can easily change the buttons across your entire site.

Customize both your primary and secondary button styles (and the way they look when hovered over) so they’re updated across your site. 

For cards (the shapes behind text), you will have to go in and change these manually. Simply click on the shape you’d like to change, then in the side panel on the right, go into “Shape Style” and either add a customization or change the preset customization.

“Corner Radius” will allow you to change the shape.

b.) Colors

Your brand colors. 

These should be applied everywhere. Once again, you can easily do this in the Showit Design Settings.

To keep this very beginner friendly and even more importantly, to keep readability across your site:

When swapping your brand colors for the template colors, swap dark for dark and light for light. 

Your template is already designed in a way that high contrasting colors are placed on top of each other for text. For example, black text on a white background.

So do this wisely and it’ll ensure your site stays consistent.

c.) Typography

In Showit’s Design Settings, you can change the font for your titles, headings, subheadings, and paragraphs.

General rule of thumb: 

Titles should be your “signature font”. This can be a font that is more stylized and very brand aligned.

Headings and subheadings should be still brand aligned, but easier to read.

Paragraph fonts should be stupid simple to read. Don’t overcomplicate this one, and your website readers will thank you.

d.) Background

Add a repeating brand “texture”. This can be a light paper grain, a faint gradient wash, a soft pattern, etc.

If your texture is a pattern use it very sparingly, in the footer, behind CTA blocks, or even section dividers. 

Very light textures like a paper grain can be used more often (like I have here on my site).

To change the background of a canvas in Showit, simply select the canvas, in the right hand toolbar go to “canvas background” and select image. Then upload your textured background image.

Ensure it’s high quality and if you need to, change the opacity to keep it faint instead of overpowering.

2) MICRO DETAILS THAT ELEVATE

These next fine touches require some more time and a little more patience, but they’ll make a big difference in feel.

a.) Spacing

Earlier, we discussed typography and changing fonts. To dive a little deeper here, spacing between letters and lines create a different feel than just the font itself. 

More spacing between lines and letters creates a light airiness and breathing room, having them closer together can be intimate, editorial or snug.

Change your font spacing in the Design Settings to affect the entire site.

The same design feelings apply to spacing between elements on a site section.

On Showit, templates are drag and drop, so feel free to make your canvas bigger and drag elements further apart on the page, or bring things in tighter for a different feel.

b.) Shadows

Shadows can create depth and softness, whereas the absence can make things light and crisp.

You can add shadows to any shapes, photos, or buttons on Showit after selecting an element and going to the “Style” drop down menu on the right hand side.

c.) Borders

Adding or omitting borders is another great way to change the feel of your website.

No borders can be airy, editorial, and modern.

Double or ornamental can be romantic, vintage or formal.

Thick borders can feel playful, graphic, and bold.

Thin borders give clean, polished, or quiet luxury.

These borders can be applied to cards, buttons, section dividers or even photos!

3.) VISUAL IDENTITY

This last group of modifications are the most advanced of this list, but if you’re up for the challenge it’ll really take your template to the next level!

a.) Consistent Photo Treatment

Ensure all of your photos have the same look by applying a filter. There are plenty of apps and budget friendly websites you can use to achieve this.

Just be careful to not go too overboard with the filters to where it cheapens or degrades your photos. 

The point of this is to create uniformity and consistency.

Even just a tiny consistent lighting and color change across all photos instantly unifies them.

b.) Anchor Images

Choose a few branded anchor images to repeat across your site.

These should not only be high quality but very brand aligned, and will make a huge difference in unifying your site and reinforcing your brand style and essence. 

Use these in CTA blocks, contact forms or other repeated sections throughout your site.

c.) Branded Graphics

If you’ve got graphics that are a part of your branding, sprinkle these throughout your site.

For context, this imagery is something you often repeat across your branding. It can be a specific plant, animal, or maybe a tool or motif associated with your business.

If you don’t already have this, you can source them or create them yourself! 

Pro tip if creating them yourself: Keep graphics all in the same theme.

For example, maybe you make soap, and your branding is giving “coastal california” you could create graphics of items you would see at or near the beach all hand drawn in the same style and color.

These can be sprinkled throughout your site but used sparingly so as not to look too cluttered or overdone.

CONCLUSION

Customizing a template can be as non-invasive or as highly customized as you want it to be. Some things can take more time but have higher payoff in setting you apart and aligning with your brand.

The goal online is to make every transition seamless for your client’s experience. 

For example, maybe you have a great TikTok or IG account with great imagery and a lot of the same color usage and fonts. 

Or

You have an awesome restaurant with a distinct feel and atmosphere that people love.

When people travel to your site, you don’t want something that feels disjointed.

You want it to feel seamless, aligned, correct, because that creates trust and confidence in your business.

The little things add up. Just following a few tips from this list can really transform your template into something that your clients will recognize as your trusted and beloved brand and business.

Enjoyed this mini design mentoring sesh? Book a Site Revival with me now and I can de-templateify your site for you. Not sure what your branding even is to begin with? I offer Brand Refresh, a service where I’ll help you uncover your brand essence and create a branding toolkit you can use anywhere!