Building a website from scratch is no easy feat. Between designing a custom layout, writing semantic HTML/CSS, integrating complex functionality, and getting everything to render properly across devices, it can be an arduous process – even for experienced developers.
That‘s where static site templates come in handy.
Also known as pre-built themes or website starters, static site templates allow you to bypass much of the heavy lifting of web development. You simply select a template that matches your needs, customize it to your liking, add your own content, and deploy it live.
In this post, we‘ll explore 10 of the best static site templates for personal and startup websites. Whether you need a simple personal landing page, an online portfolio to showcase your work, or a lean but powerful site to launch your MVP, these templates have got you covered.
Let‘s jump in!
1. Slides by Designmodo
Slides is one of the most flexible standalone template kits on the market. With over 200 component slides and 30 pre-made panels, you enjoy endless options for crafting unique page layouts.
The Slides editor makes it easy to drag-and-drop elements like text boxes, CTAs, galleries, pricing tables, counters, and more onto your canvas. And its huge library of UI components covers everything you need to build a fully-functional site.
Other key features:
- Built with HTML, CSS, and JS for clean code
- Fully responsive across devices
- Animated elements for added visual impact
- Detailed documentation for modifying template code
- Commercial license included
Slides is a premium template, but it’s well worth the price for the quality and customizability it delivers.
Starting Price: $59
2. StartBootstrap
Start Bootstrap offers a fantastic collection of open source, MIT-licensed templates and theme starters to build your site. With over 35 templates for pages and whole site layouts, they live up to their motto of "Bootstrap templates and themes you can trust."
Some highlights of their template library:
- 100% free to download and use
- Built on Bootstrap 5 for responsive mobile-first sites
- Clean, semantic HTML5 and CSS3 code
- Business, portfolio, landing page, and more
- Active community support and updates
While less flashy than some commercial alternatives, StartBootstrap templates provide a solid foundation to create professional sites on a budget.
Starting Price: Free
3. HTML5 UP
HTML5 UP offers a clean, no-frills collection of HTML5 and CSS3 templates that are contemporary and full-featured. Their designs may be more simple than some competitors, but the focus here is on elegant, accessible, responsive sites that perform well.
Standout features:
- New templates released every few months
- Fully customizable and responsive
- Commercial licensing available
- Styles for splash pages, blogs, portfolios, and more
- Built on solid HTML5 and CSS3
For lean, lightning-fast templates with a focus on user experience, HTML5 UP is a stellar free resource.
Starting Price: Free
4. ThemeForest
With over 17,000 templates and themes across every category, ThemeForest is one of the largest premium template marketplaces online. Whatever niche or layout your site calls for, odds are ThemeForest has a professionally designed option to kickstart development.
Why choose ThemeForest?
- Huge selection of quality templates
- Regularly updated offerings
- Effective search and filtering
- Top-notch customer support
While more template choice comes at a small premium, ThemeForest alleviates the paradox of choice with smart browsing and comparisons.
Starting Price: $12+
5. TemplateMonster
Boasting over 8,500 website templates across a wide span of categories, TemplateMonster gives ThemeForest a run for its money. Premium templates for businesses, online stores, portfolios, blogs, forums, and more are available at reasonable price points.
Standout features:
- New releases every day
- Mobile-friendly and responsive
- Search filters (category, price, rating, etc)
- Design customization services
While some themes lean towards mass-market aesthetics, the sheer volume and customizability of TemplateMonster make it worth a look.
Starting Price: $12+
6. BootstrapMade
If you want templates built exclusively on Bootstrap, check out BootstrapMade. With over 500 responsive Bootstrap themes and site templates, they live up to the name. All templates are modern, minimalist, and optimized for any device.
Key details:
- New templates added weekly
- Built 100% with Bootstrap 5
- Great for MVPs and rapid prototyping
- Free for personal and commercial use
For lean, mobile-ready sites built exclusively on Bootstrap, BootstrapMade has a stellar free collection.
Starting Price: Free
7. Tooplate
Tooplate offers a handsome selection of free website templates submitted by designers from around the globe. With contemporary styles for businesses, blogs, portfolios, and more, the Tooplate library features creative designs not found elsewhere.
Why Tooplate?
- New modern templates weekly
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Minimalist, trendy styles
- Built with HTML5 + CSS3
For one-of-a-kind designs you won’t find anywhere else, Tooplate is a hidden gem.
Starting Price: Free
8. WowThemes
WowThemes offers premium WordPress themes and website templates designed for creativity professionals. With styles tailored for photographers, musicians, artists, fashion designers, and influencers, they offer a fantastic niche-focused option.
Notable features:
- Visual styles made for creatives
- Bold images, videos, graphics
- Responsive portfolio presentation
- Integrated social media and mailing lists
For artists, photographers, and influencers seeking a flashy personalized platform, WowThemes delivers.
Starting Price: $39
9. OnePageLove
True to its name, OnePageLove showcases exceptional single page website templates across multiple niches. More than minimally viable, these templates offer complete one page solutions for mobile-friendly sites that load fast and convert visitors.
Why choose OnePageLove?
- 300+ single page templates
- Intuitive editor to customize
- New designs added weekly
- Curated premium & free themes
For lean, performance-focused sites, OnePageLove’s curated designs excel.
Starting Price: Free & Premium
10. UICookies
For designers and developers alike, UICookies offers a slick batch of free Bootstrap HTML templates. With contemporary styles for startups, businesses, and personal sites, all templates are mobile-friendly and optimized for speed.
Notable features:
- 200+ free Bootstrap templates
- Slick modern designs
- Developer-friendly code base
- Free for personal and commercial use
For startups and businesses on a budget, UICookies free library is a superb choice.
Starting Price: Free
How to Choose the Best Static Site Template
With hundreds of templates across the web to evaluate, choosing the right one for your site can feel overwhelming. Here are a few tips for narrowing your selection:
- Consider your purpose – Personal site vs business? Portfolio to show work? Ecommerce shop? Choose a template suited for your goals.
- Evaluate features – What‘s most important – lots of pages or singe page? Design visuals or fast performance? Build your criteria.
- Developer skills – If not coding savvy, prioritize easy customization without touching code.
- Responsive design – Ensure the template looks great on all devices, not just desktop.
- SEO optimization – Clean code and semantics allow better search indexing.
- Licensing terms – Double check what usages are allowed under a template‘s license.
Taking stock of your priorities will help zero in on a template that ticks all the right boxes. Don‘t hesitate to shortlist a few top contenders and compare.
Customizing & Deploying Your Template
Once you‘ve selected a promising template, it‘s time to customize it and get your site live. Here‘s an overview of common next steps:
- Adapt layouts and styles – Tweak pre-made page layouts to your preference via a visual editor or by editing template files directly.
- Add branding and assets – Insert your logo, color scheme, fonts, images, and other media throughout.
- Input your content – Plugin your text, products, or portfolio pieces into content fields made for your content.
- Configure settings – Toggle site-wide settings for elements like menus, headers, footers, sidebars, etc.
- Test responsiveness – Ensure site looks and functions beautifully on all screen sizes.
- Deploy – Use FTP or a GIT workflow to deploy your site to a web host or static hosting platform.
Be sure to utilize any documentation provided explaining how the nuts and bolts of your template work under the hood. Each template will have its own path for modification and publishing.
You can also use online services like Webflow, ShoutCloud, or Carrd to visually customize and host your template without technical skills.
Further Resources for Static Sites
If you enjoy the speed and simplicity of static sites, but want to move beyond basic templates, you might consider:
- Static Site Generators – Jekyll, Hugo, Gatsby and others offer site scaffolding using React, markdown, and databases for more complex yet still speedy sites.
- Headless CMS – Combine template frontend with a CMS backend for editable content without performance lag.
- Static Web Hosting – Services like Netlify, Render, and Vercel provide optimized global static hosting with SSL, CDN, and continuous deployment.
- Web Development Services – If building completely custom, tap freelancers, agencies, or low-code tools like Bubble or Webflow.
The static site ecosystem offers tools for beginners to advanced developers alike. Assembling site templates, generators, CMS, and hosting platforms enables creation of full-featured sites minus dynamic database bottlenecks.
The Fast, Lean, and Simple Alternative
While traditional content management systems like WordPress and Squarespace simplify website building in their own right, they come saddled with load times up to 10X slower. They also require constant security patching and upgrades.
Static site generators and templating skip all that by pre-building sites into flat HTML files ready to deploy. The result? Speed, simplicity, and security baked right in.
So if you‘re looking to take a site from idea to reality without major development overhead, a pre-made template could be the kickstart you need. Whether crafting a personal landing page, showcasing work samples, or launching a startup MVP, a curated template sets the stage to get your content shining in no time.
So roll up your sleeves, and happy website building!
