Template Monster, a leading website templates provider, declaims its desire to improve the Web. And to demonstrate, it has established a Template Trade-In Campaign, whereby website authors who wish to upgrade their sites can.

The process is simple. Any interested party who has ever purchased a template from another template vendor (not Template Monster or one of its affiliates) and would like to exchange it can contact Template Monster to receive 50% off on any Template Monster product. In other words, website authors can upgrade to a product of better quality with better support services. The only prerequisite for participation in the Template Trade-In Campaign is providing proof of your previous purchase.

What is Template Monster’s motivation? The Template Trade-In Campaign is mutually beneficial. Reduction of eyesores, reduction of waste and reduction of information static increase the chances that e-commerce will continue to grow. Because when the message is clear, and you shout loud enough, people respond. But if visitors have to wade through garbage like useless or outdated webpage elements, ineffective color schemes, low-resolution pictures, awkward Flash effects, bad font selection, poorly composed design, and templates that often have slow load times due to merged or badly sliced layers in Photoshop, the message can be lost.

“Unfortunately, many newbies are quickly disappointed by the Internet, as it does not produce the conversion they hope to achieve in sales or readership. One of the most significant reasons for this is the poor design of their web pages, which is often due to using low-quality website templates,” says head of marketing Gary Nichols at Template Monster. “With this Trade-In Campaign, we want to give people another chance on the Web. Moreover, we want to raise website standards.”

Is Template Monster qualified to set website standards? Yes, says Donna Snyder, CEO of American Association of Webmasters, adding: “Though our award program targets supporting individuals on the Web, we’ve decided to announce Template Monster as a top Web site in 2003, as it meets our stringent requirements for the Internet, delivering the best Web site templates, which is of extreme importance to the future of the Web.” www.aawebmasters.com

While usability gurus make broad euphoric proclamations about navigation and graphics, Template Monster rolls up its sleeves and gets the job done, building websites that just sweat success through every pixel. By and large, setting higher standards truly is a matter of practice. For Template Monster, however, it is a habit. And it is with an eye to raising overall website standards and thereby upgrading the environment in which e-commerce transpires that Template Monster establishes its Template Trade-In Campaign.