Why I use this plain template for this blog

Choices of templates are very personal, as different people have different preferences and requirements. Some like very fanciful ones with lots of colors and graphics, some like plain ones like this blog. Some cannot stand the blank "wasted" space of this blog if you are viewing this blog with a wide or big screen and prefer templates which display the blog across the whole screen with no blank space. Some like fixed width templates, some fluid templates (more on this later). But take a look at this very high traffic and high reputation website BBC News. If you go to that website with a large screen, you will see all the content on the left and a large, blank "wasted" space on the right. Do you think that BBC News has a lousy webmaster? Or this one cnn.com which is likely to be more familiar to Americans. I am viewing cnn.com with a 22" wide screen and I see blank space on both sides just like this blog. Why do they do that? Most likely, they, just like me, have statistics to tell them a significant percentage of their visitors are still using small screen, and this blog as well as the above 2 huge websites will just fit nicely into their small screens. They, like me, probably do not want to discourage visitors with small screens from visiting again.

For more information on why I prefer such a template like this, including mention of a readability study, surf over to What is the best template for my blog?.

Graphics heavy templates versus plain templates

I like a plain template for this blog because its purpose is to provide useful information and help. I have no need for fanciful graphics which increases downloading time and also need the graphics to be hosted somewhere on the web. However, it is not that I do not use graphics heavy templates. I used the Rounders 4 for environmental blogs because I think that suits environmental blogs like Environmentally friendly presents (gifts). The graphics are hosted by Amanda of Blogger Buster (hope to publish a post on this soon), and this means my blog is dependent on Amanda keeping the graphics on the web. Once they disappear from the web, my blog is in trouble. I can of course host the graphics on my own, but that will involve work and time, but I will probably do that later and write about how I go about it. In the meantime, if you use a graphics heavy template for your blog and will like to host the graphics on your own, the post New Blogger Sweet Dreams 3 column template by Blogger Buster will give you an idea as to how to go about it.