When I started out using Joomla! I used mainly free templates firstly because they are free and secondly, because there are so many of them.

However, in recent times I've found that there's too much of a sameness to these free templates and I started looking for templates that offer more without going the route of custom templates, which can be very expensive.

When I found a template I liked, often a free one, or even from the template newsletters published on Joomla24, I would look at what other templates these template designers have to offer. And this is how I started using template clubs.

While most of these template clubs charge you a fee to join and may have different fee structures depending on their terms and conditions I regard these templates as essentially free templates because the cost per template is so low. Consider if paying $75 to join a template club that provides you with 40 templates then you're paying less than $2 per template.

There are a number of advantages to using template clubs:

• Templates are not overused on the Net as only members may use them.
• These templates often incorporate handy modules to make your web site more user-friendly and professional looking, modules such drop downs, tabs, news scrollers, to name a few.
• Many of the template clubs allow you to remove their link back, even for their basic membership.
• Some of the template clubs, such as Shape 5, focus on creating niche market templates rather than generic templates.

Consider joining different template clubs, and not even all at once, as each offer you a different design style and different features.

Joomla! Template Clubs I use:

• Shape 5 - Designers of niche market Joomla templates and extensions
• Joomla Designs - More than 300 Joomla templates available
• ATICT - A range of great templates to download
• ICE Theme - Niche market templates