I have heard that Template Monster's coding is awful, with tables and horrible CSS coding. I already had it in mind to make sure all of the templates were coded with semantic XHTML/CSS, and I would mention that on the site to get more people to buy them. And to cscott5288, will do.
Yeah, it would also be helpful to point out that their(CSS/XHTML) W3C validated. Security doesn't necessarily mean it's smart or profitable. You can still get taxed by the government and stay safe.
Does anybody know if I can take sites I've designed before, like for past customers doing freelance work, and turn them into templates and sell them? I think I can, but I'm not sure if the customer now owns part of the design or something like that.
If the customer paid for it's their property as far as I know. I don't think it would be right to do that though.
First get a clear idea of what type of templates do the customers are in need now and then work according to their needs. This helps you to attract customers. To earn more profit you can also join some affiliate program which are run by networks.
The first question that I would ask myself is are you turning away local business that is purchasing sites from others?? or are you just taking a brand new stab at the market that is already flush with entrepreneurs? A part time effort is a great way to start IF you have a local / organic market to chery pick from - otherwise it can be a rough market to break into from a cold start. Two very different approaches... Break into a competitive market with a part time effort or refer existing traffic to your own template site rather than turn the business away to someone else.... If you are going to attempt to break in to a market without an existing market base then i would 100% suggest going for a niche / local market where you can rank high in the search engines easily with your local town names....