Looking for free or premium PowerPoint templates? I guess your presentations don’t look that hot… or perhaps you are just looking for a presentation template that is truly structured for the content you want to include. At emaze, we know all about presentation templates because we make them.
PowerPoint templates or presentation templates?
Let’s get a few things straight, PowerPoint templates can refer to three different things:
1. PowerPoint templates that include a theme and sets of colors, fonts etc. These will often include a master slide which gets applied to the entire presentation. These templates do not include any content specific features.
2. Presentation templates that include specific content formatting. The focus here is on the content of the presentation. For example, a business plan presentation that includes slides about mission, vision, monetization, etc.
3. Presentation templates that include unique artwork, match your branding and include exclusive use rights.
How to pick the right PowerPoint templates
Some PowerPoint templates are free and some could cost upward of $800. What’s more, the PowerPoint templates industry is big. It’s so big, that most of the template websites don’t actually sell templates, they make good money selling ads to other sites that sell templates. It sounds twisted, right?
So, how to choose?
1. Never buy before you try.
2. Don’t trust reviews unless they are third party verified.
3. Focus on the structure – Can you fit your content in it?
4. Does the slide design style match your branding?
5. Is it unique and memorable?
What does a PowerPoint template include?
Most PowerPoint templates include a master slide design. A master slide is a slide that contains the basic colors, fonts, etc. A template should also include several layouts – layouts determine how the information is to be laid out on the slide. What size the title will be, is there a placeholder for an image, etc.
There is a whole other class of PowerPoint templates and these should not be confused with the standard PowerPoint templates described above. These templates contain the exact info you need to fill out in order to make a specific presentation. Examples of such presentation templates include: investor pitch, marketing plan and resume.
PowerPoint template alternatives
What should you do when most PowerPoint templates disappoint? Fortunately there are options.
Create your own PowerPoint Template:
Yes, it’s as hard as it sounds. Assuming you are not a seasoned presentation designer (or have a designer on staff), this option is costly. Prices range in the thousands of dollars. But you do get exactly what you want (until you want something else).
Use the emaze Presentation Software:
emaze offers dozens of presentation templates for free as part of their presentation software service. These templates are rich and include all the “right stuff” to make your presentation amazing!
Great free presentation template examples:
Convinced? I think that PowerPoint templates are kind of old… When I look at what emaze presentations can offer – I’m truly blown away – And so will your audience be!
Written by Daniel Glickman
