What other options do we have for getting templates made? The ones that come with the pro-commerce are very generic and the $499.00 templates aren't that much nicer. What program do we need to design our own template?

Designing an ecommerce site can be a daunting task as it sets the feel and motif of what you are about before a single word is read. Many designs have proven to be successful but choosing one for you is all that matters. The first step of this is finding example sites that have features you like. After that setting guidelines on what will make your design better. There are 4 real choices for building your store front design.

1.) Use the templates built in to the system. – These provide an inexpensive turn key solution for someone ready to sell now. They are customizable to a point and provide simplicity of change back and forth between different pre-determined colors.

2.) Our design department has developed a series of additional templates that are for a user looking for a little bit more unique design without the completely unique price tag. There are over 20+ designs with 3 color options each. These provide a more professional look with that custom touch. With little or no maintenance on the clients end.
http://design.networksolutions.com/ecommerce-template.php

3.) In addition to the template package our design department has a custom design option. Our talented and skilled designers work with our Clients to meet their individual needs from everything including look and feel, to color, to content placement, to custom coding for plug-ins and unique searches. The spend one on one time and multiple submissions to create a unique one off site that will be sure to please your clients eye.
http://design.networksolutions.com/ecommerce-basic.php
http://design.networksolutions.com/ecommerce-enterprise.php

4.) Last and finally if you haven’t found one of these options helpful you may be reduced to designing your site your self or through a private designer. This will provide you with a ‘hands on’ experience in developing a unique and personal site that provides you with the flexibility implementing what you are thinking with little interpretation needed. This option can vary from inexpensive to an ongoing investment of time and money. The maintenance of this kind of a site can be relatively low but will require knowledge of custom design and troubleshooting for each change or modification. Tech support itself does not offer troubleshooting of custom coding at this time but we can offer you a few sites that can provide much information on how to design your site.
http://w3schools.com/
http://htmlgoodies.com/
http://htmlhelp.com/
This following link is to a basic web editor:
http://www.nvu.com/


After all of this design comes the part where you wait and see all your of hard work pay off. One thing to keep in mind is flexibility. Changing times and even changing seasons can promote different designs in sites. This may be where a combination of multiple designs comes into place.
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I know this is an old thread but regarding the response about hiring a private designer, I don't even see a way to upload custom templates to the system. Is there something I'm missing?

It is true that there is not any way to upload a custom template as a single file, but most web developers will be experienced enough in using a cart or content template system to know how to create the different pieces that are necessary. As with most web designs you need -at your option- a top, a left, a right and a bottom section framing your content in the center.

Although our tech support team can't teach or really troubleshoot HTML, if you have a web designer that needs help knowing where the different sections are they can contact support or use these forums to get pointed in the right direction. I hope this clears up the confusion.