If you are looking to stand out from the crowd, a unique web design is a must. When visiting websites, I think we subconsciously give a very high weighting to the visual impact of the site.
If you would like to get a distinctive custom design I can recommend, Pure Web Designs, run by a friend, Sumangali Morhall.
Pure Web Designs, offer custom templates, design and general advice about building websites and Blogs.
An Example from Pure Web Designs:
Pure Web designs is run by Sumangali Morhall, who has her own blog