Depending on your definition of templates, yes, everybody
sort of uses them. But the real question is how much effort the designer's going to put into making your site look unique.
When using a CMS, it's often rather necessary to start off with a very basic template, and then change everything around to fit your needs until it no longer resembles the original in any way, shape or form - who wants to remember all the various hooks and handlers that come with a CMS template?
Example:
Culture Shock - Webcomic and Hyperfiction started off on the same template as
Geeklog - The Ultimate Weblog System. But they sure as hell don't look the same!
Twisted Librarian - Book reviews, opinions, and places to buy, and
Retro Reviews - Two joysticks, five thousand MAME Roms and far too much spare time, and
CavemanJoe.co.uk - A complete waste of hosting all use the same basic template, and you can
sort of tell from the layout, even if the graphics are all hand-built. But you certainly wouldn't mistake one site for another, and most people wouldn't notice the similarities if I didn't point them out.
What I'm getting at here is that if a designer just grabs a pre-made website from templatemonster, puts your stuff in it and then charges you half a grand for the 30 minutes it'll take, then you may as well have built the site yourself. There are very few professions who can justify charging a thousand pounds an hour, and website design isn't one of them. Sadly.
