How do I make my website look more Web 2.0?

I am not a designer and with my limited design skills, I put together a website that doesn't look anything close to a professional site. I'd like to redesign my site to look more like other Web 2.0 sites out there. Ex:

https://cheddargetter.com/ https://www.mailfinch.com/ http://basecamphq.com/ All of them seem to follow a similar layout which makes me want to say that there is a theme out there that I can easily integrate onto my website built on ASP.NET. Is there one or do I need to spend money hiring a designer?

PS: I know about Wordpress themes but not sure if they are compatible with Master pages in ASP.NET

Here's what you do:

1. Put a dark header across with a few links
2. Put some clipart-style graphics in the middle
3. Add some blurb below
4. Stick a corporate footer at the bottom.

... but seriously...

Web 2.0 is mainly refers to technologies used to build a site - not the way it looks.

The look a feel similarities, that you're probably referring to, has a lot to do with templating and open source libraries and classes, that are frequently reused by many people.

There is not common template which you can use. The websites you referring have astonishing look but they are NOT similar from Graphic Design perspective. Every project need it's own designer.

If you cannot afford expensive designer, I suggest to take a look to 99designs which you can find talented designers which compete to satisfy you. You can choose the budget yourself.

They deliver you the final result in PSD format and you have to implement it into ASP.NET Master Pages.

Some design guidelines are:

1. Simple and clean
2. Content are centralized
3. Big & clear navigation

However, that is all personal preference.

Some guideline from other sites:
1. http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/web-2-0-design-style-guide/