Palettes are a personal choice. I use four on a regular basis. One that folds down to a small size for painting outside or on the go. One that is metal with many paint wells and two ceramic palettes which I use at home.
I find the metal palette drips fluid on occasion as it has tiny drainage holes which is really frustrating. However, it sits nicely in a butcher tray(11" x 15") so that problem has been mitigated.
Personally, I prefer the ceramic palettes as they don't leak and are easy to clean-up. However, they are fragile and difficult to transport. The other reason I prefer the ceramic palette is that they come with larger paint wells enabling me to use larger brushes for mixing paints.
The above photograph is of one of my ceramic palettes. You can see that there are less paint wells but they are larger. Over time with experience I have learned I don't need many paints to complete a painting, so this size is very useful.
In addition, I cut some styrofoam - like packing material(the dimensions of my palette) which sits under my palette making it easier and safer to glide around my table.
It can be a real challenge choosing a palette and then determining how you want to layout your colors. In the end like most artists I put cool pigmented colors along one side with warm pigments on the other side. For the top paint wells I use neutral colors or earth colors(ochres and umbers) with some exceptions.
