Managing Templates

Templates define the structure and layout of your pages. This guide covers creating, editing, and managing templates.

A template is a reusable page layout that defines:

• Fixed Areas: Regions with components that appear on every page using the template (e.g., header, footer)
• Content Zones: Drag-and-drop regions where editors can add and arrange components when creating pages
• Page Type: A classification label (e.g., "Page", "Article", "Blog")

1. Navigate to Sites → Select your site → Templates
2. Click Create Template
3. Fill in the template details:
   • Name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Blog Post Layout")
   • Description: Optional explanation of when to use this template
   • Page Type: Select from available types (Page, Article, Blog, or custom types)

1. Click Create

The template editor provides a visual layout builder where you can:

• Add fixed areas and content zones
• Arrange regions in top-to-bottom order
• Configure components in fixed areas
• Preview the template structure

Fixed areas contain components that appear on every page using the template.

1. Click Add Fixed Area
2. Drag components from the component palette into the fixed area
3. Configure each component's properties using the dialog editor
4. Reorder components by dragging

Common use cases:

• Site header with logo and navigation
• Footer with copyright and links
• Sidebar with consistent widgets

Content zones are empty regions where page editors can add components.

1. Click Add Content Zone
2. Give the zone a descriptive name (e.g., "Main Content", "Sidebar")
3. Optionally add a label for editors (e.g., "Add your article content here")

Best practices:

• Use clear, descriptive zone names
• Provide helpful labels to guide content editors
• Consider the typical content flow when ordering zones

To edit an existing template:

1. Navigate to Sites → Select your site → Templates
2. Click the template you want to edit
3. Make your changes in the template editor
4. Click Save

• Changes to templates do not automatically update published pages
• Pages using the template will use the new layout when republished
• Fixed area changes affect all pages using the template

To create a new template based on an existing one:

1. Navigate to the template list
2. Click the ⋮ menu next to the template
3. Select Duplicate
4. Enter a new name for the duplicated template
5. Click Duplicate

This creates an exact copy of the template structure, which you can then modify.

To delete a template:

1. Navigate to the template list
2. Click the ⋮ menu next to the template
3. Select Delete
4. Confirm the deletion

• Delete all pages using the template, or
• Change those pages to use a different template

• Keep it simple: Start with basic layouts and add complexity as needed
• Consistent headers/footers: Use fixed areas for elements that should appear on every page
• Flexible content zones: Provide enough zones for varied content without overwhelming editors

• Use descriptive names that indicate the template's purpose
• Include the page type in the name if you have multiple templates per type
• Examples: "Standard Page", "Blog Post with Sidebar", "Landing Page - Hero"

• Use Page for general content pages
• Use Article for news articles or blog posts
• Use Blog for blog-specific layouts
• Create custom page types for specialized content (e.g., "Product", "Event")

• Creating Pages — Use templates to create pages
• Component Structure — Learn about components
• Building Sites — Site architecture best practices