How do I create websites from templates?

Every website you create in your hub is based on a template that includes a set of starter pages and other features to help your composers build the perfect website. We have provided you with a default template, but you don't need to restrict your creativity to just one template. With our multi-site capability, it's easy to design more templates that span all the different site flavors you want to create.

There are two different methods available to administrators and managers when creating new templates: they can create a template based on an existing template, or create a template based on an existing site.

Creating a template from an existing template

To create a template from an existing template, go to Websites > Browse templates. Then, find the template you want to copy, open the Actions menu, and click Copy template. Then, update your new template. You can rename your pages, add new ones, or remove them. Plus you can update the placeholder text and content to make these prompts more meaningful for your composers when they use your new template. Each page you create pulls its placeholder text from the page type you select when creating the new page. For example: Headline text for new promotion. Hub administrators and managers can update placeholder text added to page types in their content model.

Creating a template from an existing site

To create a template from an existing website, go to Websites, find the site you want to copy, open the Actions menu, and click Create template. When you create a template from a site, only the site structure is copied, and any directly referenced content is replaced with placeholder content.

Also, page content that isn't managed from within the site composer, such as the header and footer of the OSLO sample, are not copied to your template. In the case of the OSLO header and footer, you must go to Content libraries > All content and copy the headerConfig content item (or create a new content item for your header). Update this copy, and then, in the Information tab of the content item, click Add tags and manually enter the name of your new template. Repeat the steps for the footerConfig content item.

Publishing your template

Copied templates are created as drafts and are only visible to administrators and managers. Once you have finished updating your new template, you need to then publish your template. Once published, your composers can select your new template when creating a site from a template.

Updating templates

Experience no worries if you need to update a template. Your updates do not affect the sites that were already created from this template.

Deleting templates

You can delete a template without affecting any site that was created from that template and you can delete a site without affecting the template that you used to create the site.