Use a shared page template when several pages should use the same design while keeping their own text, images, links, or lists. For example, service pages can share a hero, benefits section, and enquiry action while each service has its own headline and details.
This guide covers creating and maintaining the shared layout. If you only need to apply an existing template or use an independent starter design, see Using a page template.
You need permission to edit pages and access to the visual builder. Plan the first template around a small group of similar pages, and decide who will review changes that affect them all.
Decide what stays shared
Separate the design from the information that varies by page:
- Shared design: section order, layout, styling, interactions, and any content you leave fixed in the template.
- Page content: the fields you explicitly expose for each page to edit, such as a service headline, description, image, button destination, or list of benefits.
- Page settings: each page's address, SEO settings, and publication state remain separate from the template.
For a service-page layout, expose Headline, Description, Button text, Button link, and the Features list if those values differ by service. Keep the section arrangement and other settings shared when all service pages should use them.
Do not expose every field automatically. A short set of clearly named fields helps page editors complete the right information without changing the common design.
A shared template stays linked to its pages. Publishing a template update changes the design of all linked live pages immediately. Saving a template draft keeps those design changes private. Publishing the template does not publish an unpublished page or release that page's unsaved or draft content.
Create a template from a page
Start with an independent visual page that already contains a useful layout. You can build one from sections or use a starter; follow Building a page with the visual editor if you need the block controls.
- Open Site → Pages, edit the source page, and open Visual Builder.
- Check that the toolbar says Independent page and that the canvas contains the sections you want to reuse.
- Choose Create template from page. The toolbar changes to Editing template · ….
- In Template settings, enter a recognizable Template name, such as “Service page layout,” and a Description explaining which pages should use it.
- Adjust the common sections and blocks, then choose the page-specific fields using the next section.
Creating the template starts a separate design-editing session. It does not automatically link the source page, save the source page's unsaved work, or publish either item. Save the source page separately if you need to keep its edits.
Remove sample claims, company names, and destinations before treating the design as reusable. Content left fixed in the template will appear on every linked page, so check that it is suitable for all of them.
Give each page its own content fields
Under Template settings → Editable content, choose which block values a page editor can change.
For a service headline:
- Open Expose a block field and choose the Headline belonging to the intended hero block. The option includes a block identifier to distinguish repeated blocks.
- Choose Expose field.
- Change Field label to a useful name, such as “Service headline.” This is the label the page editor will see.
- Review Default content. Use a sensible starting value and tell page editors to replace it where appropriate.
- Select Required if the field must not be empty, then repeat for the other values each page needs.
Select the corresponding block on the canvas if you need to confirm which content a field controls. Exposing a field makes its value editable per page; it does not create another block or section.
Required fields also need valid defaults. A required text field cannot have an empty default, and a required list cannot have an empty list as its default. If saving reports that a field is required, check its default as well as the content entered on individual pages.
Defaults supply starting content when a page uses the template and fill values that are missing. They do not overwrite an explicit value already stored on a linked page. Changing the default headline is therefore not a way to change every page's headline.
Keep shared instead removes that field from the page-specific editing controls. The template then supplies the value. Review affected pages before publishing this change: their individual values will no longer determine that part of the rendered page.
Repeated items and lists
Expose the whole list when each page needs its own benefits, cards, or accordion answers. For example, exposing Features gives page editors a list of feature items rather than one shared set of benefits.
Use Default content to edit the starting items. Open Item fields to review the fields inside each item, their labels, and defaults. The item fields describe the shape of an item; Add Item adds an actual item to the default list.
The list editor also offers Item field key, Item field label, Item field type, and Add item field. Only add fields that the selected block or custom component actually uses. Adding an arbitrary field to a standard block does not make that block display it.
Existing item keys and types stay fixed in this editor. Labels and defaults can be adjusted. A new item field's default fills that missing value in existing items, but it does not replace a value already present. Review any field removal against the content and component that use it.
For custom-coded blocks, work with the person maintaining the component to define supported page-content fields. Keep executable code and layout changes in the shared design; ordinary page editors should be able to work through their content fields.
Save and preview the template draft
While the toolbar says Editing template, Save draft saves the template independently of the page you opened it from. Wait for the save to complete. Publish template remains unavailable while the design has unsaved changes.
Open Preview and check Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile Web. Review heading lengths, image crops, stacked sections, repeated items, and the main action.
The Preview content selector lets you check:
- Template defaults, to see the design with its starting values.
- A linked page, to see the template draft using that page's saved content.
A new template with no linked pages has only its defaults to preview. Once pages use it, check more than one: include long headlines, short descriptions, different images, and larger lists.
Selecting a page for Preview content does not save or publish that page. It loads saved page values, which may differ from the public version or unsaved changes in another tab. Change the selector back to Template defaults to resume design and field editing; those controls are restricted while previewing another page's values.
Before publication, check that every exposed field is useful, every fixed detail belongs on all linked pages, and no example content could be mistaken for a real business claim.
Publish the design and connect pages
For a new template:
- Save the completed template draft.
- Choose Publish template.
- Read Publish this shared template?. If no pages are linked yet, publication makes the template available to use.
- Confirm Publish template, wait for completion, and check the toolbar's Published revision.
- Choose Exit to return to page editing.
The source page remains independent until you apply the template to it. For each page that should use the design, select the published entry under Shared page template, choose Use template, and read the replacement confirmation. Follow the existing-template steps to fill Page content, review, and release the page.
Applying or reapplying a template replaces the page's layout and starts its content from the template defaults. Preserve any current content you need first. Do not reapply the template to receive a design update; pages that remain linked receive the published shared design automatically.
Each page still needs its own title, address, SEO review, and publication. Publishing a template does not create the service pages or add them to your navigation.
After connecting a page, confirm that its toolbar says Shared layout · … with the intended template name. Edit a page-specific field, check it in Preview, and verify the published page has the right content and links.
In page-editing mode, Save and Save and exit publish changes to an already-published visual page. This differs from Save draft in template-editing mode. Check which item you are editing before saving; see Updating an already-published page for the draft-only workflow.
Update a layout used by live pages
Open a linked page, verify the intended Shared page template selection, and choose Edit template. Check the Editing template name before changing the design.
For a change such as a new section arrangement or button style:
- Edit the template draft and save it.
- Preview the defaults and several linked pages at desktop and mobile widths. Check that existing page values still fit.
- Choose Publish template. Cedros refreshes the affected-page list before showing the confirmation.
- Review the page names, routes, and Live or Draft only labels, along with the live-page count. Cancel if the affected set is not what you intended.
- Confirm publication only when all listed live pages should receive the design now.
- Open the affected public pages and verify the shared change, individual content, responsive layout, and primary links.
A page can have a saved draft as well as a live version. Template publication checks both versions' linked content, while leaving the page's own published content version unchanged. Draft-only pages remain unpublished.
If publication names a page with incompatible content, fix the reported field or adjust the template to accommodate that content. A changed default cannot repair an explicitly invalid value already supplied by a page. Saving a corrected page draft alone may not resolve a problem in its live version; review whether that page update also needs publication.
Use extra care when removing exposed fields, deleting their blocks, or changing repeated-item fields. These edits can remove visible information or make existing content incompatible. Prefer changes that existing pages can use without losing information, and review every affected page when the content structure changes.
A page's scheduled publication does not schedule a shared-template update. Publish template releases the design now, so coordinate its timing separately.
Restore a design or resolve conflicting edits
Restore an earlier template design
Open Edit template → Revision history, identify the saved version you need, and choose Restore as draft. Save or preserve current unsaved work first; restoration is unavailable while the template has unsaved changes.
Restoration creates a new saved template draft. It does not change the live design until you review and publish that draft. Preview it with current linked-page content, then use the normal publication and impact-review steps.
Template history restores the shared design and field definitions. It is not a rollback of every page's individual text, address, or SEO. Use page revision history when the change you need to recover belongs to one page.
Handle a newer saved draft
If Cedros says the template changed since you opened it, another save has made your copy out of date. Do not keep retrying publication.
- Choose Save as new template when you need to preserve your edits as a separate unpublished template. The copy does not take over the original template's linked pages.
- Choose Reload saved draft when you are ready to replace your unsaved template edits with the latest saved version. Read the confirmation first.
After reloading, compare the latest design, reapply only the changes still needed, save, and review the affected pages again. Coordinate with the other editor to avoid replacing each other's work.
Recover interrupted work
If Unfinished template appears when you return to the same page on the same device and account, choose Resume template to review the local edits. Discard local template removes that recovery copy when you no longer need it.
Local recovery can retain unfinished template work for up to 24 hours, but it is not a confirmed server save or a published version. It may be unavailable if browser storage fails or is cleared. Recovered work must still pass the normal conflict checks.
Use Save draft at useful checkpoints. When leaving through Exit, read the unsaved-change choices carefully. Saving or explicitly discarding template work clears its local recovery; exiting the template returns you to the page, which may have separate unsaved edits.
Keep a one-off page independent
If one linked page needs a different structure, consider whether the change should be shared before editing the template.
To keep the current design and content on that page while stopping future template updates, exit template editing and choose Detach. Read Make this page independent?, confirm Detach page, then review and save the page. Verify the toolbar says Independent page and check its public result after release.
Detaching does not change the template or other linked pages. Reapplying a template later starts from its defaults again; it is not a way to recover the detached page's previous values.
Fix common shared-layout problems
Create template from page is disabled. Add content to an independent visual page, wait for loading or recovery to finish, and check your editing permission. An empty canvas cannot supply a reusable design.
A field is missing from Page content. Open the template and check Editable content. Expose the intended block field, save, and publish the design. Fields left shared do not appear as per-page inputs.
Changing a default did not change an existing page. That page may already have its own value. Edit the page's Page content field, or deliberately keep the field shared if every page must use one common value.
Publish template is disabled. Save the current template draft and resolve any validation errors. A failed save or unsaved edit does not provide a publishable revision.
Preview content cannot load a page. Read the error. The page may no longer be linked to this template, or its saved values may be incompatible with the draft. Return to Template defaults, check the page's current link and content, and retry after correcting the cause.
The design changed on more pages than expected. Shared publication applies to all linked live pages. Review template history and restore a suitable version as a draft if needed; inspect the affected-page list again before publishing the repair.
A linked template cannot be loaded. Preserve unsaved work, reload, and confirm the template is available. Avoid replacing or detaching the page blindly to dismiss the error.
If the issue remains, see Getting help and reporting a problem. Include the template name, affected page addresses, the action that failed, and the exact error. Keep private preview links and confidential page content out of public reports.