How to Choose and Apply a Template

Pixelesq Has Three Types of Reuse (This Is the Key Insight)

Before you pick a template, understand that Pixelesq has three different reuse mechanisms that are often confused:

• Templates are reusable page starting points. Applied once when a page is created. After creation, the page is independent. Updating the template does NOT update pages already created from it.
• Partials are reusable sections (like headers and footers). Live-linked to every page that references them. Updating a partial instantly updates every page using it.
• Collection view templates are reusable layouts for collection entries. Live-linked to every entry in the collection. Used for blogs, portfolios, product catalogs.

People hear "template" and assume it means live-linked. It does not. Templates are copies. This is the single most important thing to understand.

When to Use Each Pattern

• Use a Template when you want a consistent starting layout for pages that will diverge after creation. Example: a "Landing Page Template" used as the foundation for distinct campaigns, each with its own content.
• Use a Partial when you want the same content in multiple places and it should stay in sync. Example: a site header used on every page, or a "Book a Demo" CTA block that appears at the bottom of 10 marketing pages.
• Use a Collection View Template when you have a repeatable entity (blog post, team member, product) and want one layout automatically applied to every instance. Example: every blog post uses the same layout, but each post has different content pulled from the entry.

If you pick the wrong pattern, you end up fighting the platform. Pick carefully.

Browse Your Templates

Click Templates in the sidebar (under the Create group). You see a list of templates in your project, sorted by most recently updated. Each template shows its name, creator or editor, and last modified time. A "default" badge marks the template used for new pages if you set one.

New projects typically start with a default template created during onboarding. Collections with pages may also have their own templates, shown in the same list.

[Screenshot: Templates list with default indicator]

Edit a Template

Double-click a template to open it in the editor. The template editor looks exactly like the page editor: sections on the left, preview in the center, save and publish in the header.

Add, remove, and customize sections as you would on any page. Fill placeholder content that hints at what the real content should be (e.g., "Your headline here", "Brief description of the feature"). This helps future page creators understand the intent.

Save the template. It is now available as a starting point for new pages.

Set a Default Template

Go to Settings > Website and find the default template setting. Select your preferred template. From now on, every new page starts with that template's sections and content as its initial state.

This is how teams enforce consistent page structures. If every marketing landing page should start with hero, features, testimonials, pricing, CTA, and footer, build that as a template and set it as default. Now no one accidentally builds a landing page with the wrong structure.

The One-Way Copy Behavior

This is worth repeating: when you create a page from a template, Pixelesq copies the template's sections into the new page. From that moment on, the page and the template are independent. Edits to the template do not affect the already-created page. Edits to the page do not affect the template.

Implications:

• Updating a template to fix a typo does NOT fix that typo on existing pages. You must fix each page individually.
• Improving a template does not improve existing pages. Only new pages created after the change benefit.
• If you need updates to propagate, you want a partial (for sections) or a collection view template (for entry pages), not a regular template.

This behavior is a feature, not a bug. It lets you iterate on templates without breaking pages. But it means templates are not the right tool when you want live-linked updates.

Templates and Collections: The One Exception

Collection view templates work differently. When you link a template to a collection (by setting it as the collection's view template), every entry in the collection renders through that template dynamically. Updating the template DOES update every entry's rendered page, because entries render through the template at request time.

This is why view templates are the right tool for blogs and dynamic pages. Regular templates are for standalone pages.

Pro Tips

• Start with one template. Do not create 5 templates on day one. Create one, use it, find the rough edges, iterate. Adding more templates later is easy.
• Use descriptive names. "Blog Post Template" and "Landing Page Template" are clear. "Template 1" and "New Template" are useless.
• Duplicate templates to experiment. Do not edit your working template while experimenting. Duplicate first, experiment on the copy, promote the copy to default if you like it.
• Put partials inside templates. A template should reference header and footer partials (not include them as inline sections). This way, the template provides structure and partials provide live-updating shared content. Best of both worlds.
• Ask the Pixel Agent to generate templates. "Create a template for a SaaS landing page with hero, features, pricing, and FAQ" is faster than building from scratch.

Troubleshooting

New pages are not using my template: Confirm the template is set as default in Settings > Website. Without a default, new pages start blank. Also verify you saved the template after making changes.

I updated a template and my existing pages did not change: Expected behavior. Templates are copies, not links. To propagate changes, either recreate the affected pages from the updated template (losing page-specific edits) or use partials for the parts that should stay in sync.

Cannot find Templates in the sidebar: Templates is under the Create group, alongside Pages, Collections, Partials, and Forms. If still missing, check your user role; Viewers may not see template management.

Template editor looks different from the page editor: It should not. If it does, you may be in a collection view template editor (which has additional field connection features) or a different editor mode. Close and reopen from the Templates list to start fresh.

Setting a default template does not seem to do anything: The default applies to new pages created after the change. Pages already created remain unaffected. Create a new page to see the default template in action.

FAQ

Can I convert an existing page into a template?

Not with a one-click action. To turn an existing page into a template, create a new template manually and recreate the page's sections and layout there. Alternatively, ask the Pixel Agent to "create a template from the page named X"; it can replicate the structure programmatically.

If I delete a template, what happens to pages created from it?

Pages are unaffected. Because templates are copies (not live links), deleting the template does not touch any existing pages. The pages continue to work normally. The only thing you lose is the ability to create new pages from that template. Templates are safe to delete once all the pages you need from them exist.

Can a template include content pulled from a collection entry?

Regular templates contain static placeholder content. For dynamic content pulled from collection entries, you need a collection view template with field connections like <%=field_name%>. These are different template types; regular templates are for standalone pages, view templates are for collection entries.

How is the default template enforced for new pages?

When you click Create Page, Pixelesq automatically copies the default template's sections into the new page. There is no prompt asking if you want to apply the template; it happens silently. To start with a blank page instead, you would need to delete the copied sections after creation. For more control, some projects expose template selection when creating a page.

Do templates take up storage against my plan limits?

Templates count as their own entity type, separate from pages. Most plans have a separate quota for templates (usually small, like 10-20 templates). The template's sections and content are stored once, regardless of how many pages have been created from it. Templates are efficient; do not worry about storage impact.

Can I share a template with another Pixelesq project or account?

Templates are scoped to a single project. There is no built-in sharing across projects. For teams managing multiple similar projects, you would recreate the template in each project manually. This is a common pain point for agencies; the workaround is to use the Pixel Agent to replicate templates quickly across projects rather than building each one by hand.