A template controls the layout of your pages. Not to be confused with Themes (that set the design of your entire site), the template affects the look and feel of an individual page (or post) or groups of pages (or posts.) This guide explains how to work with page templates.
The template controls how the page is displayed.
You can identify the template a page is using by following these steps:
- In your WordPress.com dashboard, click Pages.
- Click a page’s name to open that page in the editor.
- In the Page settings sidebar on the right, under Summary, locate the Template option.
- Note the name of the template the page is using.
If you do not see the sidebar on the right, click the Settings icon in the top right corner to bring up the settings. This icon looks like a square with two uneven columns:
When you select a theme, a few base templates are included automatically. WordPress uses these templates to create default styles for specific page types.
The most common templates are listed below:
- Homepage templates (varies per theme):
- Home template: Used for the default homepage of your site.
- Index template: When a Home template is absent, some themes use the index template as the default home page. Otherwise, it displays your latest posts.
- Front Page template: If this template exists with the theme, it will always be applied to the front page of the site. If the template does not exist, the Home or Index template is used for the front page.
- Page template: Controls the layout of standard pages of your site, such as an About or Contact page. Some themes also use the Page template to display the home page.
- Single template: This template styles your individual blog posts.
- Archive template: This is the design for category pages, tag pages, and other archive pages.
Depending on your site’s active theme, your site may have some or all of the templates mentioned above. You can check which templates are included with your theme by following these steps:
- Visit your site’s dashboard.
- Navigate to Appearance → Editor.
- Click on the “Templates” option.
- Select “All templates” to see a full list of your site’s templates with descriptions of their purpose.
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When you first open the Site Editor, it loads whichever template displays the home page of the site.
These guides focus on how to edit templates included with Site Editor themes. If you are using a classic or third-party theme, you can learn more about configuring the templates included with your theme from that theme’s setup guide or documentation.
Create a Template
Block themes include built-in templates, but you can also create your own templates by following the steps in this guide.
Edit a Template
This guide explains how to open an existing template, and edit it in the Site Editor.
Apply a Template to a Page
This guide explains how to apply an existing template to a page or post.
Reset a Template
You can undo and revert the changes you have made to default templates. This guide shows you how.
Delete a Template
This guide will show you how to remove any custom templates you have created in the Site Editor.
