Website templates: what are they, why they matter, and how you, as a small business owner can take advantage of them. Let’s discuss.
For many small business owners, every new service, promotion, or blog post feels like a mini web project. This usually indicates that the website was set up without developing replicable templates.
Website templates are a great way to save time, ensure brand consistency, and take control of your website.
What are page and post templates?
Templates are pre-designed layouts that you can reuse across your website. They provide you with a ready-made structure to plug your content into.
If you’re using a tool like Elementor, templates can come in a few forms:
Saved sections
Think headers, testimonials, or industry blocks you use often.
Saved sections are one of the most underrated yet powerful features. Think testimonials carousels, headers, team members, banners, contact form, etc.
These are individual parts of a page that you design once and can copy/paste across your site with minor adjustments like text or image.
Think of them as building blocks. Instead of recreating the same section on multiple pages, you simply insert the saved section wherever you need it.
Page templates
Think service pages, industry pages, individual team member pages, thank-you pages, and so on.
Page templates are full-page layouts.
In Elementor (and similar page builders), page templates are one of the fastest ways to add new pages while maintaining brand consistency. You don’t start with a blank canvas each time. Instead, you insert your saved page template, swap out the text, images, and other details, and you are good to go.
Post templates
If you publish blog posts, news updates, or any other sorts of insights on your website, you simply must set up post templates.
A post template is a reusable layout for your blog or article pages. It includes elements like post title, featured image, the body of the article, a byline, publish date, categories, tags, a sidebar with related posts, a CTA button, etc.
You can create a single post template that automatically applies to every blog post or set up custom templates for different types of posts – e.g., a different template for each author, or variations of a template for news vs press releases vs guides.
Global templates and elements
Global templates and elements will take your efficiency to the next level.
In tools like Elementor, global templates refer to design elements like your header, footer, navigation bar, as well as to pages like the 404 error page or the archive page. These are pieces you create once and then assign to show up across the whole site (or triggered by certain actions).
Furthermore, you can assign a certain element to be global. For example, your ‘Book a Demo’ button can become a global widget, which means if you update its design or functionality in one place, the changes will be reflected for every instance where the button is displayed. This is convenient for elements that appear on your website multiple times: buttons, forms, banners, and so on.
Use cases for templates
Wondering where templates come in handy? Here are some everyday examples:
- New service/industry pages: Launching your offering for a new industry? Use one base template and customize the content.
- Team member profiles: Easily add individual pages for each new team member.
- Blog posts: Maintain consistent formatting for readability, brand consistency, and SEO benefits.
- Case studies or testimonials: Showcase your work and happy clients using a layout that makes it easy to replicate and keep polished.
- Landing pages: Run special campaigns or promote lead magnets using a consistent layout that can be customized for different purposes.
Templates let you move faster without sacrificing quality or consistency.
How we build templates that you can actually use
When working on a new site, we build templates with the goal of making them easy for you to use and update, irrespective of your technical skill level.
Here’s our approach that you can replicate:
- Design for cloneability: We start with a layout that works across multiple use cases and content types.
- Keep editing simple: Using Elementor, we make sure you can easily swap images, text, or sections without breaking the design.
- Minimal custom code: Custom code is added only if it’s absolutely necessary. In 99% of the cases, we build clean templates.
- Train how to use it: We walk clients through how to duplicate, edit, and customize templates with confidence.
In conclusion, templates are a scalable system for running your website without overwhelm. They give you the freedom to focus on your business, the speed to launch new ideas quickly, and the polish of a professionally designed site across all pages.
