Create Templates

Overview of page templates

Often times within a website you can find yourself creating a similar type of page over and over. For example, every time you post a new project, it has the same content and format. Or each time you create a new unit resource page, it has the same content and format.

Instead of copying and pasting pages, you can create a page template which will allow you to define default content as well as settings, like layout, that other collaborators or site owners can use when they create a new page. Page templates can save you time and add consistency to your site.

Examples of page types that could be used as a template:

• Student project page with all elements - each student knows exactly what to include on a page
• Newsletter template - always use the same format for every newsletter
• Student showcase page - easily recreate this page when you want to highlight a student or project
• Unit outline page - for all units in your course, have a structure that can be used over and over
• Assignment or project page - common structure and layout for assignment pages

You can also view this video here:

Basically, you can use a page template when you have a common or standard format that you would like to apply to pages more than once in your site.

Once you create a page template, it will appear in the list of page types when you click to create a new page. The new page will then be pre-formatted to match your page template.

You can edit a page template at any time if you need to make changes.

Create a page template

A page template first starts out as a regular page you create in your site. Google Sites then copies that page and saves it as a template that can be used over and over again.

If you would like to create a template based on a new page, create the page as you any other page. The template can be for a standard web page, announcement page, list page, or start page. Add the content you would like to appear on the page.

If you have an existing page you would like to use as a template, navigate to that page.

To save your page as a template that you and other site collaborators or owners can use when creating new pages, follow these steps:

1. On your page, make sure you are not editing a page (if you see the Save and Cancel button, you are in editing mode). If in editing mode, click Save or Cancel to exit.
2. Click the More button and select Save as page template from the drop down.

1. You can now enter the name for your template, a description of the template page. Only the template name is required, however.

1. Click Save.

Now when you create a new page, you'll see all the templates you've saved. Any content that you had on your 'master' page is now included by default in the new template.

Edit a page template

Once you create a page template, you can modify the page as you would any other page within your site. However, please note that any changes made to your template will not affect pages that have already been created with the template. Pages do not dynamically update with changes to a template.

If you add or remove the content from the template after creating a page, the content won't be removed from the page. In other words, once a page is created by a template, it is not dynamically updated with the latest template changes.

For example, if you create a page template with an outline of a class unit and fill in the information for unit 1, then create a new page using the class unit template, the content for unit 1 will get included in the new page. But if you later remove the content for unit 1 from your class unit template, the content for unit 1 will still appear on the previously created page.

To edit a page template, follow these steps:

1. In your site, make sure you are not editing a page (if you see the Save and Cancel button, you are in editing mode). If in editing mode, click Save or Cancel to exit.
2. Click the More button and select Manage site from the drop down menu.

1. Click Page templates from under the Site content category.

1. Here you will see a list of all the page templates you have created. Find the page template you would like to edit and click the template title link.

1. Click the Edit page button to start editing the page template.

1. Make your changes and then click Save.

Create a new page from template

After you have saved a page as a page template, the template will appear as an page type when you create a new page.

Now, when you click the New page button on your site, you should see your templates listed with the Google Sites page types. Select the template you would like to use and create the page as usual.

The new page will be pre-formatted and pre-filled with content from the template. You can still make any changes to the template as you would to any other page. The template is just meant to simplify any formatting or content creation process.

Manage page templates

You can manage all your page templates from your site settings. In the Page templates settings you can :

• Choose which templates to show as options for new pages
• Choose which templates to hide from new page options
• Select a template as the default for any new page
• Create new templates
• View revisions to user generated page templates

To manage your templates in site settings, follow these steps:

1. In your site, make sure you are not editing a page (if you see the Save and Cancel button, you are in editing mode). If in editing mode, click Save or Cancel to exit.
2. Click the More menu and select Manage site from the drop down menu.

1. Select Page templates from the Site content category.

1. Modify the page template settings (options listed below) and click Save.

To choose which templates to be displayed in the page type selection while creating a new page, follow these steps:

1. Select the checkbox next to each template and click the Show or Hide button. Next time you create a new page, you'll only see the templates you selected to be displayed.

To choose a template to be the default page type for all new pages (a site collaborator can always choose a different page type, but this will be the default if they do not make a selection), follow these steps:

1. Select the checkbox next to the template you would like to be default and click the Set as default button.

To view revisions to a page template you or another site collaborator has created, follow these steps:

1. Find the template you would like to view and click the number linked under the far right 'Revisions' column.

1. This will take you to a version history of your page template. Click on any of the revisions to view, or if you wish to revert to an older version, click the (Revert to this version) link.

To create new templates, click the Create page template button.

Please note: Page template selections aren't visible to site viewers. Site viewers can view any page, but they cannot create new pages or edit the site settings, so they will never see the different page templates or page types. Only site collaborators or site owners will be able to see types of page templates.

Creating a Site Template

You can build a single site template that students can use to keep track of their projects and assignments. With a template, each student in your class can have the same basic site, making it easy for you to evaluate what's needed.

For the site you could include

• File cabinet page for submitted assignments. When students are ready to turn in an assignment for a grade, they can upload it to the file cabinet.
• Project status page. You can use a list type to create a general template for tasks to be completed for a project. Students can duplicate this page for other projects and update the list page to show the status of each piece of the project
• Journal for assignment reflection. Using the announcement page type, students can reflect on past assignments or write daily/weekly journal entries based on other writing prompts.
• Goals for the class. You can set up either a regular web page or use a list type for listing goals and progress on those goals for the class.

You can also view this video here:

Once you have created this sample site for student coursework, you can add it to the Template gallery. This way your students can use your template as a starting point for their coursework site.

Just keep in mind that anyone who uses Google Sites with your school Apps domain will see your template once you submit it to the gallery.

To publish your coursework site so that students can copy, follow these steps:

1. Go to the site you want to add as a template.
2. Click More at the top right of the page, then choose Manage Site (you'll need to be signed in to see this option).

1. Click General at the left side of the page, scroll down, and click Publish this site as a template. (If this link isn't available, then templates have been disabled for your domain and you can't use this feature.)

1. A form appears where you can name your template and add a description of what it might be used to achieve. Optionally place your template in up to two categories (if available). Just choose a category from each of the Select a categorylists.
2. Click Submit template.

The template appears in the gallery with the name and description you gave it.