NextPress documentation

Templates and themes

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The three ways to reuse a design in NextPress, linked templates, pre-designed blocks and themes, what each does and does not do.

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NextPress has three ways to reuse a design. They behave differently, so pick the one that fits.

I want toUse
Show the same header, footer or sign-up box on many pages, and change it in one placeTemplate
Start from a ready-made section, then change the copy freelyPre-designed block
Set the colors and fonts of a whole siteTheme

Templates

A template is one layout block you design once and show on many pages. Each page shows it through a Template block, which stays linked to the template. When you change the template, every page that shows it changes on the next visit.

  • Templates belong to one site. Open Templates in the sidebar, under Appearance.
  • A template starts as one of these layout blocks: Group, Stack, Columns, Container, Header, Accordion, Popup or Form. Everything else goes inside it.
  • The Templates screen lists each template's name, its layout block, and how many pages use it.

You make a template with New template on the Templates screen, and add it to a page from the Templates group under the block list. The steps are in Menus, headers and footers.

In a page, select the Template block to see Edit template, which opens the template, and Detach. Detach replaces the template on this page with ordinary copies of its blocks. Later changes to the template no longer reach this page.

What a template does not do:

  • It cannot be edited from inside a page. Use Edit template.
  • A template from another site is not shown.
  • A template that shows itself is not repeated.

Deleting a template asks first and lists the pages that use it. Those pages show nothing in its place. This cannot be undone.

Pre-designed blocks

A pre-designed block is a ready-made set of blocks, of type Header, Footer, Page, Post or Popup. Using one copies its blocks into your page. The copy keeps no link to the original.

There are three ways to use one:

  • Pre-designed blocks group under the block list: click one to add a copy at the end of the page.
  • Start from in the New page dialog: the new page starts as a copy.
  • Design menu in the page builder: click one to replace the page's blocks with a copy. This saves the page at once.

The Pre-designed Blocks screen has no sidebar entry. Open it with Create a pre-designed block in the Design menu or Create one in the block list, shown when none exist yet, or go to /admin/pre-designed-blocks on your site.

Themes

A theme sets a site's colors and fonts: heading font, body font, button font, corner radius and the color set. Each site has its own active theme.

The Themes screen is in the sidebar, under Appearance, for admins and owners. Its actions:

  • Activate makes a theme the site's active theme. The active one reads In use.
  • New theme creates one. Import adds one from a theme file.
  • Edit opens a theme's settings. Built-in themes cannot be edited. Press Copy to make your own version.

The Design menu in the page builder can also switch the active theme. A theme does not change page layouts or templates.

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