Templates and pages

A template is the frame that repeats. A page is one address that uses that frame and adds its own content, so editing a template changes every page built on it.

What belongs where

Most websites need one or two templates in total. A common set-up is one template for ordinary pages and a second for the home page, because the home page has a different header. You don't need a template per page. That's what pages are for.

Editing a template changes every page

Change the footer once, and it changes on all forty pages.

Before you change a template, check which pages you're about to affect. On the Templates screen, each template row shows how many pages use it, and clicking that number lists them. A template that isn't used by anything says Not in use.

That count also decides whether you can delete it. A template that is in use by pages cannot be deleted. The delete option isn't offered. Move or delete the pages first.

The root element belongs to the template

When you open a page in the editor, the outermost element (the root) is shown, but you can't add anything directly to it. The editor tells you so:

The root element is part of the template, edit the template to add elements to the root.

The root is the template's own outer frame. To change it, open the template instead of the page. On the Pages screen, each page row links to its template.

If several templates should share the same header and footer, you don't have to rebuild them. There is an option to share root elements between templates on the Templates screen.

Folders

Pages can be grouped into folders; templates can't. The Templates screen has no folders, so there a clear name is the only organiser. See Managing your templates.

Folders are for your own convenience only. They do not affect your website's addresses. A page in a folder called "Old campaigns" still lives at whatever address you gave it. If you want the address to change, change the page's Location, not its folder.

Creating a page

Manage → Pages → Add page. You'll be asked for:

• Language: which language version this page is (only shown on multi-language websites).
• Template: which template it's built on. The list only shows templates that exist in the language you picked. If it's empty, see the language section below.
• Name: what you call the page in the builder, and what a menu item will suggest.
• Location: the page's address. ClickWhale fills this in for you as you type the name, turning "Our services" into our-services. You can overwrite it.
• Folder: optional, for your own tidiness.
• Requires logged in user: only shown if the Members module is on. This is the members-only switch.

Afterwards, each page's option menu (the ⋮ button) offers Edit page name / url, Edit metadata, Page in new language, and Delete page.

Changing a page's Location does not leave a forwarding address. Anyone who bookmarked the old address, and any search engine that indexed it, will hit a dead end. If the page has been live for a while, add a redirect under Settings → URL redirects at the same time.

Creating a template

Manage → Templates → Add template. You give it a name and, on a multi-language site, a language. That's all. You then open it and build.

To open a template for editing, click the Edit template row. On a multi-language site there is one such row per language, each with its flag.

Templates and pages in other languages

On a multi-language website, both templates and pages exist once per language.

A page can only be created in a language that its template already exists in.

So the order is always:

1. Add the language under Manage → Languages.
2. Open the template and use Template in new language to create the template in that language.
3. Open the page and use Page in new language.

If you skip step 2, step 3 shows you an empty list and a message saying there are no available languages. The fix is not on the page. It's on the template.

Common issues