Use a template on your site
Using a template puts its pages, sections and style on your website drafts. Nothing goes live until you press Publish. This page is for website editors.
Where to press Use on my site
Section titled “Where to press Use on my site”- Website → Theme → Your own templates: Use on my site next to a template.
- Website → Theme → the cards marked Designed by the platform, next to the themes: Use on my site on a card (or Copy to my templates to change it first).
- All my templates, or inside the designer. The designer saves first.
If your website hasn’t been started yet, the start screen (Choose a template to start) also lists Or start with a template you designed, with Use on my site on each.
If your company has a private design made for it, that design stays on the Theme tab as its own card, so you can switch back any time.
- Press Use on my site. The window asks Bring your content into the new design?
- Choose where the words and pictures come from:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| My current site | Your words and pictures move into the new design. Your unpublished changes are kept. |
| An earlier version | Use what you had in a version you published before. Choose Which version. |
| Start fresh | Begin with the template’s own sample words and pictures. |
If your website was never started, you don’t choose: it starts with the template’s sample words and pictures.
- Press Use on my site. It says Working… for a moment.
- The window says “Template name is in your drafts”. It lists any sections that had no place in the new design (“Hero on Home”, for example), or says “Everything came across.”
- Press Done, check your pages and the preview, then press Publish when you’re happy.
Afterwards Website → Theme says “Your draft uses template name (your design)”. Press Change colours, fonts and logo there to change its colours and fonts. No theme card says In use now, because your site uses its own copy of the template.
Right after using a template, the bar at the top shows Undo template. Press it, then press Undo in the window that asks “Undo the template? Your changes since using it will be lost.” (Cancel keeps the template). You’ll see “Your site is back to how it was before the template. Nothing was published.” You can undo until you publish. You can use the template again afterwards.
If something goes wrong
Section titled “If something goes wrong”| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “Nothing to undo.” | There is no template use to go back from. You may have published since. | Nothing to do. Use a different template if you want another look. |
| “That version can’t be used.” | The version you chose can’t be brought in. | Choose My current site, another version, or Start fresh. |
| “No earlier version can be used.” | Your site has no version that can be brought in. | Choose My current site or Start fresh. |
| “This template needs fixing in the designer before it can be used.” | The template has fields that aren’t valid. | Open it in the designer, fix the marked fields, and try again. |
| “Couldn’t save the template first. Try again.” | The designer couldn’t save before opening the window. | Press Use on my site again. |
| “Fix the marked fields first.” | The template has fields that aren’t valid. | Fix the marked fields in the designer. |
| A template is missing from the list | Built-in themes are still Draft. | Ask the platform admin. |