Edit the Pages template

The Pages template controls the layout of standard pages on your site, such as an About or Contact page. In this guide, you will learn how to open the Pages template, explore its layout, customize the design, and apply it to a page.

This guide requires a theme that supports the Site Editor. Check for Appearance → Editor in your site’s dashboard. If you see Customize instead, you’re using a classic theme. Consider switching to a block theme.

Edit the Pages template if you want to change the overall layout of all pages that use this template. Changes you make affect every page using the template.

If you want to change the content of only a single page, go to Pages in your site’s dashboard and select that page to edit it directly.

To find and edit the Pages template, follow these steps:

1. Visit your site’s dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance → Editor.
3. In the left sidebar, click the Templates option.
4. Locate the template called Pages. You can browse through the templates or use the search option at the top to search by name.
5. Click the template thumbnail to open it in the editor.
   • You can also click the ellipsis (three dots) at the top right of the template thumbnail and select Edit.

First, it helps to understand the overall layout of the template you are working on. To see this, open List View by clicking the icon at the top left of the screen (the icon looks like three horizontal lines):

Here, you will see all the elements (known in the WordPress editor as blocks) of your template. A typical Pages template will have the following elements:

• Header: The header contains elements like a site title, logo, and menu. The header is a template part that appears across the entire site. Any edits you make to this header will apply to all pages on your site where the header template part is inserted.
• Title: The page title is shown as the Title block in the template. When viewing an actual page on your site, the title you have written for that page will show in this spot.
• Featured Image: The featured image is a single image to represent your page.
• Content: The page’s content is shown as the Content block in the template. When you view an actual page, the content of that page, added through Pages, will show here instead. If you remove the Content block, any pages using this template will appear to have no content until you add it back.
• Footer: The footer contains elements like a site title, contact information, and a WordPress footer credit. The footer is a template part that appears on every page. Any edits you make to this footer will apply everywhere on your site where the footer template part is inserted.

While every WordPress theme is different, these are the standard elements of a Pages template that you can expect to see on most themes. You may see other elements included in your Pages template, which you can edit as you wish.

Your theme’s templates provide you with a professional, well-designed layout to start from. To personalize the default design, you can swap out the text and images for your own content and add or remove any elements on the page.

Here are a few common adjustments you may wish to make to your Pages template.

If you want to add an element to all pages, such as a subscription box, a contact form, or a button, you can add it to the Pages template so it appears on all pages that use this template.

Click the + block inserter to add a new block in your desired position (it can be helpful to use List View to select the position). Once you save your changes, the new block will appear on all pages that use the template you are editing.

When editing the Pages template, you will see the Title block, which represents where the actual page title will be shown on your individual pages. If there is no Title block, you can add one. The block has settings to change the alignment, size, color, and more.

You can also remove the title from showing on your pages by removing the Title block. Select the block, click the ellipsis (three dots) in the toolbar above it, and select Remove. See Remove a block for more.

When editing the Pages template, you will find the Featured Image block that shows a featured image on your individual pages. If there is no Featured Image block, you can add one.

If you wish to hide the featured image so that it does not appear on a page, you can remove the Featured Image block. Select the block, click the ellipsis (three dots) in the toolbar above it, and select Delete. See Remove a block for more.

If, instead, you wish to update or remove a featured image from a specific post or page, follow the steps in this guide to replace or remove a featured image.

If you want the content of your pages to appear wider or narrower, you can control this in the Pages template.

When viewing the contents of the Pages template, the width is typically controlled by the blocks named Group. To change the width, follow these steps:

1. Using List View, select the group that contains the content.
2. A toolbar will appear alongside the group of content. Select the width option as shown here:

3. Select wide width or full width to change the width of your content.

The Group block includes many additional settings for layout, color, width, and more. Learn all about the Group block.

If your pages are not showing any content, you might have accidentally removed the Content block from the template. To restore it, follow these steps:

1. Open the Pages template for editing.
2. Using List View, select where you would like your content to appear. This would typically be below the header or title in the template.
3. Click the + block inserter to add a new block, choosing the Content block.
4. Click Save in the top-right corner.

By default, any pages you create will use the Pages template. To confirm or change which template a page uses:

• Edit a template: For general guidance on editing any template, including saving and restoring revisions.
• Apply a template to a page: For more details on changing which template a page or post uses.
• Reset a template: If you want to undo all your changes and restore the original design.
• Edit the Index and All Archives Templates: Customize how blog posts appear on archive and index pages.
• Edit the default homepage: Customize the layout of your site’s homepage.
• Templates: For an overview of how templates work and the common types of templates on your site.