Templates
Templates give you a head start when building your site. Pick a template and ClearCMS sets up pages, sections, navigation, and branding for you. You can change everything afterwards.
ClearCMS includes two kinds of templates:
- Site templates — used when creating a new site. They set up multiple pages, navigation, and branding all at once.
- Page templates — used when adding a new page to an existing site. They fill the page with a useful starting layout.
Site templates
When you create a new site, ClearCMS shows a template picker. Each site template builds a complete site with pages, sections, a top menu, a footer, and a matching color scheme.
| Template | Pages | Best for | Primary color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business | 4 (Home, About, Services, Contact) | Agencies, consultants, professional services | Blue |
| Portfolio | 4 (Home, Projects, About, Contact) | Designers, photographers, freelancers | Dark |
| Blog | 3 (Home, Blog, About) | Content creators, media, educators | Green |
| Landing Page | 1 (Home) | SaaS, startups, product launches | Purple |
Business
A professional multi-page site for companies and service providers. Includes four pages: Home, About, Services, and Contact. The Home page opens with a large banner, followed by a features section, testimonials, and a call-to-action. The About page shows team profiles and stats. Services lists what you offer with pricing. Contact has a contact form.
The top menu shows your company name with links to each page and a "Get Started" button. Colors default to blue with the Inter font.
Portfolio
A clean, minimal site for showcasing work. Includes four pages: Home, Projects, About, and Contact. The Home page has a simple banner with logos and featured projects. The Projects page shows your work. About includes your story with stats. Contact has a contact form.
The top menu shows your name with links to each page. Colors default to a dark scheme with the Inter font.
Blog
A site built around a blog. Includes three pages: Home, Blog, and About. The Home page has a centered banner and a call-to-action. The Blog page shows your posts in a grid with a newsletter sign-up. About includes your story and a FAQ section.
The top menu shows your blog name with links to each page and a "Subscribe" button. Colors default to green with Georgia for headings and Inter for body text.
The Blog template requires the Posts collection. Make sure Posts is enabled in Settings > Content Types so the blog grid can display your articles.
Landing Page
A single-page site built for getting sign-ups or sales. Everything lives on one Home page: a large banner, logos, features, testimonials, pricing, and a call-to-action.
The top menu links scroll visitors to sections on the same page (Features, Pricing, Testimonials). A "Get Started" button sits in the top-right corner. Colors default to purple.
How to choose a template
When you create a new site, the template picker shows all four options with previews. Pick the one closest to what you need. You are not locked in. You can add pages, remove sections, swap colors, and change fonts. The template is just a starting point.
If none of the templates fit, start with a blank site and build from scratch.
Page templates
Page templates are used when you add a new page to an existing site. They give the page a useful layout so you do not start from nothing.
ClearCMS includes six page templates:
| Template | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Blank Page | An empty page with no sections. Start from scratch. |
| Landing Page | Hero, features grid, call-to-action, and footer (4 sections) |
| About Page | Hero, team grid, testimonials, and footer (4 sections) |
| Services Page | Hero, feature cards, pricing, call-to-action, and footer (5 sections) |
| Contact Page | Hero, contact form, and footer (3 sections) |
| Blog Page | Hero, blog grid, newsletter, and footer (4 sections) |
The Blog Page template requires the Posts collection to be enabled so the blog grid section can display articles.
To use a page template, click Add Page in the sidebar, then choose a template from the list. The new page appears with all the template's sections already in place, ready for you to fill in your content.
What templates set up
When you apply a template (site or page), ClearCMS creates several things for you:
- Pages with ready-made sections -- each page comes with sections already in a useful order. For example, a landing page has a banner at the top, features in the middle, and a call-to-action at the bottom.
- Navigation -- site templates set up your top menu with links to each page and a button where it makes sense. They also fill in footer links.
- Branding -- site templates apply a color scheme and fonts that work well together. Page templates use whatever branding your site already has.
- Sample content -- sections come filled with example text, images, and headings. Replace these with your own content.
Customizing after applying
Everything a template creates is fully editable. Nothing is locked. The template just saves you setup time.
Here is what you can change:
- Add, remove, or reorder sections on any page. Drag sections up or down, delete ones you do not need, or add new ones.
- Change branding -- open the Branding panel to update colors, fonts, and logo.
- Edit navigation -- add or remove links in the top menu, rename them, change the order, or update footer links.
- Replace sample content -- click any text, heading, or image to replace it with your own.
- Add new pages -- use a page template or start with a blank page.
- Remove pages -- delete any page the template created if you do not need it.
Templates and branding
Each site template comes with its own color scheme and fonts. These are starting values that you can change at any time.
Here is how it works:
- ClearCMS defaults -- ClearCMS starts with a basic set of colors and fonts.
- Template values -- the template replaces those defaults with its own look.
- Your changes -- anything you change in the Branding panel takes priority.
Your changes always win. If you change the primary color from the template's blue to your own orange, your site uses orange. The template's value is replaced.
Templates also set up related colors automatically. When a template uses a primary color, ClearCMS picks matching shades for buttons, hover effects, and text so everything looks right together.
For more on how branding works, see the Branding guide.
For technical details about how branding values work as design tokens, see Design Tokens.
Templates and collections
Some templates use content from your collections. If a template includes a blog section, team profiles, or testimonials, those sections pull content from the matching collection.
- The Blog site template and the Blog Page template both require the Posts collection.
- The Business site template works well with the Team and Testimonials collections for the About and Home pages.
Templates do not turn on collections for you automatically. After applying a template, go to Settings > Content Types and turn on the collections you need. For example, if you chose the Blog template, make sure Posts is turned on so the blog section has content to show.
For more about collections, see the Content Types guide.
Start with a template, then make it yours. Templates are designed to be a starting point, not a constraint. The fastest way to build a site is to pick the closest template and customize from there.