Apply a template to a page

Templates control the layout of the pages and posts on your site. This guide explains how to change the template a page or post uses and what to do if the template you want does not appear in the list.

When editing a page or post, you can change the template it uses. Some themes include alternate templates, or you can create your own.

To apply a different template to a page or post, follow these steps:

1. Visit your site’s dashboard.
2. Click Pages or Posts and select the page or post you want to apply the template to.
3. In the page or post settings sidebar on the right, click the template name.
4. Click the “Change template” option:

5. Choose the template you want to apply from the previews of available templates. If the template you want does not appear, see Why your template might not appear below.
6. Click the Save button. Your new template is now applied to this page or post and controls how it is displayed on the site.

When you open the “Change template” panel, you may see fewer templates than you expected. The panel only shows templates that can be applied to the current content. Here are the most common reasons a template does not appear:

• The template is designated for a different type of content: Only templates designated for the type of content you are editing appear in the panel. For example, if you are editing a page, you will not see templates designated for blog posts, authors, or tags. See the list of template types for details.
• The page uses an automatic template: Archive pages, search results pages, 404 pages, and the homepage use templates that WordPress.com applies automatically. These templates do not appear in the “Change template” panel because they are assigned by the type of page, not by the individual page. You can still customize them — see Edit a template.
• You are editing a template, not a page: If you do not see a template name in the settings sidebar at all, make sure you are editing a page or post, not the template itself.

• Reset a template: If you want to return a template to its original design from your theme, reset it instead of changing it.
• Delete a template: If you created a custom template you no longer need, you can delete it. Default templates cannot be deleted, only reset.
• Create a template: If none of your existing templates meet your needs, create a new one from the Site Editor, the page editor, or by duplicating an existing template.