How to Use a Page Template in WordPress
WordPress offers users a convenient and easy way to manage blogs and websites. With customizable themes, layouts and other features, the possibilities of how each space can look are endless. The page template determines how each page looks and reacts to user movement and functioning. How the page template appears is a huge part in keeping users active on any blog or website, so the template is vital in website management. WordPress and third-party sites offer several page template plug-ins for users, but many users have created their own templates for a more customized feel.
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Instructions
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Using Page Templates
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1
Connect your computer to a secure Internet connection. Unstable Internet connections can lead to errors while updating and editing blog systems such as WordPress.
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2
Log in to your WordPress account to access the dashboard of your website. If you are unsure of how to do this, add "/wp-admin" to the end of your website, minus the quotation marks. Contact your system administrator if you need assistance with your log-in credentials.
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3
Locate the "Appearance" tab on the left side of the WordPress dashboard. Click on the top of this menu to access the optional links. Select the top choice, marked "Themes." Select a theme that suits your needs.
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4
Locate the "Pages" tab on the left-hand side of the dashboard. The default home page is what readers will see when they navigate to your Web page. Select the "Add New" feature, located under the Pages box on the left-hand side of the dashboard, to access a blank page, customizable with multiple page templates.
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5
Open a blank document in Notepad or other writing software. Choose the "Editor" option underneath "Appearance" in WordPress, accessing the page template codes. Select the theme you intend to use with your website, loading the provided page templates.
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Select the page template to edit from the list of templates on the right-hand side of the WordPress dashboard. The page template editor loads, providing the list of CSS needed for how each template operates and looks. Copy and paste the template code into your blank Notepad document for editing. Changing these default page templates to react the way you intend is all in how you edit the coding of this file. Save any changes you make to the page template file as a new name and paste the information into the WordPress dashboard.
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Open a new Notepad document if you wish to create your own custom page template for WordPress. Paste the following code into the Notepad document, replacing the template name with any name you desire:
<?php
/*
Template Name: Add Your Name Here
*/
?>
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Save the Notepad file as the name you created. Navigate your computer to the newly saved file and change the extension to .php for use with WordPress. Adding and editing code to this page template brings on a limitless amount of possibilities, so research what CSS can do to make your website look unique.
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Tips & Warnings
Save all default page templates for your theme in your Notepad software in case editing gets confusing or yields errors.
