View source for Create Template For Multiple Pages

{{Note|This guide explains how to create a template and apply it to multiple pages (Product, Blog Post, or Store Pages) in bulk. <br/>
Perfect for building and customizing templates for a group of items like Men clothing, Cushions, Rugs, etc.|inline}}
{{Note|Related Guides: 
*[[Create_Template_For_Single_Page|How to create a template for a single page (product, blog post, etc.)]].
*[[Create_MetaObjects|How to create a Metaobjects template]]
*[[Template for Standard Pages|How to customize Homepage, Collection pages]]|reminder}}

=== Getting started===

===== Overview =====
Templates are a collection of sections that are pre-built by Easy Content Builder. Once you add a template to your theme, you can add, edit, reorder, or remove any section within that template to customize your theme.[[File:Ecb-usecase-multiple.jpg|frameless|1024x1024px]]

===== Tutorial Video =====
Watch this overview video to learn how to build a new custom template and assign it to multiple pages - individually or in bulk - using Easy Content Builder.

<youtube width="960" height="540">k3C6dyc_OJ0</youtube>

=== Create a new Template assigned to multiple pages===

====Step 1: Create a new template====
*From your Shopify admin, click Apps > '''Easy Content Builder'''.
:[[File:Ecb-menu.png|border|frameless|800x800px]]  
*From the Easy Content Builder dashboard, click '''Browse Templates'''. 
:[[File:Ecb-browse-templates.png|frameless|200x200px]] 
*Find a prebuilt template that you want to use, and then click '''Choose Template'''.
:{{Note|You can start with a Blank template or add a premade template. Templates are a collection of sections that are pre-built by Easy Content Builder. Once you add a template to your theme, you can add your images and copy to fit your brand. You can easily edit, reorder, or remove any section within that template to create your ideal page.|inline}}
:[[File:Ecb-choose-template.jpg|border|frameless|800x800px]]
*Next, select the template type (Product, Blog Post, Page) and enter the template name
:[[File:Ecb-choose-template-form.png|border|frameless|800x800px]]
:{{Note|The template name should be between 3-15 characters - only letters, numbers, underscores and hyphens are allowed.|inline}}
*Then, you will be automatically directed to your Shopify theme editor. Here, you can start adding content blocks to the template you’ve just created.

:{{Note|NOTE: After you have done steps above, the new template you’ve just created will appear under Easy Content Builder admin > '''Manage Templates''' section with a label ‘''Not assigned to any page yet. Click '''Customize''' to preview template with: [a specific page]’.''|inline}}

====Step 2: Customize the template====

From the Shopify theme editor, you'll be able to add Easy Content Builder sections, customize, re-order, or remove them like all other sections in your theme. 

Below are common customization you might want to start with: 

======Add Section Settings======
You should always add a [[Block Section Settings|Section Settings]] first. 
*Learn [[Block Section Settings|how to add a Section Settings block]].
*[[Section Settings#Multi-column Layout Setup|How to define multiple-column layouts]].

{{Note|'''Good to know''': Why you need a Section Settings block:  
*To determine your ideal layouts (1-column, 2-column, 3-column, 4-column, or hierarchical layouts)
*And to control your global configurations (full-width layout, mask color, mask image, background video, parallax animation, etc.)|inline}}

======Add new content blocks within a section======
Blocks refer to the prebuilt content blocks the Easy Content Builder app provides, such as [[Block Accordion|Accordion]], [[Block Before and After Slider|Before & After Slider]], [[Block Video|Video]], [[Block Featured Products|Featured Products]], [[Block Custom HTML|Custom HTML]], etc. Each template can have multiple sections, and each section has a specific variety of blocks you can add.

After adding a Section Settings, you can add any content blocks made available to the section you've created.

{{Note|Learn how to add a block to your section: read the [[Add Blocks|setup guide]].|info}}

======Adjust the padding/margin of each section======
The Easy Content Builder lets you adjust the space (padding and margin) between elements at two levels:
*Section Settings level: refers to the global padding configurations for a section.
*Block level: refers to the padding/margin of a specific block within a section (One section might come with multiple blocks in it.) 

::[[File:Ecb sections padding margin.jpg|frameless|1917x1917px]]

======Adjust the font size, border radius, background color======
*If you want to change your font size, button, background, border radius, etc., you can do so using the ECB's Custom CSS: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN20FiUvVZc 5-min video tutorial].

:{{Note|For Pro plan: In addition to the standard Custom CSS feature, you have an '''Automatically Generate CSS''' option - a handy way to customize your theme '''without coding'''. [[Custom CSS|Learn more]]. |reminder}} 
:[[File:Ecb-custom-css.jpg|border|frameless|1024x1024px]]

==== Step 3: Assign the new template====

======For Products======
To apply the new template to multiple products at once, use the Bulk editor by following these steps:  

*From your Shopify admin, click '''Products'''.
*Click on checkboxes next to each product you want to apply the new template.
*Then, click on '''Bulk Edit'''.
:[[File:Ecb - Bulk edit.png|border|frameless|1024x1024px]]
*In the Bulk editor, click the '''Columns''' drop-down menu, and then in the '''General''' section, click the '''Template''' checkbox.
:[[File:Ecb bulk edit3.jpg|border|frameless|1024x1024px]] 
*Click the template field of the first line, then hold the shift key, and then click the template field of the last line. A blue shading will appear around the items you have selected.
*Using the drop-down menu, choose a new template for the selected items.
*Click '''Save'''.
{{Note|To assign a template to a product individually, use the Online Store > Theme Templates section of the product editor (by going to your Shopify admin > '''Products''', click the product from the list of existing products) to apply the new template you’ve just created to a specific product.|reminder}}

======For Blog Posts and Pages======
The bulk editing feature for blog posts and pages is no longer available. So, follow the steps below to assign a template to blog posts or pages on an individual item level:   

#From your Shopify admin, go to '''Online Store''' > '''Pages'''/'''Blog Posts'''.
#Click the name of the blog post/page to edit.
#In the '''Online store''' section, use the drop-down menu to select the template you've created to apply to the selected page.
#Click '''Save'''.

{{Note|To know which template ID, please open the Easy Content Builder dashboard in another browser tab and click on '''Manage Templates'''. Here, you will see the list of templates you created.|reminder}}

===Preview your custom template===
Steps to preview your products, blog posts or pages with the new custom template:  
#From your Shopify admin, click '''Online Store''' > '''Themes'''.
#Find the theme that you want to edit, and then click '''Customize'''.
#Open the dropdown menu at the top of the page.
#Use the dropdown menu to select a template.
#In the sidebar, click '''Change'''.
#Select the product or page you want to preview with the selected template.

===Next steps===

======Manage and edit your templates======
* Manage your templates: [[Manage Templates|follow these steps]].
*Edit your template: [[Edit Template|follow these steps]].

======Set up multi-column layouts======
*Learn how to set up multi-column layouts:
::*[[Section Settings|1-col boxed layout]]
::*[[Section Settings|1-col with Background Image]]
::*[[Section Settings|2-col with Flexible Col Width]]
::*[[Section Settings|2-col with Blank Sections]]
::* Hierarchical Grids ([https://posstack.com/blog/easy-content-builder-new-hierarchical-grids 6 layout options])
:::{{note|We suggest you install the '''Theme Section Kit''' to customize your Shopify theme faster. This template contains prebuilt sections (Free and Pro versions) that you can edit, reorder, or hide through your Theme Editor. Preview the '''Theme Section Kit''' [https://easy-content-builder-demo.myshopify.com/pages/ecb-prebuilt-theme-sections here].|info}}

======Customize with Custom CSS======
*Learn how to customize your Shopify themes with Custom CSS using Easy Content Builder: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN20FiUvVZc 5-min video tutorial].
*Do you want to change the primary, secondary, background color, font size, or border-radius? Refer to [[Custom CSS]] for more details on how to make those customizations.