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Navigation Path: Admin Dashboard → Template Manager
URL: /admin/TemplateManager

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Overview

The Template Manager allows you to manage WordPress themes that customers can choose when creating websites. Control which themes are available, set default themes, and organize templates for easy selection.

Theme Library

Manage available WordPress themes

Default Theme

Set default theme for new sites

Organization

Categorize and organize themes

Customization

Configure theme options

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Managing Templates

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Adding New Templates

  1. Click Add New Template button
  2. Choose template source:
    • WordPress.org Repository: Free themes from WordPress
    • Upload Theme: Upload custom theme ZIP file
    • Premium Theme: Add purchased premium themes
  3. Enter theme details:
    • Theme Name: Display name for customers
    • Theme Slug: WordPress theme directory name
    • Description: Brief description of theme features
    • Category: Theme category (Business, Blog, Portfolio, etc.)
  4. Upload theme preview image (recommended: 1200 x 900 px)
  5. Set theme as Active to make it available to customers
  6. Click Save to add the template
Theme Preview Images: Use high-quality screenshots showing the theme’s homepage. This helps customers visualize how their website will look.

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Template Properties

PropertyDescription
Theme NameDisplay name shown to customers
Theme SlugWordPress theme directory name (e.g., twentytwentyfour)
DescriptionBrief description of theme features and style
CategoryTheme category for organization
Preview ImageScreenshot of theme (1200 x 900 px recommended)
StatusActive (available) or Inactive (hidden)
DefaultSet as default theme for new websites
FeaturedHighlight as recommended theme
Enable SyncEnable template synchronization for automatic updates

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Template Synchronization

Template Synchronization is a powerful feature that allows you to automatically push updates from a master template to all websites created from it.

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How Template Synchronization Works

When enabled, any changes made to the master template are automatically synchronized to all websites that:
  1. Were created from this template
  2. Have synchronization enabled on their website settings
What Gets Synchronized:
  • Theme Files: Template files, stylesheets, and assets
  • Plugin Changes: Plugin installations, updates, and removals
  • Configuration: Theme settings and customizations
  • Content Updates: Template pages and posts (optional)
  • Widget Configurations: Sidebar and widget settings
New Feature: Template Synchronization helps you maintain consistency across multiple websites and deploy updates efficiently without manually updating each site.

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Enabling Template Synchronization

On the Template:
  1. Edit the template in Template Manager
  2. Enable Template Synchronization toggle
  3. Configure sync settings:
    • Sync Frequency: Real-time, Hourly, Daily, Manual
    • Sync Scope: Files only, Files + Plugins, Full sync
    • Backup Before Sync: Create backup before applying changes
  4. Save template settings
On Individual Websites: Customers or admins can enable/disable sync per website:
  1. Go to website settings
  2. Enable Sync with Template option
  3. Website will receive template updates automatically
Selective Sync: Websites can opt-out of synchronization if they need custom modifications. This gives flexibility while maintaining the option to sync when needed.

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Use Cases for Template Synchronization

1. Agency/Multi-Site Management:
  • Maintain consistent branding across client websites
  • Deploy security updates to all sites instantly
  • Roll out new features to all clients simultaneously
  • Standardize plugin configurations
2. SaaS/Multi-Tenant Platforms:
  • Update all customer sites with new features
  • Fix bugs across all instances at once
  • Maintain template consistency
  • Reduce maintenance overhead
3. Franchise/Branch Websites:
  • Keep all franchise locations consistent
  • Update corporate branding across all sites
  • Deploy compliance changes instantly
  • Maintain brand standards
4. Educational Institutions:
  • Standardize department websites
  • Update institutional branding
  • Deploy accessibility improvements
  • Maintain consistent navigation

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Sync Modes

  • Real-Time Sync
  • Scheduled Sync
  • Manual Sync
When to Use: Critical updates, small changes
  • Changes sync immediately after saving template
  • Websites update within minutes
  • Best for urgent security fixes
  • Higher server resource usage

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Sync Safety Features

Automatic Backups:
  • System creates backup before applying sync
  • Rollback available if sync causes issues
  • Backups retained for 30 days
Conflict Detection:
  • Detects if website has custom modifications
  • Alerts admin before overwriting changes
  • Option to skip conflicting files
Sync Logs:
  • Detailed logs of all sync operations
  • Track what changed and when
  • Identify sync failures quickly
Rollback Capability:
  • Revert to pre-sync state if needed
  • One-click rollback per website
  • Preserves custom modifications
Custom Modifications: Websites with custom theme modifications may have those changes overwritten by template sync. Always backup before enabling sync, or exclude customized websites from synchronization.

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Managing Synchronized Websites

View Synced Websites:
  1. Edit template in Template Manager
  2. Click View Synced Websites tab
  3. See list of all websites using this template
  4. View sync status for each site:
    • ✅ Synced: Up-to-date with template
    • 🔄 Pending: Sync scheduled
    • ⚠️ Conflict: Custom modifications detected
    • ❌ Failed: Sync error occurred
Sync Actions:
  • Sync All: Push updates to all synced websites
  • Sync Selected: Update specific websites only
  • Pause Sync: Temporarily disable sync for maintenance
  • Disable Sync: Turn off sync for specific websites

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Best Practices for Template Sync

  • Test template changes on staging site first
  • Schedule major updates during off-peak hours
  • Communicate updates to customers in advance
  • Document all template changes
  • Create change log for transparency
  • Plan rollback strategy before major updates
  • Use scheduled sync for routine updates
  • Reserve real-time sync for critical fixes
  • Enable automatic backups before sync
  • Set appropriate sync scope (files vs. full)
  • Monitor sync logs regularly
  • Test sync on single site before deploying to all
  • Review conflict reports before forcing sync
  • Contact customers before overwriting customizations
  • Offer to preserve custom modifications
  • Document which sites have custom changes
  • Consider creating custom templates for heavily modified sites
  • Provide migration path for custom features
  • Notify customers before major template updates
  • Provide changelog of template modifications
  • Offer opt-out period for testing
  • Send sync completion confirmations
  • Provide support for sync-related issues
  • Maintain template update documentation

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Troubleshooting Template Sync

Issue: Changes not syncing to websitesSolutions:
  1. Verify template sync is enabled
  2. Check website has sync enabled
  3. Review sync logs for errors
  4. Ensure server has write permissions
  5. Check for file conflicts
  6. Verify cron jobs are running
  7. Manually trigger sync to test
Issue: Websites breaking after syncSolutions:
  1. Rollback affected websites immediately
  2. Review sync logs for error details
  3. Test template changes on staging site
  4. Check for plugin conflicts
  5. Verify theme compatibility
  6. Restore from automatic backup
  7. Disable sync until issue resolved
Issue: Only some files syncingSolutions:
  1. Check sync scope settings
  2. Verify file permissions
  3. Review conflict detection logs
  4. Check disk space on target sites
  5. Ensure all files are included in template
  6. Manually sync missing files
  7. Re-save template to trigger full sync

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Theme Categories

Organize themes into categories for easier browsing: Common Categories:
  • Business: Corporate and professional themes
  • Blog: Content-focused blogging themes
  • Portfolio: Creative and showcase themes
  • E-commerce: Online store themes (WooCommerce)
  • Magazine: News and magazine layouts
  • Minimal: Clean, minimalist designs
  • Multi-Purpose: Versatile, all-purpose themes
Category Benefits: Organizing themes by category helps customers find appropriate themes faster and improves the website creation experience.

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Default Theme

Set a default theme that’s automatically selected when customers create new websites. Setting Default Theme:
  1. Find the theme you want to set as default
  2. Click the Set as Default button or toggle
  3. Confirm the selection
  4. The theme will be pre-selected for all new website creations
Best Practices for Default Theme:
  • Choose a versatile, multi-purpose theme
  • Select a theme that works for most use cases
  • Use a well-maintained, popular theme
  • Ensure theme is mobile-responsive
  • Pick a theme with good performance
  • Consider a theme with page builder support
Recommended Default Themes: Consider using popular, well-supported themes like Astra, GeneratePress, OceanWP, or Kadence as your default. These are lightweight, flexible, and suitable for most projects.
Highlight recommended themes to guide customer choices. Why Feature Themes:
  • Guide customers to quality themes
  • Promote themes you support well
  • Highlight premium or exclusive themes
  • Reduce decision paralysis
  • Improve customer satisfaction
Featuring a Theme:
  1. Edit the theme in Template Manager
  2. Enable the Featured toggle or checkbox
  3. Featured themes appear at the top of the theme selection
  4. Add a “Recommended” or “Popular” badge
Featured Limit: Feature 3-5 themes to avoid overwhelming customers. Too many featured themes defeats the purpose of highlighting the best options.

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Theme Sources

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WordPress.org Themes

Free themes from the official WordPress theme repository. Adding WordPress.org Themes:
  1. Browse WordPress.org Theme Directory
  2. Find themes you want to offer
  3. Copy the theme slug (from URL or download button)
  4. Add to Template Manager with the theme slug
  5. WordPress will automatically download and install
Popular Free Themes:
  • Astra: Lightweight, customizable
  • GeneratePress: Fast, accessible
  • OceanWP: Feature-rich, versatile
  • Kadence: Modern, flexible
  • Neve: Fast, AMP-ready
  • Blocksy: Gutenberg-optimized

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Custom/Premium Themes

Upload purchased or custom-developed themes. Adding Custom Themes:
  1. Obtain theme ZIP file from developer or marketplace
  2. Click Upload Theme in Template Manager
  3. Select the ZIP file
  4. Theme is uploaded to your server
  5. Configure theme details and preview image
  6. Activate for customer use
Premium Theme Sources:
  • ThemeForest (Envato Market)
  • Elegant Themes (Divi)
  • StudioPress (Genesis Framework)
  • Themify
  • MyThemeShop
Theme Licensing: Ensure you have proper licensing for premium themes. Many premium themes require separate licenses for each installation. Check theme license terms before offering to customers.

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Theme Management

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Editing Templates

  1. Find the theme in Template Manager
  2. Click Edit button
  3. Update theme details:
    • Name, description, category
    • Preview image
    • Status (active/inactive)
  4. Save changes

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Deactivating Themes

  1. Find the theme to deactivate
  2. Change status to Inactive
  3. Theme is hidden from customer selection
  4. Existing websites using the theme are unaffected
Deactivation vs. Deletion: Deactivating a theme hides it from new selections but doesn’t affect existing websites. Deleting a theme can break existing sites using it.

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Deleting Themes

  1. Ensure no active websites are using the theme
  2. Find the theme in Template Manager
  3. Click Delete button
  4. Confirm deletion
  5. Theme files are removed from server
Before Deleting: Check if any customer websites are using the theme. Deleting a theme in use can break those websites. Deactivate instead of deleting if unsure.

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Best Practices

  • Offer 10-20 quality themes, not hundreds
  • Include themes for different purposes (business, blog, portfolio)
  • Choose well-maintained, regularly updated themes
  • Prioritize mobile-responsive themes
  • Select themes with good performance scores
  • Include themes with page builder compatibility
  • Test themes before offering to customers
  • Categorize themes logically
  • Use clear, descriptive category names
  • Feature your best 3-5 themes
  • Set a versatile default theme
  • Keep theme list curated and manageable
  • Remove outdated or abandoned themes
  • Update theme previews regularly
  • Keep themes updated to latest versions
  • Test theme updates before deploying
  • Monitor theme compatibility with WordPress versions
  • Remove themes with security issues
  • Check for theme conflicts with plugins
  • Maintain theme documentation
  • Provide theme support to customers
  • Use high-quality preview images
  • Write clear, helpful theme descriptions
  • Highlight key features of each theme
  • Provide theme demos if possible
  • Make theme selection easy and intuitive
  • Offer theme recommendations
  • Allow theme switching after creation

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Troubleshooting

Issue: Theme fails to install from WordPress.orgSolutions:
  1. Verify theme slug is correct
  2. Check internet connection to WordPress.org
  3. Ensure server has write permissions
  4. Check available disk space
  5. Try downloading theme manually and uploading
  6. Review server error logs
  7. Test with a different theme
Issue: Cannot upload custom theme ZIP fileSolutions:
  1. Check file size is under server upload limit
  2. Verify ZIP file is valid WordPress theme
  3. Ensure ZIP contains style.css with theme headers
  4. Check server write permissions
  5. Increase PHP upload_max_filesize if needed
  6. Try uploading via FTP instead
  7. Verify theme ZIP structure is correct
Issue: Theme doesn’t show in customer selectionSolutions:
  1. Verify theme status is set to Active
  2. Check theme is saved properly
  3. Clear application cache
  4. Refresh theme list
  5. Verify customer has permission to select themes
  6. Check theme category is visible
  7. Test with different user account
Issue: Theme preview image doesn’t displaySolutions:
  1. Verify image file format (JPG, PNG)
  2. Check image file size (< 2 MB recommended)
  3. Ensure image uploaded successfully
  4. Clear browser and server cache
  5. Re-upload preview image
  6. Check file permissions
  7. Verify image path is correct

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Theme Recommendations

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For Different Use Cases

Small Business:
  • Astra
  • GeneratePress
  • OceanWP
  • Kadence
Blogging:
  • Neve
  • Blocksy
  • GeneratePress
  • Astra
Portfolio/Creative:
  • OceanWP
  • Neve
  • Kadence
  • Blocksy
E-commerce:
  • Astra (WooCommerce)
  • OceanWP (WooCommerce)
  • Storefront (official WooCommerce theme)
  • Kadence
Multi-Purpose:
  • Astra
  • GeneratePress
  • Kadence
  • OceanWP
Theme Performance: Prioritize lightweight themes like Astra, GeneratePress, and Kadence for better website performance and customer satisfaction.

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Quick Reference

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Theme Checklist

Before Adding a Theme:
  • Theme is actively maintained
  • Compatible with latest WordPress version
  • Mobile-responsive design
  • Good performance score
  • Positive user reviews (if from WordPress.org)
  • No known security issues
  • Compatible with popular plugins
  • Has proper documentation
After Adding a Theme:
  • Preview image uploaded
  • Description written
  • Category assigned
  • Status set to Active
  • Tested on a demo site
  • Theme appears in customer selection
  • Preview displays correctly

Website Templates

Create new websites

Website Configuration

Website settings

User Roles & Permissions

Access control

Hosting Plans

Package configuration