Get Started with Templates

This feature is available on all plans.
Users with the manage templates permission can access this feature.

A template is a blueprint for how a content item should be written and structured. They are time savers and help ensure consistent quality, streamlining content creation for your team.

For example, you can create a template called "blog post" that you can use for your blog article with a field for adding sources and another one called "product review" for your review articles with fields for the product's pros and cons.

This article will teach you all you need to know about EasyContent's templating system. By the end, you will be able to create and customize templates for any type of content. Let's get started!

To access the template page, select a project from the project dropdown in the sidebar menu then under Configuration, go to Templates.

Note that each project has its own set of templates so make sure you are in the right project. Don't worry though, you can easily copy a template from one project to another in case you spent a lot of time configuring a template only to realize that you ended up creating it in the wrong project.

To follow along with the examples in this article, click the "default template" to access it.

The Default Template

A default template is included in every project. It's compatible with WordPress out of the box and you can use it without making any changes. You can still freely edit it to add new fields or change its structure if you want to.

💡 Make sure you enable the "CMS Fields" tab if you need to use the default template on content items that will be published to WordPress. Click the three-dot menu and click "show" to enable it. Learn more about our WordPress integration here.

The image below shows what the default template looks like. Our templates are made up of tabs and tabs are made up of fields.

In the example below, there are three tabs: Main Content, CMS Fields, and Example Tab (You Can Delete It). It currently displays the Main Content tab as the active tab. There are three fields in this active tab: Title, Main Content, and Files.

You can rename an active tab by clicking its name.

You may have noticed that some tabs are crossed out. This means they are currently in a "hidden" state. When hidden, the tab won't appear in the content editor. The CMS Fields tab is hidden by default.

💡Your customizations are kept even if you hide a tab.

To unhide a tab, click on it to make it the active tab, then click the three-dot menu and click "show".

The Main Content Tab

The main content tab is a system tab. As such, it can't be deleted, but you can disable/hide it.

💡System tabs contain system fields. They are part of our API and WordPress integration.

Let's take a quick look at its default fields and what they do.

Title Field

This field represents your article's title or <h1> tag. It's a system field that's a part of our API and WordPress integration. They can't be deleted, but they can be disabled by toggling the visible checkbox. Learn more about field types here.

There are a few options available for this field:

• Set recommended length to - allows you to set a recommended word or character limit for this field.
• Visibility - a toggle to enable or disable this field.
• Required - when checked, the content item can't be submitted or approved if this field is empty.
• Field guidelines - a place to add instructions or tips for your writers or reviewers for this field.

Main Content Field

This field represents the main rich text editor in the content item editor page. You can add a default text to new content items and briefs using the "add/edit default content" feature. This is also a system field.

These are the options available for you to customize for this field:

• Set recommended length to - allows you to set a recommended word or character limit for this field.
• Visibility - a toggle to enable or disable this field.
• Required - when checked, the content item can't be submitted or approved if this field is empty.
• Field guidelines - a place to add instructions or tips for your writers or reviewers for this field.
• Add/edit default content - click it to add a default text. This text will appear in newly created content items or in briefs that are claimed or assigned to a user for the first time.

Files Field

This field lets you attach files to a content item. You can add guidelines for this field. This is a system field.

CMS Fields Tab

This tab is another system tab that contains system fields mainly for adding metadata and SEO elements to your content item. It's hidden by default. Click its tab name and click the three-dot menu then click show to unhide it.

💡 Tip: If you connect your project to a WordPress site and have either Yoast SEO or All-in-One SEO Pack plugin active, the meta title and meta description fields can be automatically synced.

The default fields in this tab are the following:

• Featured image - lets you add a post thumbnail or an image that represents the mood, content, or theme of the content item.
• Excerpt - a brief description of what the content item is about.
• Tags - are for labeling or organizing your content into specific topics.
• Custom post slug - lets you define a custom URL permalink for this content item.
• Meta title - this will appear on the search engine results page (SERP) as the title. We recommend setting the length limit to 60 characters.
• Meta description - this will appear under the meta title on the search engine results page (SERP). It should be a summary of your article and serve as a way to complement the meta title. We recommend setting the length limit to 160 characters.

All of these fields share the same set of configurable options:

• Recommended length - allows you to set a recommended word or character limit for a field.
• Visibility - a toggle to enable or disable a system field.
• Required - when checked, the content item can't be submitted or approved if this field is empty.
• Field guidelines - a place to add instructions or tips for your writers or reviewers for this field.

Custom Tabs

Click the new tab button to create a custom tab. Then, give it a name and press ENTER on your keyboard, or click the check button to save it. Your custom tab is now ready.

Custom tabs can only have general fields. You can add as many general fields as you want in custom tabs. You can also add them to the main content and CMS fields tabs.

The following general fields are available for you to use:

1. Single line text
2. Paragraph text
3. File/Image upload
4. Checkboxes
5. Radio buttons
6. Date
7. Dropdown select
8. Heading
9. Guidelines

We have a detailed help article for creating custom tabs here, this also explains what each general field does.

Custom Templates

On the sidebar menu, go to the Templates page, and click the "create template" card. Give the template a name and an optional description and save it. It will have the Main Content and CMS Fields tabs by default.

Template Options

To access the template options, you can click the three-dot menu in a template card.

You can also use the one next to the template's name when editing a template.

This allows you to rename or delete a template, make it the default if it isn't already, duplicate it, or clone it into another project. The Make default and Delete template options are only available on non-default templates.

You now have a good understanding of how templates work in EasyContent! Next, why don't you learn more about field types?