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How to Create and Manage Multiple Custom Templates in Twenty Twenty-Four

40 threads Sep 7, 2025 Theme → Twenty twenty-four

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Many users of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme want to create different layouts for different types of content, such as posts in specific categories or pages with unique headers and footers. A common challenge is understanding how to create these custom templates and then successfully apply them where needed.

This guide explains the core concepts and provides step-by-step solutions for managing templates in the Twenty Twenty-Four theme.

Understanding Templates in the Site Editor

The Twenty Twenty-Four theme is a block-based theme, which means it uses the Site Editor (Appearance > Editor) for design control. Templates define the structure of your pages and posts, including elements like headers, footers, and sidebars.

Confusion often arises from the distinction between:

  • Site Editor Templates: Found under Appearance > Editor > Templates. These are the design blueprints.
  • WordPress Pages: Found under Pages > All Pages. These are the individual pieces of content that use a template for their layout.

When you edit a template in the Site Editor, you are changing the layout for every page or post that uses it.

How to Create a New Custom Template

  1. Navigate to Appearance > Editor > Templates.
  2. Click the + button (Add New Template) in the top right corner.
  3. Select the type of template you want to create (e.g., Page, Post, Archive).
  4. Give your new template a clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Recipe - Baked").
  5. Design your template using blocks. You can start from scratch or duplicate and modify an existing template.
  6. Save your changes.

Why Can't I See My Custom Template When Editing a Page?

This is a frequently reported issue. A custom template will only appear in the selection menu for a page if it was created for the correct content type. For example, a template created as a "Post" template will not be available to assign to a "Page." Double-check that you created the right kind of template.

How to Apply a Template to Multiple Items at Once

You do not need to change templates one-by-one for a large number of posts or pages.

  1. Go to Posts > All Posts or Pages > All Pages.
  2. Select the checkboxes for all items you want to modify.
  3. From the Bulk Actions dropdown, select Edit and click Apply.
  4. A bulk edit menu will appear. Locate the Template dropdown.
  5. Select your desired custom template and click Update.

This will apply the template to all selected items in a single action.

Setting a Global Default Template (Advanced)

As noted in the threads, there is no built-in WordPress setting to define a custom template as the new global default for all future posts. The default "Single" post template is hardcoded. To achieve this, you would need to create a child theme and use custom code to override the default template hierarchy, which is beyond the scope of basic troubleshooting.

Key Takeaways

  • Create templates for the specific content type (Page, Post) you need them for.
  • Use the Bulk Edit feature to apply a template to many items simultaneously.
  • Editing a template in the Site Editor changes every page/post that uses it.
  • For site-wide changes like a global background image, custom CSS remains the most straightforward solution.

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