Elementor templates explained

Q: My saved template disappeared: where did it go?

Templates saved to Site Templates are stored on your site. In WordPress, look under Elementor > Editor > Templates > Saved templates. Templates saved to Cloud Templates belong to the Elementor account that saved them, so they only show up when that account is connected to the site. If the site was restored from an older backup, templates saved after that backup may be missing. Contact us if you cannot find a template you are sure you saved.

Templates are one of Elementor's most time-saving features. This article explains what they are, the types that exist, and when to use them, so you can work faster and more consistently.

What is a template?

A template is a pre-designed layout saved for reuse. Instead of building a page or a section from scratch, you start from a template and customize it.

Templates can be:

An entire page (like a complete "Services" page layout)
A section or block (like a "Testimonials" block or a "Call to Action" row)

Types of templates in Elementor

Pre-built templates

Elementor's Template Library offers hundreds of designer-made page layouts and blocks. You access them from the template library inside the editor. The first time you use it, Elementor asks you to connect a free Elementor account, and some templates need Elementor Pro.

Inserting one places the design on your page, where you can edit it like anything else.

Your own saved templates

You can save a container, a section, or a full page as a template. (A widget's right-click menu has no Save as Template option; Elementor Pro's Save as global does a similar job for a single widget.) When you save, you can keep the template on this site (Site Templates) or, with an Elementor Pro subscription, store it in your Elementor account (Cloud Templates) to use on any site connected to that account.

This is the most powerful use case for day-to-day editing.

Why templates matter

Templates help you:

Stay consistentUse the same section design in multiple places without rebuilding it
Work fasterImport a block and customize it instead of starting from zero
Maintain your brandSave brand-designed sections once and reuse them everywhere
Recover quicklyIf you accidentally damage a section, a saved template lets you restore it

Page templates vs. section templates

From the editor, you can save two kinds of template:

Type	What it saves	Use it when
Page	The entire page layout	You want to reuse a whole page structure
Block (a container or section)	A single container or section	You want to reuse a row of content (like a CTA, a team grid, a FAQ block)

When you save from the editor, you don't pick the type. It follows from what you save: Save as Template in the Publish menu saves the whole page, and Save as Template on a container's or section's right-click menu saves just that block.

The template library

The template library is Elementor's built-in catalog of pre-made designs, split into Pages, Blocks and My Templates (your own saved designs). Open it with the add template icon on the canvas or Ctrl+Shift+L (Cmd+Shift+L on a Mac). See Using the template library for a full walkthrough.

Saving your own templates

See Saving & reusing your own templates for step-by-step instructions.

Templates and the Theme Builder

Elementor Pro includes a more powerful template system called the Theme Builder. It lets you design site-wide elements like headers, footers, and archive pages as templates (Elementor calls these "site parts"), then choose where they appear, from the whole site to specific pages. See The Theme Builder, explained for details.

Common questions

Will importing a template overwrite my existing page content?

Elementor's help articles only say that a template is inserted into your page. They don't say whether a full page template replaces what is already there. To be safe, save your page (or save it as a template) before inserting a page template. Every save creates a revision, so you can go back through the History panel's Revisions tab if the result isn't what you wanted.

Are templates available on all Elementor plans?

The Template Library, saving your own templates to your site, and template export/import all work in the free version of Elementor. Elementor Pro adds Pro templates, the Theme Builder, and the Template widget. Cloud Templates need a Pro subscription, and how many you can store depends on your plan. Your site's plan determines what is available.

My saved template disappeared: where did it go?

Templates saved to Site Templates are stored on your site. In WordPress, look under Elementor > Editor > Templates > Saved templates. Templates saved to Cloud Templates belong to the Elementor account that saved them, so they only show up when that account is connected to the site. If the site was restored from an older backup, templates saved after that backup may be missing. Contact us if you cannot find a template you are sure you saved.

Can I export templates and use them on another website?

Yes, using the Elementor template export/import feature (see Exporting and importing templates). Cloud Templates are another route: they can be used on any site connected to the same Elementor account. This is a technical task. Contact us if you need templates moved between sites.

Learn more

Elementor: What is a Template?elementor.com