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Beaver Builder’s template system allows you to save and reuse layouts, rows, columns, and modules. This speeds up development and ensures consistency across your site.

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What Are Templates?

Templates are saved configurations of builder elements that can be reused:

Layout Templates

Complete page layouts with all rows, columns, and modules

Row Templates

Single rows with columns and modules

Column Templates

Individual columns with their modules

Module Templates

Pre-configured module settings

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Template Types

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Built-in Templates

Location: ~/workspace/source/data/ Beaver Builder ships with 70+ professionally designed templates:
Full page templates including:
  • Home pages (2 layouts)
  • Landing pages (2 layouts)
  • About pages (5 layouts)
  • Services pages (3 layouts)
  • Contact pages (7 layouts)
  • Blog layouts (3 layouts)
  • Pricing pages (2 layouts)
  • Coming Soon / Maintenance
  • And 40+ more…
Each .dat file contains serialized layout data ready to import.

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Template Files

Template data is stored in .dat files: 
data/
├── layout-00-Blank-lite.dat
├── layout-01-Home.dat
├── layout-02-Landing.dat
├── layout-28-About.dat
├── layout-29-Services.dat
├── row-00-Profile-1.dat
├── row-43-Cta-16.dat
├── module-00-Callout-1.dat
└── module-35-Bento-Testimonials.dat

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Saving Templates

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Save a Layout Template

1

Open Layout

Edit the page you want to save as a template
2

Access Tools Menu

Click the Tools menu in the top bar
3

Save Template

Select Save Template from the menu
4

Name Template

Enter a name and click Save

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Save Row, Column, or Module

1

Select Element

Click on the row, column, or module
2

Save Template

Click the Save icon or select Save as Template
3

Name and Categorize

Give it a name and select a category

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Programmatic Template Creation

// Register a directory containing template .dat files
FLBuilder::register_templates(
    FL_CHILD_THEME_DIR . '/templates/',
    array(
        'group' => 'My Templates',
    )
);

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Using Templates

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Apply a Layout Template

1

Create New Page

Create a new page or post
2

Launch Builder

Click Launch Beaver Builder
3

Add Templates

Click the + icon and select Templates
4

Choose Template

Browse templates and click to add

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Insert Row or Module Template

1

Open Templates Panel

Click + and go to Templates or Saved
2

Select Type

Choose Rows, Columns, or Modules
3

Insert

Click the template to insert it

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Global Templates

Global templates are linked across your site. When you edit a global template, the changes apply everywhere it’s used.

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Creating Global Templates

1

Save as Global

When saving a template, check Make this a global row/module
2

Use Globally

The element becomes linked - edits affect all instances

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Managing Global Templates

$template_post_id = FLBuilderModel::is_node_global($node);

if ($template_post_id) {
    // This is a global template
    echo 'Template Post ID: ' . $template_post_id;
}

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Global Template Benefits

Update headers, footers, or CTAs once and apply everywhere
Make one edit instead of updating dozens of pages
Ensure team members use approved components
Link to a single source of truth for shared content

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Template Library

The template library provides an organized interface for browsing templates:

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Template Categories

  • All - View all templates
  • Landing - Landing page layouts
  • Saved - Your saved templates
  • My Templates - User-created templates
  • Core - Beaver Builder templates
  • User Templates - Global templates

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Template Organization

FLBuilder::register_templates(
    $template_path,
    array(
        'group' => __('My Category', 'my-plugin'),
    )
);

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Template Data Structure

Template .dat files contain serialized PHP data: 
array(
    'nodes' => array(
        // Node data (rows, columns, modules)
        'abc123' => stdClass Object(
            'node'     => 'abc123',
            'type'     => 'row',
            'parent'   => null,
            'position' => 0,
            'settings' => stdClass Object(...),
        ),
    ),
    'settings' => stdClass Object(
        // Global layout settings
        'row_width'    => 1100,
        'row_padding' => 20,
    ),
)

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Creating Custom Templates

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Template Development Workflow

1

Design in Builder

Create your layout visually in the builder
2

Export Template

Use Tools > Export to download the template
3

Save as .dat File

Save the exported data as a .dat file
4

Register Template

Add to your plugin/theme templates directory
FLBuilder::register_templates(
    MY_PLUGIN_DIR . 'templates/'
);

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Template Best Practices

Include placeholder text and images that users can replace:
'heading' => 'Replace with Your Heading',
'text'    => 'Add your content here...',
Use appropriately sized images to keep template files small
Add a readme or comments explaining the template’s purpose
Ensure templates work well on all screen sizes
Keep templates in version control for easy updates

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Template Hooks

Extend template functionality with hooks: 
// Modify template data before registration
add_filter('fl_builder_register_templates', function($templates) {
    // Modify $templates array
    return $templates;
});

// After template registered
add_action('fl_builder_after_register_templates', function($templates) {
    // Do something after registration
});

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Working with Template Data

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Export Template

// Get layout data
$data = FLBuilderModel::get_layout_data('published', $post_id);
$settings = FLBuilderModel::get_layout_settings('published', $post_id);

// Combine into template format
$template = array(
    'nodes'    => $data,
    'settings' => $settings,
);

// Serialize
$serialized = serialize($template);

// Save to file
file_put_contents('my-template.dat', $serialized);

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Import Template

// Read template file
$file = file_get_contents('my-template.dat');
$template = maybe_unserialize($file);

// Apply to post
if (isset($template['nodes'])) {
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_fl_builder_data', $template['nodes']);
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_fl_builder_enabled', true);
}

if (isset($template['settings'])) {
    update_post_meta($post_id, '_fl_builder_data_settings', $template['settings']);
}

// Clear cache
FLBuilderModel::delete_all_asset_cache($post_id);

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Template Examples

Here are some example template use cases:

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Header Template

// Save header as global template
$header = FLBuilderModel::get_node($header_row_id);
$header->settings->global = true;
update_post_meta($template_post_id, '_fl_builder_template_type', 'row');

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Pricing Table Template

// Create pricing template with multiple columns
$row = FLBuilderModel::add_row('3-cols');
$cols = FLBuilderModel::get_nodes('column', $row);

foreach ($cols as $col) {
    FLBuilderModel::add_module('pricing-table', $settings, $col->node);
}

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Next Steps

Layouts

Work with layout templates

Cloud Templates

Access cloud template library

Global Settings

Configure global styling

Architecture

Learn about template architecture

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