🌐 What is Page Template in Power Pages and How to Create a New Page Template in Portal Management

 

Power Pages (earlier known as Power Apps Portals) has become one of the go-to low-code solutions for building secure, data-driven websites. Whether you're creating customer self-service portals, partner portals, or internal sites — page templates play a very crucial role.

In this blog, we’ll understand what a Page Template is in Power Pages, why it matters, and how you can create your own custom page template using Portal Management app.

📘 What is a Page Template in Power Pages?

A Page Template in Power Pages defines the layout and logic for rendering a webpage. Think of it like a reusable blueprint or master page — whenever a web page uses a specific page template, it inherits the structure and behavior defined in it.

These templates are tightly coupled with either Web Templates (Liquid based) or custom ASP.NET (.aspx) pages.

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📌 Key Purpose of Page Templates:

• To link the page with a specific layout or rendering logic
• Reusability across multiple web pages
• Supports Liquid templates (most common) or Web Files / ASP.NET pages
• Essential for implementing dynamic behavior, layouts, and navigation

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🧱 Types of Page Templates

There are two major types of page templates you’ll typically encounter:

1. Web Template-based
   Uses Liquid code (open-source template language from Shopify). Most Power Pages now use this method.
2. Rewrite URL or Web File-based
   Used when linking directly to custom .aspx pages or external files.

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🛠️ How to Create a New Page Template in Portal Management

Let’s now get into the actual steps to create a custom Page Template using the Portal Management Model-Driven App.

✅ Prerequisites

• You must have access to the Portal Management app
• Make sure your Power Pages site is already provisioned
• Have basic knowledge of Liquid if using web templates

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🔧 Steps to Create a New Page Template

1. Login to Power Apps Admin Center
• Open https://make.powerapps.com
• Select your environment
• Open the Portal Management app from “Apps”

2. Navigate to Page Templates
• On the left pane, expand Page Templates
• Click on Page Templates

3. Click on “+ New”
• Provide a name for the page template (Ex: CustomBlogLayoutTemplate)
• Select the Type:
• Choose Web Template if you're writing custom Liquid
• Choose Rewrite if you're pointing to an ASPX page

4. Link a Web Template
• If you selected Web Template, then select or create a new Web Template
• You can click on the lookup and choose + New Web Template
• Add Liquid code for layout or logic

Select new web Template/choose existing one,

 

Here I am going to use existing one,

Click Save.

Note: If we are creating new one, use this below web template code,

Example:

liquid

<div class="custom-layout">
    <h1>{{ page.title }}</h1>
    <div>{{ page.content }}</div>
</div>

5. Set Website and Other Properties
• Select the Website this applies to
• Set Is Default if you want this to be the fallback template
6. Save and Publish

That’s it! You have now successfully created a custom Page Template.

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🧪 Test Your Page Template

To test it, go to Web Pages > create a new page > link it to your newly created page template. Once saved, browse the page on your Power Pages site and verify your layout and logic.

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🧠 Pro Developer Tips

• Keep your Liquid logic modular and clean
• Create reusable web templates for headers, footers, and menus
• Use Web Roles + Entity Permissions to secure content
• Always preview and test on staging before pushing to production

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📎 Final Thoughts

Page Templates are a core part of Power Pages architecture, enabling modular design and custom rendering logic. Whether you're a beginner working on a simple support site or an advanced developer building dynamic business portals, mastering page templates gives you full control over your website experience.

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