🌐 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 the 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.

📌 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

🧱 Types of Page Templates

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

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

🛠️ 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

🔧 Steps to Create a New Page Template

Log in to Power Apps Admin Center
- Open https://make.powerapps.com
- Select your environment
- Open the Portal Management app from “Apps”
Navigate to Page Templates
- On the left pane, expand Page Templates
- Click on Page Templates
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.
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 a new web Template/choose an existing one.

Unsaved changes

Here I am going to use the existing one.

Click Save.

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

Example

liquid

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

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

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

🧪 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.

🧠 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

📎 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.