Choosing a Template
Every Vivreal site starts from a template. Templates provide the design, page structure, and functionality for your website. Choosing the right template upfront saves time and ensures your site has the features you need.
Available Templates
Basic Template
The Basic template is a clean, versatile starting point suitable for a wide range of websites.
Best for: portfolios, blogs, company websites, informational pages, landing pages.
Includes:
- Responsive homepage with customizable sections
- Collection-driven content pages (blog, team, FAQ, etc.)
- Navigation header and footer
- SEO-optimized page metadata
- Mobile-friendly responsive design
- Light and dark mode support
The Basic template works well when your primary goal is presenting content. It pulls data from your collections and renders them in clean, readable layouts.
Ecommerce Template
The Ecommerce template is a full storefront designed for selling products online.
Best for: online stores, product catalogs with purchasing, digital goods, subscription products.
Includes everything in the Basic template, plus:
- Product listing pages with filtering and sorting
- Individual product detail pages with image galleries
- Shopping cart with quantity management
- Stripe-powered checkout flow
- Order confirmation page
- Price display with currency formatting
- Variant selection (size, color, etc.)
The Ecommerce template requires a configured Stripe integration in your group. Set up your Stripe connection in the Integrations section before deploying an ecommerce site.
Template Comparison
| Feature | Basic | Ecommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Collection content pages | Yes | Yes |
| Responsive design | Yes | Yes |
| SEO metadata | Yes | Yes |
| Custom homepage sections | Yes | Yes |
| Product listings | No | Yes |
| Shopping cart | No | Yes |
| Stripe checkout | No | Yes |
| Variant support | No | Yes |
How to Choose
Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I selling products? If yes, choose Ecommerce. It includes cart and checkout functionality that would be complex to add later.
- Do I need a simple content site? If you're building a blog, portfolio, or informational site, the Basic template keeps things simple and fast.
- Will I add commerce later? If you might sell products in the future but aren't ready yet, start with Basic. You can create a new site with the Ecommerce template when you're ready.
You can run multiple sites from the same group. It's common to have a Basic site for your blog/marketing pages and an Ecommerce site for your store, both pulling from the same collections.
Template Updates
Templates are maintained by the Vivreal team. When template updates are released (new features, bug fixes, design improvements), they are automatically propagated to your site's branch. You don't need to manually update your template.
Next Steps
Once you've chosen a template and deployed your site, you may want to connect a custom domain or configure site settings.