---
title: Page templates
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

The Kentico portal engine provides a highly flexible and extensible framework that allows you to build complex dynamic websites using built-in or custom web parts.

## What is a page template?

Every web page is based on a page template. The page template can be specific for a single page (so called "ad hoc" page template) or re-used for any number of pages. The following picture shows examples of pages that use the same page template.

![Multiple pages based on the same template](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k82tutorial/page-templates/Page_Template_Examples.png "Multiple pages based on the same template")

The pages have different content, but use the same header, menu content structure, and footer — they are based on the same page template. Templates allow you to quickly create multiple pages with the same design.

## What does a page template consist of?

Portal engine page templates are a combination of a **page layout** (ASCX or HTML code) and **web parts**. The following figure illustrates the structure of page templates and how they are used to display pages.

![The components and structure of pages in Kentico](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k82tutorial/page-templates/Portal_Templates_Overview.png "The components and structure of pages in Kentico")

The **page layout** is a piece of fully customizable HTML code that defines the design of the page and contains **web part zones**. The web part zones represent areas where designers can place **web parts**. The web parts display page content or provide functionality, such as input forms. The layout and the web parts together define the **page template**.

When you add **page specific content** to the page template, you get the **final page**.