How to Create Confluence Templates: A Step-by-Step Guide

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• What are Confluence templates?
• Why use Confluence templates?
• The 4 Confluence template types
• The Confluence template editor
• How to use Confluence template variables
• How to create Confluence templates
• Tips for creating effective templates

Confluence is a powerful collaboration tool that allows teams to create, organize and share content. One of its key features is the ability to create templates, which can save you time and effort when creating new pages.

Confluence has hundreds of templates, but if none suit your exact needs, you can easily create your own.

Playbook: How to create Confluence templates

• Confluence templates are a powerful tool for organizing and standardizing content.
• Templates save time and effort by providing pre-made content for new pages.
• There are four types of templates in Confluence: global, space, blueprints, and system.
• The template editor allows for customization and the use of variables.
• Follow our step-by-step guide to create and test your Confluence templates effectively.
• Use Scribe to build user guides to include in your templates to get your team up to speed.

Wh‎at are Confluence templates?

Confluence templates are a powerful tool for organizing repetitively created pages like meeting notes or team retrospectives.

You can easily can be easily create, edit and enhance templates to standardize your Confluence documentation and improve team productivity by providing a consistent framework for creating and organizing content.

Wh‎y use Confluence templates?

Confluence templates can help you create consistent, readable and collaborative content. The benefits include:

• Create consistency in content across similar pages, ensuring critical information is included.
• Save time and effort by providing a starting point for your page, so you won't have to start from scratch.
• Get started quickly with a new page. This is especially useful if your team isn't familiar with Confluence or if you're creating a page similar to one you've made before. Use Scribe to generate guides to insert into your templates, to help your team get started.
• Improve readability with clear and concise formatting, making your content scannable and easier to understand.
• Customizable to meet your team's or project's needs. You can customize by adding or removing content and with variables, which act as form fields for data collection.
• Promote popular templates for easier access.

Th‎e 4 Confluence template types

In Confluence, there are four types of templates:

Global templates:

• Available to everyone on your Atlassian site.
• They can only be created and edited by users with Confluence Administrator permission.

Space templates:

• Specific to certain spaces within your organization.
• They are only available in the space where they are created.
• They can be created and edited by users with Space Administrator permission.

Blueprints:

• Page templates with added functionality to assist in creating, managing, and organizing content in Confluence.
• They have pre-defined content, formatting and structure.
• Users can edit and customize by adding custom fields and macros.
• Site and space administrators cannot create blueprints, but they can create custom templates.

System:

• A collection of templates used to create specific types of pages, such as the site welcome message and default space content.
• They can only be created and edited by users with Confluence Administrator permission.

Th‎e Confluence template editor

You can use the Confluence template editor to edit global or space templates (with the required permissions).

The template editor features include:

• Text formatting: Change the font, size, color and other text attributes.
• Layout options: Change the layout of your template, including the margins, columns, and headers.
• Media options: Add images, videos, and other media to your template.
• Variables: Insert variables into your template to make it more dynamic. Variables are placeholders replaced with actual data when the template is used to create a new page.
• Comments: Add comments to your template to help you remember what it is for or provide instructions for others using it.
• Include meta information using the Page Properties macro to add details like author and date created.
• Adding labels for easier identification of pages using the same template.

Ho‎w to use Confluence template variables

Confluence template variables are placeholders that act as form fields, allowing users to enter data that will be added to the page.

They can be used to insert information such as the page title, the author's name or the current date and time. With variables, users can generate pages with blank spaces that can be filled with the appropriate text or selected from a list of options.

To use a template variable, you need to know the variable's name. The variable's name is preceded by a dollar sign ($). For example, the variable for the page title is $title.

To insert a template variable into a template:

1. Click on the Insert button from the toolbar.
2. Select Variable from the menu.
3. Select the variable you want to insert.
4. The variable will be inserted into the template.

Here are a few examples of how you can use template variables:

• To insert the page title, you would use the variable $title.
• To insert the author's name, you would use the variable $author.
• To insert the current date and time, you would use the variable $today.

When using template variables, keep these tips in mind:

• You can add variables multiple times within a template to include the same information in different sections.
• You can also use template variables to insert data from other sources, such as custom fields or macros.
• Use descriptive variable names so you can easily remember what they are for.
• Keep variable names consistent across templates so they can easily be reused.
• For more flexibility, use placeholder or example text instead of hard-coded variables.
• Add Scribes to make sure your team knows how to conduct each process.
• Test your templates to make sure that the variables are working as expected.

Ho‎w to create Confluence templates

Step 1: Access the template library

To create a Confluence template, start by accessing the Template Library. Navigate to your Confluence space and click on the "Create" button. From the dropdown menu, select "Template" to open the Template Library.

Step 2: Choose a template

The Template Library has a variety of pre-built templates covering different use cases, such as meeting notes, project plans and knowledge bases. Select the template that best suits your needs.

Step 3: Customize your template

Once you have chosen a template, you can customize it to fit your specific requirements. Click on the template to open it, and then edit the content, headings and sections as needed.

You can add or remove fields, rearrange elements and include variables.

Step 4: Use macros to add blocks of content

Macros are reusable blocks of content that can be added to insert tables, images, code, and other content into your pages.

To use a macro in Confluence, you can follow these steps:

• Click on the Insert button from the toolbar.
• Select Macro from the menu.
• Select the macro you want to insert.
• The macro will be inserted into the page.

Here are some of the pre-built macros available in Confluence:

table: This macro inserts a table into your page.

image: This macro inserts an image into your page.

code: This macro inserts code into your page.

list: This macro inserts a list into your page.

video: This macro inserts a video into your page.

link: This macro inserts a link into your page.

email: This macro inserts an email address into your page.

variable: This macro inserts the value of a variable into your page.

custom field: This macro inserts the value of a custom field into your page.

You can also use macros to insert data from other sources, such as custom fields or external APIs.

To create your own macro, use the Confluence macro editor.

Step 5: Add instructional text and Scribes

This instructional text is only visible while editing the page and can be used to explain the page's purpose, outline project requirements and provide specific instructions for team members.

• In the legacy editor, you can add placeholder text by clicking the '+' button and selecting "Placeholder text."
• In the new editor, simply type "/placeholder" where you want the text to appear and press Enter.

The instructional text will be displayed in italics with a shaded background to distinguish it from standard paragraph text.

Add additional instructions by embedding Scribes for any process in your templates.

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Step 6: Save your template

After customizing your template, click the "Save" button, and give your template a descriptive name. You can also provide a brief description to help others understand its purpose. Once saved, the template will be available in the Template Library.

Step 7: Test your template

There are a few ways you can test your templates in Confluence.

• Create a new page using the template to test how the template works.
• Use the preview feature to see how a template looks without creating a new page. To use the preview feature, click the "Preview" button in the toolbar to display it in a new window.
• Use the template editor to make changes to the content and formatting of a template. Click the "Edit" button in the toolbar to use the template editor. The template will open in the template editor.
• Use the sandbox space. Create a new space and select the Sandbox option. You can then create new pages using the templates in the sandbox space and make changes to the templates without affecting your production content.

Step 8: Create a quick template user guide

‎Make your template more user-friendly by adding clear, visual step-by-step instructions on how to use it.

To get started, install and open the Scribe Confluence integration.

Click on the Scribe icon in your Chrome toolbar. Then click "Start Capture" and walk through the process.

Scribe auto-captures screenshots and text as you work, saving your steps in a visual guide.

Once you’re done with your process, click "Stop Capture." In seconds, Scribe will build your step-by-step instructions based on the screenshots and text captured during your workflow.

You can edit and customize your guide, add tips, bullet lists, alerts, and even GIFs.

Your user guide should include things like:

• A brief description of the purpose of the template.
• Instructions on how to fill out the template.
• Examples of how the template can be used.
• Alerts about any potential mistakes that users might make.
• Information on how to get help with the template.

Step 9: Add your guide to the template

Once your template user guide is ready, you can export it and add it directly to Confluence.

If you haven't already, follow this step-by-step guide to integrate Scribe and Confluence.

Once you're ready to add your guide:

• Navigate to the Scribe you want to export.
• Click "Share".
• Click "Export".
• Find your appropriate Confluence Space.
• Click "Export".
• Click "Open in Confluence".
• The guide will be added to your page.

Step 10: Share your template

Select "Promote" under operations in the Look and Feel section of any space. When users create a new page, they can access the Confluence template gallery in the sidebar, making finding and using promoted templates simple.

Space administrators can manage templates for individual spaces, enable/disable blueprints, customize them, and promote (or unpromote) them.

Ti‎ps for creating effective templates

• Keep it simple: Templates should be easy to understand and use. Avoid cluttering them with unnecessary elements.
• Include instructions: If your template requires specific instructions or guidelines, include them within the template.
• Ask for feedback: Regularly gather feedback from your team to improve and refine your templates over time.
• Update your templates: As your team's needs evolve, don't hesitate to update and modify your templates accordingly.

Cr‎eating a new global template

To create a new global template:

1. Start by logging into your Confluence Cloud account.
2. Locate the settings wheel icon in the top right corner of the screen and select it to open the website settings.
3. From there, navigate to the toolbar and find the "Configuration" option. Click to access the configuration settings.
4. Select the "Global Templates and Blueprints" option in the configuration settings.
5. Choose "Add global page template" to create your new template.

Cr‎eating a new space template

To create a new space template in Confluence:

1. Open the space you want to create the template in.
2. Click on Space Settings.
3. Click on Look and Feel.
4. Go to the templates window and select Create New Template.
5. You'll be taken to the page editor, where you can edit the space template.
6. After editing, save the page as a template in Confluence.

Confluence template FA‎Qs

How do I turn a page into a template in Confluence?

1. To turn a page into a template in Confluence, follow these steps:
2. Open the page you want to turn into a template.
3. Click on the three-dot menu at the top right corner of the page.
4. Select "Create Template" from the dropdown menu.
5. Give your template a name and click "Create".
6. Customize the template by adding placeholders, such as text, images, or macros.
7. Save the template.
8. When creating a new page, select "Create from template" and choose the template you created.

How do I edit existing Confluence templates?

Existing templates in Confluence can be easily copied and edited to suit your needs:

1. Go to the space or site where the template is located.
2. Click on Space settings from the sidebar.
3. Click on "Templates" from the Look and Feel card.
4. Find the template you want and click "Edit".
5. The template will open in the template editor.
6. Make changes using the editor.
7. When you are finished, click "Save".

Co‎nclusion

By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, you can easily create Confluence templates that will ensure consistency across your Confluence space, saving time and eliminating confusion.

With Scribe, you can enhance your Confluence templates and show your team how to create them by auto-generating step-by-step guides, knowledge base articles, SOPs and more. Save your team 20+ hours/month vs. video and text tutorials.

Sign up for Scribe today and say goodbye to repetitive tasks and hello to increased productivity.