The short version
- Any signed-in Gradiently member can publish one of their designs as a template from Explore.
- Publishing takes a copy of the design at that moment, so later changes stay private until you choose Update template.
- Photos you uploaded stay private and are left out of the published template, so people starting from it add their own.
- Published templates appear in Explore under templates shared by members and on the Templates tab of your public profile.
- Unpublish takes a template down at any time, and the original design stays yours either way.
On this page
To publish template designs on Gradiently, open Explore, choose Publish a template, pick one of your designs, give it a name people would search for and say what it's for. That's it: the template appears in Explore and on your profile, and anyone can start from it. Your own design stays yours and private; publishing shares a copy, without the photos you uploaded.
The mechanics take a minute. Making a template people actually choose takes a little more thought, and most of this page is about that part.
How to publish a template, step by step
- 1
Finish the design first
Publish something you would post yourself. Real words, a clear hierarchy, nothing half placed. A template is judged by its thumbnail.
- 2
Open Explore and choose Publish a template
You'll see your designs. Choose one; if you haven't made any yet, Gradiently offers to start one.
- 3
Name it the way people search
The name is what Explore's search reads. Describe the job and the audience, not the design's internal title.
- 4
Choose what it's for
This files the template under a category, such as launches, events, food and drink or occasions, so people browsing by purpose find it.
- 5
Check what gets left out, then Publish
Gradiently tells you how many uploaded photos stayed private. Then the template goes live on Explore and on your profile.
What is shared and what stays private
Publishing is a copy, not a handover. People who use your template work on their own copy of that copy, and nothing they do touches your design or your template.
Shared in the template
- The layout: pages, text boxes, shapes, icons and their positions
- Your words, as written when you published
- The Mark the design wears, which users can swap for their own
- Your name as the template's maker
Stays private
- The original design and every later change to it
- Photos you uploaded, which are left out
- Exporting with your Mark, if you own it: only the owner can
- Your other designs, brands and workspace
Name it so people find it
Explore's search works on plain words: someone looking for a menu types menu, perhaps café menu, perhaps autumn. A name that matches those words gets found. A name that only means something to you does not.
Strong name
Why it works
Why it works
Strong name
Why it works
Why it works
Why it works
What makes a template people choose
The templates that get used solve a specific, recurring job and are easy to adapt. Generic placeholder text makes a layout look unfinished; realistic words show people what goes where, and how long each line can be.
Placeholder words tell nobody how long a headline can be, or what the detail line is for.
Realistic words show the date, the venue and the length each line can hold.
- One job per template. A hiring card, a weekly specials board, a podcast episode cover. Broad "business post" templates are hard to picture yourself using.
- Room to change the words. Leave space for a headline a third longer than yours; other businesses have longer names.
- A clear hierarchy. One main line, one supporting line, one detail. People change words, not structure.
- Nothing that depends on your photos. Uploaded photos are left out, so a layout built around one picture arrives with a hole in it. Shapes, type and the Mark carry better.
- A common size. Portrait posts at 1080×1350 and stories at 1080×1920 are what most people need first.
If you want inspiration for which jobs to cover, the categories in Explore are a good map, and using social media templates well shows what users do with them once they land.
Your templates on your profile
Everything you publish appears under the Templates tab of your public page at gradiently.design/<username>, next to the Marks you own and the designs you showcase. In Explore, the Made by filter separates Gradiently's own templates from those members have shared, and each of yours shows your name. Visitors can follow you to see what you publish next. Your profile explains how the page is put together.
Post 1080×1350
1080 × 1350
Story 1080×1920
1080 × 1920
Square 1080×1080
1080 × 1080
A5 flyer
1748 × 2480
Updating and unpublishing a template
Publishing freezes a copy of the design at that moment. Keep editing your design as much as you like: those changes stay private. When you want the public version to match, open the template and choose Update template. To take it down, choose Unpublish; it leaves Explore and your profile, and your design is untouched.
Copies people already made from your template are theirs and stay as they are. That is the same rule as any template: it is a starting point, and what someone builds on it belongs to them. For the user's side of the process, the templates guide covers what happens when someone chooses Use this template.
Questions people ask
Who can publish a template on Gradiently?
Any signed-in member can publish one of their designs as a template from Explore.
Does publishing a template share my original design?
No. Publishing takes a copy at that moment; your design stays private, and later changes stay private until you choose Update template.
Are my photos included in a published template?
No. Photos you uploaded stay private and are left out, so people starting from the template add their own.
Where do my published templates appear?
In Explore, among templates shared by members, and on the Templates tab of your public profile.
How do I remove a template I published?
Open it and choose Unpublish. It leaves Explore and your profile, and your original design is unchanged.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
See our profile