Templatera is a template manager add-on for WPBakery Page Builder, the drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress. It lets a site owner save a block of designed content once, drop it onto any number of pages, and have every instance update the moment the original is edited. It is aimed at freelancers, agencies and in-house teams running WordPress sites where the same content — a contact strip, a call-to-action band, a footer block — appears in dozens of places.
The plugin comes from wpbakery, the same developer behind WPBakery Page Builder itself, which matters because the integration is native rather than bolted on. It sells for $16 on CodeCanyon, where it has accumulated 11,775 sales and a 4.62 out of 5 rating across 335 reviews.
What Templatera actually does beyond storing layouts
WPBakery Page Builder already ships with a template library, so the obvious question is what an add-on adds. The answer is reusability with live synchronisation, plus a layer of control over who can touch which template.
The core mechanism is a new content element called Templatera. Once the plugin is active, that element appears in the WPBakery element menu alongside rows, columns and text blocks. Placing it on a page inserts a saved template as an independent block. The important detail is what happens afterwards: editing the source template pushes the change out to every page holding that block. There is no manual re-insertion and no page-by-page editing. A contact block containing a phone number, an address and a form can be corrected in one place and the whole site follows.
Behind the scenes, templates are stored as a custom post type named vc_template. That is a technical detail with a practical payoff — templates are managed through the standard WordPress admin list table, with the familiar add, edit, delete and search behaviour. Anyone comfortable with WordPress posts already knows how to use it. There is no separate interface to learn.
Existing templates created in WPBakery Page Builder are migrated automatically when the plugin is activated. The vendor states no setup is required, and there is no manual import step for templates already on the site.
Access control by role and by content type
Two restriction rules are available. Templates can be limited to specific WordPress user roles, so a client with an editor account sees only the blocks intended for them while an agency administrator sees everything. Separately, templates can be restricted by content type, meaning a block can be made available only when editing posts, or only when editing pages. On multi-author sites or client-managed builds, this keeps the template library from becoming a dumping ground.
Portability between sites
Templates export and import as XML files, which is the standard WordPress mechanism for moving content between installations. A single-template export option means an entire library does not have to travel together — one block can be pulled out and shipped to another project on its own. For agencies maintaining a house style across client sites, this is the feature that turns a one-off layout into a reusable asset.
Where Templatera fits, and where it does not
The clearest fit is any WordPress site built with WPBakery Page Builder where content repeats. Marketing sites with a consistent call-to-action section on every service page, membership sites with a standard signup block, and multi-location businesses with per-branch contact details all benefit directly. The larger the site, the more the savings compound, because the alternative is editing the same element on every page it appears.
Agencies building sites for clients have a second use case. A curated set of locked-down templates gives a client a safe set of building blocks without exposing the full element library or the risk of breaking a carefully constructed layout. The role-based access control exists precisely for this arrangement.
Developers maintaining a staging-to-production workflow get a third: build and refine templates on staging, export the XML, import on production.
The wrong choice is equally clear. Templatera requires WPBakery Page Builder — it does nothing on its own and has nothing to offer a site built with Gutenberg, Elementor or any other editor. The vendor’s own specification lists Gutenberg optimisation as “No”. A site that has already standardised on the block editor should not consider this at all, regardless of price. It is also a poor fit for a small brochure site with five pages and no repeated content, where the overhead of managing a template library exceeds any time saved.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Live synchronisation is the headline benefit and it works the way it is described: edit once, and every placement of that template reflects the change without further action.
- Native integration with WPBakery Page Builder means no compatibility guesswork, since the same developer maintains both.
- Template management uses the standard WordPress post list, so there is no new interface to learn.
- Automatic migration of existing templates removes the most common friction point when adding a plugin to a live site.
- Role-based and content-type access control make the plugin viable for client-facing builds, not just solo developers.
- XML import and export, including single-template export, makes templates portable between projects.
- Priced at $16 with a 4.62 rating from 335 reviews and more than 11,700 sales — a long track record for a small add-on.
- Source files are included (JavaScript, HTML, XML, CSS, LESS, PHP), which matters to developers who need to inspect or extend behaviour.
Limitations
- It is tied to WPBakery Page Builder without exception. There is no standalone mode and no support for other editors.
- The vendor lists compatibility with WordPress 6.5.x, 6.6.x and 6.7.x only. Sites on older WordPress branches, or on versions released after that list was published, are not covered by the stated compatibility.
- Browser support extends back to Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11. That is generous on paper but reflects an ageing support matrix rather than a modern one.
- The plugin is not marked as high-resolution optimised, and the vendor does not state whether template rendering adds measurable overhead on pages with many Templatera blocks. No performance data is published.
- Because templates are shared across pages, an edit propagates everywhere instantly. That is the point, but it also means there is no built-in approval or staging step — a mistake in a template reaches every page that uses it in the same moment.
- The changelog shows a security fix for an XSS vulnerability in version 2.4.0. It was addressed, but it is a reminder that any add-on accepting stored content deserves attention at update time.
- There is no Gutenberg or block-editor equivalent, so sites planning to migrate away from WPBakery will eventually leave this plugin behind.
How it compares with the alternatives
There are three broad ways to handle repeated content in WordPress, and Templatera occupies a specific slot among them.
The first alternative is doing nothing and editing each page by hand. That is free and adequate for small sites, but the cost scales linearly with page count. Templatera wins decisively once the same block appears more than a handful of times.
The second is a general-purpose reusable-block plugin, often built around shortcodes or the block editor’s own synced patterns. These are editor-agnostic and sometimes cheaper or free, but they typically do not understand WPBakery’s internal structure. A synced pattern built for Gutenberg will not carry WPBakery rows, columns and element settings. Templatera’s advantage is that it stores templates in the page builder’s own format, so every element setting survives intact.
The third is a full theme or site-building framework with its own template system. Those offer more, but they also replace the whole build stack. Templatera is additive — it slots into an existing WPBakery site without disturbing anything else.
On capability, Templatera’s differentiators are live synchronisation, role-based access control and XML portability at a $16 price point. On fit, it is the right answer only for sites already committed to WPBakery Page Builder.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Templatera work without WPBakery Page Builder?
No. Templatera is an add-on and requires WPBakery Page Builder to be installed and active. Without it, the plugin has no editor to attach to and no templates to manage. The vendor lists WPBakery Page Builder as the sole compatible product, and Gutenberg optimisation is explicitly marked as not supported.
What happens to pages using a template when the template is edited?
Every page containing that Templatera block updates automatically. The plugin inserts templates as live references rather than copies, so a single edit to the source template propagates to all placements at once. This is the plugin’s core function and the reason most buyers purchase it.
Can Templatera templates be moved to another WordPress site?
Yes. Templates export as XML files and can be imported into another WordPress installation running the same plugin. A single-template export option is also available, so individual blocks can be moved without exporting the whole library. This suits agencies reusing layouts across client projects.
Can access to specific templates be restricted?
Yes, on two axes. Templates can be limited to particular WordPress user roles, and separately restricted by content type so a template appears only when editing posts or only when editing pages. This is useful on client sites where editors should see a curated set of blocks rather than the full library.
Verdict
Templatera is worth buying for anyone running a WordPress site on WPBakery Page Builder where the same content block appears across multiple pages. At $16, with more than 11,700 sales and a 4.62 rating, the risk is low and the time saved on larger sites is substantial. Agencies managing client builds get additional value from the role-based access control and XML portability. It should be avoided by anyone not using WPBakery Page Builder, by sites on WordPress versions outside the stated 6.5.x to 6.7.x range, and by small sites with little repeated content. The most important thing to understand before buying is that template edits go live everywhere immediately — there is no staging or approval layer, so changes should be made deliberately.