> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ectobuilder.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Make a Landing Page in Ghost with Custom Templates - URL: https://www.ectobuilder.com/blog/ghost-landing-page-custom-template/ - Published: 2026-10-14T09:41:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T09:41:48.000Z - Description: Ghost pages all look the same, unless you give them a custom template. Here's what custom templates are, how to build one visually without editing theme files, and how Ectobuilder publishes the page for you when you deploy. - Author: Michal Wlosik - Tags: Guides, Design Every Ghost page looks the same: a title, maybe a picture, and the text you write in the editor. That's right for an About page. It's not enough for a course launch, a product page or a newsletter signup page, where you want a hero, features, pricing, an FAQ and a big button, laid out like a real landing page. Ghost can do this with **custom templates**. This guide explains what they are, how to make one without touching code, and how to get it live as a page on your site. ![A landing page for an email course called Inbox Zero in seven days, with a headline, two buttons and a large app screenshot, followed by a row of logos](https://www.ectobuilder.com/content/images/2026/10/image-mv7x11vf.webp) A landing page built from a custom template: hero, features, pricing and FAQ, all designed in the theme. ## What is a custom template in Ghost? A Ghost theme has a template for each kind of page: one for the homepage, one for posts, one for pages, and so on. A custom template is an extra layout in your theme, a file named like `custom-landing-page.hbs`. Ghost lists every custom template in the post editor, under **Template**, and any page or post can use one. So a landing page in Ghost is two things: a custom template that holds the design, and a page that uses it. The page gives it an address, like `/landing-page/`, a title and SEO details. The template decides what visitors see. ## The code route Without a builder, making a custom template means editing your theme: 1. Download your theme in Ghost Admin, under **Settings → Theme**. 2. Add a file like `custom-landing-page.hbs`, starting with `{{!< default}}` so it keeps your header and footer, then write the page in HTML and Handlebars. 3. Add the CSS for every new section to the theme's styles, and rebuild them if the theme uses a build step. 4. Zip the theme, upload it, create a page and pick the template. Every change to the page means repeating the cycle, and your changes are lost if you update the theme from its developer. ## Or... Make a landing page in Ghost with Ectobuilder ### 1\. Create a custom template Open your theme in [Ectobuilder](https://www.ectobuilder.com/) and click the page name at the top to open the page menu. It lists every template in your theme, with the Ghost file each one becomes. At the bottom, click **New custom template**. ![The Ectobuilder page menu listing Home, Blog, Post, Page, Tag, Author and Not found with their file names, and New custom template at the bottom](https://www.ectobuilder.com/content/images/2026/10/image-mv7x4r61.webp) The page menu. New custom template adds a layout you can pick per page in Ghost. Give it a name. This is what you'll see in Ghost's post editor under Template, and it also sets the file name and the address of the page Ectobuilder makes for it, so "Landing page" becomes `custom-landing-page.hbs` and `/landing-page/`. ![The New page template dialog with Landing page typed in the Template name field and Cancel and Create buttons](https://www.ectobuilder.com/content/images/2026/10/image-mv7x3ayw.webp) Name the template. The name is shown in Ghost under Template. ### 2\. Design the page A new template starts with your header, a page title, the page content and your footer. From there it's a page like any other in Ectobuilder: add a hero, features, testimonials, pricing, an FAQ and a call to action from the section library, and edit the text and pictures right on the page. You decide how much of the page comes from Ghost: - **Fully designed.** Remove the page title and content sections, and the whole page lives in the theme. Best for launch pages that don't change often. - **Designed around your writing.** Keep the content section between your designed sections. Whatever you write in Ghost's editor for that page shows up there, so you can update the story without touching the design. ### 3\. Deploy Click **Deploy**. Ectobuilder uploads the theme and, for each new custom template, creates a page in Ghost that uses it and publishes it, so your landing page is live at `/landing-page/` straight away. The deploy summary links to it. Ectobuilder is careful with pages you already have. It only creates a page when no page or post uses that address. If you already have a page there with a different layout, it leaves it alone and offers a button to switch that page to the new template. [![CTA Image](https://www.ectobuilder.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/06/Ecto_builder_logo_sq_small.png)](https://editor.ectobuilder.com/login?mode=signup&plan=free&ref=ectobuilder.com) ****Build your first landing page today.** Design a custom template visually in Ectobuilder, and it goes live on your Ghost site the moment you deploy. [Try it free ](https://editor.ectobuilder.com/login?mode=signup&plan=free&ref=ectobuilder.com) ## Use the template on other pages A custom template isn't tied to one page. To use it elsewhere, open any page or post in Ghost Admin, click the settings icon in the top right, and choose your template under **Template**. If a new template doesn't appear in the list, reload Ghost Admin. That makes templates good for families of pages: one "Course" template for every course you sell, one "Event" template for every event, each page with its own title and content in the same design. ## Ideas for landing pages - **Course or product launch**: hero, what's inside, testimonials, pricing linked to your Ghost tiers, FAQ. - **Newsletter signup page**: one clear promise, a few past issues, and a signup form. Link to it from social profiles instead of your homepage. - **Link in bio**: a short page of buttons for your newest post, your newsletter and your shop. - **Lead magnet**: a free guide or template in exchange for an email address, delivered to new members. - **Work with me**: services, past clients, process and a booking or contact button. - **Event or webinar**: date, speakers, agenda and a signup button. ## Tips - **Fill in the page's details in Ghost.** The title, excerpt and SEO settings of the Ghost page are used for search results and social cards, even when the template doesn't show them. - **One page, one goal.** Every button on a landing page should lead to the same action: join, buy or subscribe. - **Put the button early.** Many visitors decide in the hero. Repeat the call to action at the end for those who read everything. - **Check it on a phone.** Use the device buttons at the bottom of the Ectobuilder canvas before you deploy. ## FAQ #### Can posts use custom templates too? Yes. Ghost shows custom templates under Template for both posts and pages. #### Will my header and footer appear on the landing page? Yes. Header and footer are shared across your whole site in Ghost, so every template uses them. #### What happens if I delete a custom template? Pages and posts that used it fall back to the default layout. If Ectobuilder made a page for it and nothing was written on it, Ectobuilder offers to remove that page too. #### Does a custom template affect SEO? Not on its own. Search engines see the finished page. Fill in the Ghost page's title, excerpt and meta data as you would for any page. [![CTA Image](https://www.ectobuilder.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/06/Ecto_builder_logo_sq_small.png)](https://editor.ectobuilder.com/login?mode=signup&plan=free&ref=ectobuilder.com) ****Landing pages without the theme code.** Start from a template or a blank page in Ectobuilder, add custom templates for your launches, and deploy straight to Ghost. [Start building ](https://editor.ectobuilder.com/login?mode=signup&plan=free&ref=ectobuilder.com)