Change of default template after initial deployment

Support
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1

Hi,

I have deplyoed a website using Netlify.
I used a default template.
Now I would like to change the template, quick and easy, as a custom domain is already pointing at this repository.
Is there a supported way to use any of the other standard template?
Thank you.

2

If you are happy to redo all the content etc. for the new template, you could do the following:

  1. Create a new website with the template you want to change to;
  2. Delete the files from the old repository with the old template;
  3. Copy the files from the new website/repo to the old (now empty) repo
  4. Add content in for the new template.

This is a ‘hacky’ way of adding a new template to the same repo as the old template so you have a full commit history.

If you are not worried about having a full commit history, it might not be a bad idea to just start a new project and hook that up to your custom domain. It wont take very long, you would need to set the domain in Netlify and set the txt/a records with your domain registrar.

3

Hi, @TinoRabe, and welcome to the Netlify community site. :+1:

There are several different approaches, for example, the one above.

If you want to keep the same subdomain for the site at Netlify (like example.netlify.com), you can also make a new repo with the new template and then link the exist site to the new repo. This would keep your deploy history for the previous repo as well.

This can be done in the UI at Site Name > Build & deploy > Build Settings. There, click the “Edit” button and then click “Link to a different repository” - picking the new repository when prompted.

You can even do this twice if you want to test it first:

  • Make a new site with the new repo.
  • Test the build and deploy at Netlify.
  • If it works, delete the new site and then re-link the repo to the old site as recommended above.

If there are other questions, we’re happy to answer.