About Web Part Page templates

When you first create a Web Part Page, you can choose from one of eight templates. Each template is organized into one or more zones with a unique name. A descriptive name and an animated thumbnail image help you choose the best template to fit your needs. Templates help you quickly decide the layout of a page so you can begin designing the page right away. Typically, you add one or more Web Parts to one or more zones when you first design a page. When there are two or more Web Parts in a zone, they are stacked either vertically or horizontally, depending on the template and the zone.

If there are no Web Parts in a zone, the zone collapses (unless the zone has a fixed width or height) and the other zones expand to fill unused space when you browse the page.

Once you choose a template and create the Web Part Page, you cannot change the template from a browser. In most cases, the supplied templates will be sufficient for the page you are creating. However, there are times you may need to modify an existing template or design your own template. For example, your page might grow more complex than you originally anticipated, or the purpose of the page might change. If you need more control over your templates, you can use an HTML editor that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services from Microsoft, such as Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003. For more information, see the documentation of the HTML editor program you use.