Some people are confusing these terms as they are quite similar. But they are not the same. In short, a theme is a broader concept that covers all the design of a web page. And a template is a design of one web page. Let’s take a look.

Theme

The core of the website’s complete design is called a theme. It covers all the pages and their functionality. Simply put, how a web page will look is going to be determined by a theme. Themes have all the elements of web design, including color palettes, backgrounds, page layouts, typography, headers, footers, sizing, positioning, and others.

Usually, themes have certain layouts with limited customization. But they can be still customized and used for an entire web page. Some other benefits include:

• Affordability. Themes are extremely affordable compared to building a website from scratch. You can even get free themes;
• Easy to use. You do not need to know web design and programming. Usually, it is based on drag & drop;
• A lot of options. There are a lot of options to choose from. Nowadays themes and templates are developed for different kinds of business.

Template

A template does not cover the entire web page. Simply put, it is a single-page layout that is part of a theme. Some themes even involve multiple variations of templates for different elements. If you want to learn about templates more, you can click here.

Theme vs. template: wrapping up

The most visible difference between a theme and a template is the number of pages. Themes are for the entire website while templates are for single-page design. So, when you are purchasing a theme, you will get a template too.

Another difference is that you can use only one theme at a time. But you can use several templates for different pages, for example, one for the blog, and one for the portfolio. To summarize, the features of a theme are:

• It is a whole design;
• It determines typography and functionality;
• You can have only one theme.

The features of a template are:

• It is designed for a single page;
• You can use multiple templates to customize your website;
• You cannot install a template without a theme.