Template engine (web)

A web template system uses a template processor to combine web templates to form finished web pages, possibly using some data source to customize the pages or present a large amount of content on similar-looking pages. It is a web publishing tool present in content management systems, web application frameworks, and HTML editors.

Web templates can be used like the template of a form letter to either generate a large number of "static" (unchanging) web pages in advance, or to produce "dynamic" web pages on demand.

A web template system is composed of the following:

The template and content resources are processed and combined by the template engine to mass-produce web documents. For purposes of this article, web documents include any of various output formats for transmission over the web via , or another Internet protocol.

Web templates can be used by any individual or organization to set up their website. Once a template is purchased or downloaded, the user will replace all generic information included in the web template with their own personal, organizational or product information. Examples of common uses of Templates are listed below:

Various agencies and organizations use web template systems for mass-production of content when slower production alternatives prove unfeasible.

For an introductory overview, take a news website as an example. Consider a "static website", where all web pages are static, built by a web designer. It would be very repetitive work to change individual pages as often as the news changes. A typical strategy to automate the web designer's "repetitive work" using Templates could be as follows:

A common goal among experienced web developers is to develop and deploy applications that are flexible and easily maintainable. An important consideration in reaching this goal is the separation of business logic from presentation logic. Developers use web template systems (with varying degrees of success) to maintain this separation.

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