There is no template gallery here, and this is why

What a template is, and what it is good for

A template is a finished page with the words left blank, or worse, filled in for a business that is not yours. You pick one, paste in your name, and swap the town.

It is good for speed on day one. It is bad for every day after, because the words were never about you.

A theme is a template for the look rather than the words. Most galleries sell both at once, and the look is the part people remember choosing. That is why so many sites feel familiar.

Why a template with the town swapped fails the check

The uniqueness check strips the city, state and industry names before it measures. What is left is the actual writing. If two pages are the same writing once those names are gone, the second scores as a copy.

A copy does not publish, and the in-app assistant says why. That rule exists because Google Search Essentials is plain about pages that repeat the same words for many places. The check that runs before anything publishes is validated against it.

The check is not a style opinion. It measures the writing that is left after the names come out, and the assistant tells you why a page was refused.

What you see instead of a gallery

You see the plan. After the conversation, the assistant lists every page the site will have and what the build costs. You approve it before anything is written.

The plan is where a template's job gets done properly. Instead of choosing a look for a stranger's business, you check a page list for yours.

You also see the cost of the build in dollars, before anything runs. A gallery never tells you what the pages will cost to fill in, because that cost is your evenings.

Pages can be added later, too. An About, Contact or FAQ page takes one click, or name a page of your own and the assistant writes it from one line about its purpose.

How the look is set without a theme picker

Tell the in-app assistant your brand color and give it your logo and a hero image. Add a hero video from a YouTube or Vimeo link, and it loads only when a visitor clicks.

If you want an image made, AI image generation is the one extra charge, and the exact amount is shown before anything is generated.

Footer links, the phone number and the call to action are set the same way, by asking. Every change runs the check again before it goes live.

The A/B second version

Templates give you variety by offering many looks. The builder gives you variety where it counts: a second version of a site with an alternate headline, lede and answer capsule.

The split is stable per visitor and uses no cookie. You read the results in your analytics, or ask the assistant to read them for you.

Start one by asking the in-app assistant. The second version is a site version like any other, so its pages pass the same check before they publish.

When a template is still the right tool

If you want to place every element yourself and the words are already written, an editor with a template gallery is the right tool. Drag-and-drop editing is not offered here.

If you want the words written and checked, and the look set by asking, this is the one. We would rather you pick right than pick us.

There is also no online store checkout and no blog here. If those are on your list, they belong in your decision too. Ask on the contact page if you are not sure which side of the line you are on.

How to tell a written page from a filled-in one

Open any site's service page and its neighbor. Then ask these five questions. A page that is genuinely useful passes all of them.

• Cover the town name. Is the rest of the page still different?
• Does the page answer a question a customer of this business would ask?
• Is there a fact here the template could not have known?
• Do the title and description belong to this page alone?
• Was it written from a conversation, or pasted into a frame?