What are the template naming convention standards?

Question

What is the standard for template naming conventions within a CMS?

Should the name be Structural (e.g. Two Column Template) or purpose based (e.g. News Template) or something else?

It makes sense to me that the name be structural based, but I would like to know what the standard is here before we proceed with this project.

Answer 1

From what I've seen, they generally go with the structural formula:

Simple:

[navigation-top/left/right] + [content L/R/C align]

Advanced:

[columns] + [navigation-top/left/right] + [rows*]

*rows can be split further into more columns, such that there can be a full-width (photograph or chart) and then two columns below of text.

To directly answer your question: What is the standard for template naming conventions within a CMS?

• There isn't a global standard. We'd need to know which CMS you are using. Plus, why would the name carry any significance if the layout would be the same (2-column vs. news template)?

The Digitalus CMS uses this approach:

While there can be a completely modular approach:

Magento, with intention-based naming:

So as you can see, it really varies with the CMS being used.

Answer 2

I don't think there's any single standard apart from "whatever works best for this particular project". My personal preference is to name the templates according to their intended use, for example News article, Search results, Product page or Blog post.