📌 Note: Sharing a custom theme is only available for nations on the Network plan.
Table of Contents
Sharing a theme
A website theme defines how the site looks from the layout to navigation to color and font choice. Our theme gallery highlights the public themes available, while the stock theme guidelines provide information on how to make the most out of each public theme. When you create a custom theme, you have the ability to share it with other nations.
The HQ nation has the ability to share its custom theme with its networked nations, ensuring brand integrity across the network. If you are on the Leader, Team, or Organization plan and working with a NationBuilder Architect, you will be able to share and receive custom themes with your dedicated Architect only.
Some common reasons to share a theme:
You're a designer who offers unique themes to your clients.
You're a national organization who wants to provide affiliates or chapters with a branded look.
You manage more than one nation and want to use the same design in different nations.
This is in contrast to sharing the actual content and page structure which can be done by following the site sharing instructions. A custom theme is shared from its settings page and is then quickly available in the nation that it is shared with.
Select the site in your nation that is using the custom theme you want to share. Go to Website > [Site name] > Theme > Current custom theme > Settings.
If you want this exact custom theme to be editable from other nations, check the box next to "Nations I have shared this theme with can also edit it." It is normally easier to leave this box unchecked. That way, if a nation you share the theme with wants to make edits, they can clone the theme and work off of a copy.
Enter the nation slug in the text box for Share with nation. You can share the theme with more than one nation by separating the nation names with commas. Click the Save theme button to save your changes.
You can also edit a theme's settings even if it is not the current custom theme for a site in your nation. To do this, click on Switch to a custom theme in the navigation area.
If you have several custom themes, you will see all of them listed in this area.
If you click Switch to, your website will be switched to the custom theme. If you hover over/click Edit, you can edit the theme without switching the website to it.
After selecting the theme you want to share, go to the theme's Settings and you’ll be able to choose the nation you want to share your theme with.
Switching to a shared theme
When you share a theme with other nations, they will see the theme in their list of custom themes.
From the receiving nation, go to Website > [Name of site] > Theme. If the site is using a stock theme, you'll land on this page:
Click on Switch to a custom theme to use the shared theme.
You'll then be taken to a list of custom themes created in the nation or shared with the nation.
If you click on the Switch to button, your website will be switched to the shared theme.