Confluence Templates

Templates are pre-built page structures you reuse to create consistent pages quickly. Instead of formatting every meeting note or project brief from scratch, you open a template and fill in the blanks. Templates save time and make sure every page follows the same structure.

Why Templates Matter

Without templates, each person on your team formats the same type of page differently. One person writes meeting notes as a numbered list. Another uses a table. A third writes prose paragraphs. Finding specific information across ten different formats wastes time. Templates enforce one structure so all pages of the same type look identical.

Without vs With Templates

WITHOUT TEMPLATE                        WITH TEMPLATE
──────────────────────────────────────  ──────────────────────────────────────
Meeting note by Priya: bullet list      Meeting Note Template:
Meeting note by Raj: paragraph blocks     Date:
Meeting note by Sam: numbered list        Attendees:
                                          Decisions:
No two pages look the same.               Action Items:
Searching for "decisions" across          Attachments:
20 notes takes a long time.             Every page looks identical. Search
                                        finds decisions in every note fast.

Two Sources of Templates

Confluence templates come from two sources: Atlassian's built-in template library and custom templates your team creates.

Template Sources

SOURCE              CREATED BY          EXAMPLES
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Built-in templates  Atlassian           Meeting Notes, Product Requirements,
                                        Retrospective, Decision Log, Onboarding
Custom templates    You or your team    Company-specific formats, internal
                                        style guides, branded structures

Using a Built-In Template

Create a new page, then click Templates on the right side of the editor. Browse by category or search for a template name. Click any template to apply it — the page fills with the template's structure immediately.

Template Selection Flow

STEP 1  →  Press C (or click +) to create a new page
STEP 2  →  Click "Templates" on the right panel
STEP 3  →  Search or browse the library
STEP 4  →  Click a template to preview it
STEP 5  →  Click "Use template"
STEP 6  →  The template loads in your editor
STEP 7  →  Fill in the placeholders
STEP 8  →  Publish

Popular Built-In Templates

Meeting Notes Template

SECTION             PURPOSE
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Date and Attendees  Who was in the meeting and when
Goals               What the meeting aimed to achieve
Discussion Points   Topics covered and key points made
Decisions           What was agreed or approved
Action Items        Who does what and by when
Next Meeting        Date of the follow-up

Product Requirements Template

SECTION             PURPOSE
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Overview            One-paragraph summary of the feature
Problem Statement   What user problem does this solve
Goals and Success   How you measure success
Requirements        Functional and non-functional needs
Open Questions      Unanswered decisions still needed
Out of Scope        What this work deliberately excludes

Retrospective Template

SECTION             PURPOSE
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
What Went Well      Positives to reinforce
What Could Improve  Areas to change next sprint
Action Items        Specific improvements with owners

Creating a Custom Template

When no built-in template fits your team's needs, create your own. Custom templates live inside a specific space and are available to everyone in that space.

Steps to Create a Custom Template

STEP 1  →  Go to your space
STEP 2  →  Click Space Settings (cog ⚙ icon in left sidebar)
STEP 3  →  Click "Templates"
STEP 4  →  Click "Create new template"
STEP 5  →  Design the page structure with headings,
            tables, and placeholder text
STEP 6  →  Click Publish
RESULT  →  Your template appears in the template picker
           for everyone in the space

Placeholder Text Best Practice

BAD PLACEHOLDER:    "Write something here"
GOOD PLACEHOLDER:   "Summarise the problem in 2-3 sentences.
                     Include the affected user type and business impact."

Descriptive placeholders act as inline instructions. They tell the page author exactly what to write, not just where to write it.

Editing and Updating Templates

Go to Space Settings → Templates to edit any existing custom template. Changes to a template do not affect pages already created from it — only new pages use the updated version. Keep this in mind when fixing errors in a template: you may need to update already-published pages manually.

Template Variables

Confluence templates support variables — placeholders that prompt the user to enter a specific value when creating a page from the template. A date variable inserts today's date automatically. A text variable opens a prompt asking for a specific input before the page opens.

Variable Types

VARIABLE TYPE   EXAMPLE INPUT           OUTPUT
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Text            "Project Name"          Prompts user to type a name
Multi-line      "Description"           Prompts for a paragraph
Date            "Sprint Start Date"     Opens a date picker
List            "Status: Draft / Final" Shows a dropdown to choose

Variables speed up page creation by automatically filling repeated details. A meeting notes template with a date variable inserts today's date for you — no typing needed.