Ask David!
Question: “I’m currently using Squarespace and am so tired of all the limitations. I have a section that needs to be the same on several pages. It is a mix of text/images. I just want to be able to update this section once and have it automatically updated on every other page that I have it on. This is so annoying to not have this with Squarespace. I can get this with UltimateWB, right?”
Yes! UltimateWB has a built-in HTML Ad(d)s App that lets you create a page section once, place it on multiple pages, and then update that section from one central location. Every instance of that section on your website is automatically updated when you make changes to it.
So if you have a section containing text and images that needs to appear on several pages, you don’t have to edit every page separately.
But centralized management in UltimateWB goes beyond reusable page sections. You can also centrally manage code and embeds, headers, footers and side columns, page styles, and other parts of your website. I’ll go through how each works here.
Create the Section Once and Use It on Multiple Pages
With UltimateWB’s HTML Ad(d)s App, you can create a page section using the Content Editor, just as you would when creating content for a page.
Once you create the section, UltimateWB gives you Placeholder Text for that HTML Ad(d). You copy and paste that placeholder into the pages where you want the section to appear.
That’s it.
The section can appear on one page, several pages, or as many pages as you need.
And here’s the important part:
When you edit the HTML Ad(d), every instance of it on your website is automatically updated.
So let’s say you create this:
About Our Company
We have been serving customers since 1998…
[Company image]
You place that section on 15 pages.
Later, you want to change the text or replace the image.
You don’t have to go through all 15 pages.
Edit the HTML Ad(d) once, and the updated section appears on all 15 pages. See the UltimateWB HTML Ad(d)s tutorial
You can even temporarily remove the instance for every page by toggling the section status from Active to Inactive.
You’re Not Limited to Headers and Footers
One important thing about this feature is that the reusable section doesn’t have to be a header, footer, sidebar, or other predefined area of your website.
You can place the HTML Ad(d) wherever you want within your page content.
For example, you could have a reusable section containing:
- Text and images
- A promotional message
- A call-to-action
- Contact information
- A product information section
- A special announcement
- A frequently used information box
- Any other content you want to maintain centrally
You simply place the HTML Ad(d) placeholder where you want the section to display.
This gives you a way to create your own reusable page sections instead of having to recreate the same content over and over again. Learn how to create reusable page sections with UltimateWB
What If You Want to Add Code Instead?
UltimateWB also has a separate Ad(d)s Manager for inserting code and third-party embeds.
For example, you can use the Ad(d)s Manager for:
- Google AdSense code
- YouTube embed code
- Media embeds
- Google Analytics
- Other third-party code
- Other custom embed code
You add the code once in the Ad(d)s Manager, get the generated Placeholder Text, and place that placeholder wherever you want the code or embed to appear.
If you update the Ad(d), the updated version is reflected wherever that Ad(d) is used. The Ad(d)s Manager can also be used for code that needs to be automatically inserted in specific areas of your pages, like before the header tag, within the header tag, or in the beginning or end of your body tag. See the UltimateWB Ad(d)s Manager tutorial
So the distinction is:
HTML Ad(d)s App:
Create reusable page content/sections using the Content Editor.
Ad(d)s App:
Manage ads, embeds, and other code that you want to integrate into your pages.
This makes the system useful for much more than just repeating a visual section.
What About Headers, Footers, and Sidebars?
UltimateWB also gives you centralized control over other parts of your website through the Pages CMS.
You can create different versions of your:
- Header
- Footer
- Left side
- Right side
Then you can choose which pages use the default version and which pages use a special version.
For example, you might want most of your website to use your standard header, while a particular section of your website uses a different header.
You don’t have to make every page use exactly the same header or footer.
This gives you centralized control without forcing the entire website to use one identical layout.
Styles Manager: Centrally Manage Your Website’s Design
The same centralized-management concept applies to your website’s design with UltimateWB’s Styles Manager.
You can create a default stylesheet/style for your website and also create custom styles for specific sections or types of pages.
You can then choose which pages use the default style and which pages use a custom style.
For example, if 50 pages are using the same style and you decide to change the font, spacing, colors, borders, or other design properties, you can make that change to the style itself rather than manually editing all 50 pages.
Update the style once → all pages using that style reflect the change.
And you aren’t forced to use one design for your entire website. You can have different styles for different groups of pages and decide which pages use which style.
So you can have:
Default Style → most of your website
Product Style → product pages
Special Style → a particular section of your website
Special Occassion Style → celebrating a particular holiday or event
Each group can be centrally managed, while individual pages can use the style that makes sense for them.
See the Styles Manager Tutorial.
What About Squarespace?
This is where the Ask David! question above comes from.
Squarespace has Saved Sections, which allow you to save a section and reuse it. However, Squarespace’s current documentation describes a saved section as a snapshot. As you have experienced on Squarespace, updating the original section does not update the saved version or the copies you’ve already added elsewhere.
So if you take an ordinary page section containing text and images, save it, and then place it on several pages, you can’t edit one of those sections and have the other copies automatically update.
However, Squarespace does have another approach for certain types of dynamic content.
Squarespace collection pages can contain sets of content such as blog posts, products, and events. Squarespace also provides Summary Blocks that can pull collection content into other pages and display it in different layouts. Those displays update when the underlying collection content changes.
That’s useful when your content fits naturally into a collection.
But it is different from taking an arbitrary page section containing text and images, placing that section on multiple regular pages, and having all of those instances stay synchronized.
If your goal is simply:
“I want to create this section once, put it on several pages, and then edit it once when something changes.”
UltimateWB’s built-in HTML Ad(d)s App gives you a direct way to do that without having to restructure the content as a collection.
What About Other Website Builders?
UltimateWB isn’t the only website builder with a solution for reusable or synchronized content.
Different platforms use different names and approaches for similar functionality.
Wix Studio has Global Sections. You can make a section global and use it on multiple pages, with changes to the global section reflected across its instances.
Webflow has Components, which allow reusable elements and sections to be synchronized across a website.
WordPress has Synced Patterns, which allow reusable content to be updated across the places where the pattern is used.
So the basic concept isn’t unique to UltimateWB.
The difference is in how each platform implements the feature and what types of content you can centrally manage. UltimateWB provides separate built-in tools for reusable page content, code and embeds, page-level layout variations, and styles.
Update Once, Change Every Instance
If you’re frustrated with having to maintain the same text and images on multiple pages, yes – UltimateWB can do what you’re looking for.
With the built-in HTML Ad(d)s App, you can create a page section once, place it on multiple pages using its Placeholder Text, and then update the section from one central location. Every instance is automatically updated.
If what you’re adding is third-party code, advertising, media, analytics, or another embed, the built-in Ad(d)s Manager gives you a separate centralized way to manage that as well.
And for the overall structure and design of your website, the Pages CMS and Styles Manager give you additional centralized control – while still allowing different pages to use different headers, footers, side areas, and styles.
You get centralized management without having to make your entire website identical.
Create it once. Place it wherever you need it. Update it once when it changes.
Related Website Builder Comparison Topics:
- Webflow, Shopify, WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Framer Miss This Simple Navigation Feature
- Why Webflow, WordPress, Squarespace & Wix Fall Short on Page Backups (And the UltimateWB Fix)
- What is the Biggest Drawback of Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and WordPress?
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Got a techy/website question? Whether it’s about UltimateWB or another website builder, web hosting, or other aspects of websites, just send in your question in the “Ask David!” form. We will email you when the answer is posted on the UltimateWB “Ask David!” section.