# What carries over to the new template editor

_Category: Classic template editor_

When you try the new template editor, HelpCenter.io copies your classic design and converts it for you. Use this list to see what carries over as it was, what changes on the way, and what you set up again yourself before you publish.

Nothing here touches your articles, categories, translations or web addresses. Your classic settings stay saved, unchanged, in case you switch back. See [Switch back to the classic template editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/switch-back-to-the-classic-editor).

## What carries over

| In the classic editor | In the new template editor |
| --- | --- |
| **Brand Name**, logo, favicon and **Connected Site** | **Brand**: **Site name**, **Logo**, **Favicon** and **Your main website** |
| **Primary Color** and **Links Color** | **Theme**: **Primary** and **Accent** under **Light mode** |
| **Headings Font** and **Text Font**, including fonts you installed or uploaded | **Theme**: **Heading font** and **Body font** |
| The header: heading, subheading, background color or image, cover, alignment and height | A hero at the top of the Home page. Your header subheading also becomes your **Tagline**. |
| The minimal header on other pages, the logo link and position, and the search field's placeholder, corners and the text under it | The header and search bar on every page |
| **Custom Menu** links and the **Contact Us** button | **Navigation**. The button becomes the last link. |
| The language picker | A language switcher, when your help center has more than one language |
| Home page sections: **Categories Listing**, **Articles Listing**, **FAQs Listing**, **Heading**, **Contacts Section** and **Custom HTML** | Matching components on the Home page, in the same order |
| **Category Page** layout, **List articles under subcategories** and **Order articles under category by** | The Category page's layout, sidebar and article order |
| **Article** settings: layout, metadata, table of contents, recommendations, recently viewed articles, share options, the print and export menu, rating and comments | Matching components on the Article page |
| The contact form: fields, heading, recipient, confirmation email and success message | A contact form on the Contact page |
| **Show HelpCenter.io branding:** and **Custom HTML Footer** | The footer. A custom HTML footer replaces the standard one, as it did before. |
| **Custom CSS** | **Advanced**: **Custom CSS**, as one item named Custom CSS |
| **Custom Scripts**, **Google Analytics Code** and **Other Scripts** | **Advanced**: **Script injections**, in the same position on the page |
| **Meta Title**, **Meta Description**, **Meta Keywords**, Open Graph, **Nofollow links** and the domain whitelist | **Brand**: the SEO and Open Graph settings, **Nofollow external links** and **Whitelisted domains** |
| Texts you translated into other languages | The same translations |

## What changes on the way

- **Colors.** Your primary and links colors carry over. Text, background, surfaces and borders start with standard colors. If you never set a primary color, the copy uses your header color, or a standard blue. See [Change colors, fonts and spacing](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/colors-and-fonts).
- **Dark mode.** Your classic help center had none. In the new editor it follows each reader's device and starts with standard dark colors. See [Light and dark mode](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/dark-mode).
- **Menu links open in the same tab.** Classic menu links opened in a new tab. To keep that for a link, open **Navigation** and set its **Kind** to **External link**. See [Add links to your header and footer](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/navigation-links).
- **Scripts in custom HTML move.** Custom HTML in the new editor doesn't run scripts, so any `<script>` in your home page or footer HTML moves to **Advanced**, under **Script injections**. Check that it still works in the preview.
- **Alphabetical order.** With **Order articles under category by:** set to **Alphabetically**, category pages list articles from A to Z in the new editor. The classic editor currently lists them from Z to A.
- **Header photos get a dark cover.** If your classic header had a background image with **Show header cover** off, the hero on your Home page now lays a dark cover over the photo. To remove it, open the hero's settings and turn off **Cover enabled**, or lower **Cover opacity**.
- **Article titles** are always the page's main heading, as if **Prefer H1 tag for the article title** were on.

## What doesn't carry over

| Classic setting | What to do in the new template editor |
| --- | --- |
| The "Help Center" heading on the home page, if you never changed **Header Heading** | Give the Home page's **Hero** the heading you want, or add a Hero if there's none. See [Customize the hero and search bar](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/hero-and-search). |
| **Footer background color**, **Footer text color**, **Footer links color**, **Footer content**, **Back to top link text** and the columns of a **Blocks Footer** | Set up the **Footer** component. See [Customize the header and footer](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/header-and-footer). |
| **Display categories dropdown** in the menu | Add the categories you want under **Navigation**, with **Kind** set to **Category**. |
| **Categories under search field** | Add the links in a **Rich text** component under the search, or show your most important articles with **Featured articles**. |
| **Short language names** in the language picker | For short labels, set **Label style** to **Code (BG)** in the language switcher's settings. No style shows only each language's own name. |
| Background and text colors of the **Categories Listing** and **Articles Listing** | Put a category grid in a **Container** and set its **Box background**, or use custom CSS. |
| Components you added to the **Category Page** or the **Article** page | Add them again on those pages under **Pages**. See [Add, move and remove components](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/components). |
| **Show detailed instant search results**, for the search in the home page header | In that search bar's settings, set **Results variant** to **Detailed**. |
| The texts of your 404 page | Click the gear icon in the left menu, then **Localization**, and change them under **Interface translations**. See [Translate buttons and labels](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/interface-translations). |
| **Jump to the closest matching article:** on the 404 page | Not available. Readers see the 404 page with suggested articles instead. |
| Designs you saved with **Save as Template** | Start from one of the themes in **Theme gallery** instead. See [Choose a theme](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/choose-a-theme). |

**Custom CSS written for the classic design may stop matching.** It carries over as it is, but the new design uses different page structure and class names. Check every page in the preview and update your selectors. See [Custom CSS reference: selectors and examples](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-css-reference).

## Settings that keep working without a control

**Redirect to homepage on 404:** keeps sending readers of missing pages to your home page after the move, and the new editor has no setting for it. If it's on and you don't want it, turn it off in the classic editor, under **Advanced**, and publish there before you move.

## Messages in the banner

When something needs your attention, the banner at the top of the new editor says how many things didn't carry over. Click it to see the list. Each message starts like this:

| The message starts with | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Your custom 404 page texts don't carry over | Set your 404 texts again under **Interface translations**. |
| Moved 1 script tag from …, or Moved 2 script tags from … | A note: a script from your custom HTML now lives under **Script injections**. |
| Skipped the empty … homepage section | A home page section that showed nothing, such as FAQs when you have no FAQ articles. Nothing to do. |
| Custom script … had no content | An empty script was left out. Nothing to do. |
| … "Contacts" section had no email address | Your **Contacts Section** was hidden because no **Contacts Email** was set, so it was left out. |
| Invalid … color | A color wasn't a valid hex code, so the color named in the message replaced it. Set the color under **Theme**. |
| Unknown … homepage component, or Skipped a homepage component with no type | A home page block couldn't be read. Add what you need under **Pages**. |

## Related articles

- [Move your help center to the new template editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/move-to-the-new-template-editor)
- [Switch back to the classic template editor](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/switch-back-to-the-classic-editor)
- [Add, move and remove components](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/components)
- [Add custom CSS](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-css)
- [Translate buttons and labels](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/interface-translations)