# CMS Templates: The Pages Nobody QAs > A single template can power hundreds of pages, yet it usually gets checked once, with one perfect example. Here's how to QA CMS templates properly. August 28, 2026 · QA & Process · 3 minute read · https://www.usefrank.io/blog/cms-templates-the-pages-nobody-qas On most marketing sites, the pages you designed by hand are outnumbered by the pages a template builds. Blog posts, case studies, team members, locations, products. One template, dozens or hundreds of pages. And yet the template usually gets checked once, with a single carefully written example item. If that item looks good, the template is signed off. Every other item is assumed to be fine. It usually isn't. ## Templates break on the edges A template is designed for an ideal item: a title of a sensible length, every field filled in, an image with the right proportions. Real content is messier. The problems show up on the items at the extremes. - **The emptiest item:** no subtitle, no second image, no author. What shows up in the gaps? - **The longest title:** does it wrap cleanly, or push the layout apart? - **The oddest image:** a portrait photo in a landscape slot, or a tiny logo where a hero image should be. - **The oldest item:** content imported from the old site, often with formatting the new template never expected. Imported Content Content migrated from an old site is the biggest risk. It often carries inline styles, old links and empty fields the new template was never designed for. Check a handful of imported items, not just the ones written fresh. ## Check the collection list pages too The blog index, the case study grid, the filtered views. These pull fields from every item, so one item with a missing image or a huge title can break the whole grid. ## Rich text is its own risk Rich text fields let editors paste in anything: headings at the wrong level, images without alt text, links to old URLs. A template can look perfect and still output a page with skipped headings and broken links, because the problem is in the content, not the layout. #### CMS Template QA 6 checks **The emptiest item in each collection** See what the template does with missing fields. **The longest title and excerpt** Check the template and the list page. **A few imported items** Old formatting and links come along with migrated content. **Every collection list and filter** One bad item can break a whole grid. **Rich text headings and links** Pasted content brings its own structure. **Images inside rich text have alt text** Editors rarely add it unless prompted. ## Check every item, not a sample Sampling is better than nothing, but the item that breaks is rarely the one you sampled. If a collection has forty items, the honest QA is forty pages. ## Design for the content you'll actually get A lot of template trouble can be avoided at the design stage. Ask the client for their longest real title, their oddest image and an example of an item with missing information before the template is designed. Designing with real edge cases is far cheaper than fixing them after launch. It's also worth agreeing which fields are required. If a template genuinely needs an image to look right, make the field required in the CMS rather than hoping every editor remembers. ## Check again after the content goes in Templates often get built against a handful of test items, then the real content is added in bulk just before launch. That's the moment most template problems actually appear, and it's usually after the template has already been signed off. Schedule a template check after the content load, not before it. It's the only way to see the template doing its job with the real thing. Sort by the Edges Most CMS views let you sort by fields. Sort by title length or by an image field to find the extreme items quickly, rather than scrolling through every one. How Frank Helps Frank scans every page you select from the sitemap, including every CMS item, and checks each one for lorem ipsum, broken links, alt text and accessibility issues. Each page gets its own score, so the one problem item stands out. [Get started with Frank →](https://app.usefrank.io/signup) ## QA the Whole Collection Check every template-built page before launch, not just the example you designed with. [See plans and pricing →](https://www.usefrank.io/pricing)