How to update existing pages when SharePoint page template has been modified

Hello @EP

Thank you for explaining the scenario. I understand that you have several existing SharePoint pages created from a page template, and you expected those pages to inherit later changes made to the original template.

This behaviour is by design. A SharePoint page template serves as a reusable starting point for creating a page or news post. Once a page is created from the template, it becomes an independent page. Therefore, subsequent changes to the template do not update pages that were previously created from it. Similarly, changes made to an individual page do not affect the original template.

Unfortunately, the standard interface does not provide a built-in option to reapply an updated template to existing pages. Those pages would need to be updated individually, or recreated from the revised template if that is more practical.

Regarding sections, the available editing options documented by Microsoft include moving or duplicating a section within the page being edited. The documentation does not provide a standard option for copying an entire section directly from one page to another.

If you have a large number of existing pages, this may require a customised or automated solution rather than manual editing. Since the standard page-template feature does not dynamically synchronise existing pages, you may also submit this requirement through Feedback Portal.

I hope this clarifies why the existing pages are not being updated and what options are currently available.