Glossary
What Is Template?
In Verifycate, a template is the visual design attached to a certificate — the layout, artwork and typography every issued copy is rendered from, edited on a design canvas and versioned every time it's published.
Also called: certificate template, certificate design
What it's for
A certificate needs to look like it came from you. The old way produces that look by hand: open a design file, retype a name, export a PNG or PDF, repeat. Two hundred recipients means two hundred edits and at least one "Congradulations" that ships anyway.
A template is the design you make once and never retype. Every issued copy is rendered from it — same layout, same artwork, same typography, different name. The certificate stops being a document you edit and becomes an output you generate.
How it works
A template lives on a canvas, and the text that varies between recipients is written as attribute placeholders — {{name}}, {{course_name}}, anything you've defined. At issue time the placeholders are filled with each recipient's values. What you design is a form letter wearing good clothes.
There are four ways to start, roughly in order of how much you already have:
- Create with AI. Describe the certificate; get four designs to pick from and restyle.
- Use your Canva design. Connect Canva and import an existing design as the background.
- Start with an image. Have artwork already? Drop it in as the canvas.
- Start blank. Elements, text, shapes and a verification QR code are on the left panel.
One thing to know: the QR code you place on a template is a placeholder. Each issued certificate gets its own QR, generated at issue, pointing at that recipient's verification page. You design the slot; the product fills it. Preview renders with sample data, so you can see a real name sitting in {{name}} before anyone is issued anything.
Publishing and versions
Publishing a template change creates a new version. Certificates already issued keep the design they were issued with — nobody's certificate quietly changes underneath them — while new issues render from the latest version. A recipient can be moved onto the newest design explicitly, with a reissue, when you want that.
Templates are per workspace and free to make — the credit is spent on issuing, not designing. Every certificate picks one template, or gets forked from another certificate that already looks right.
Everything on this page runs in Verifycate. The first 300 certificates are free, no card. Start for free
Common questions
- Do I need design skills to make a template?
- No. The AI option produces finished designs from a description, and template packs give you a starting point that's already laid out. Most people end up editing rather than drawing.
- Can I keep using the design I made in Canva?
- Yes — connect your Canva account and import a design as the template background. Add attribute placeholders and the verification QR in Verifycate's editor, since Canva can't fill in recipients on its own.
- What happens to certificates when I change the template?
- Nothing, until you say so. Issued certificates keep the design they were issued on. New issues use the latest version, and you can reissue existing recipients onto it when you want.
- Is the QR code I see in the editor the real one?
- No — it's a placeholder marking where the code goes. Each recipient's actual QR is generated when their certificate is issued and points to their own verification page.
Related terms
- AttributeIn Verifycate, an attribute is a named piece of data — a recipient's name, a course title, a score — whose value gets printed onto each certificate through a placeholder in the template.
- Certificate RecipientIn Verifycate, a certificate recipient is one person on a certificate's list — the record carrying their name, contact details, attribute values and status from import through issue to verification.
- Certificate Unlock FormIn Verifycate, a certificate unlock form is a form a recipient must complete before their certificate is released — a survey, feedback or a testimonial — sent to each recipient as a private link.
- Bulk Certificate GenerationBulk certificate generation produces one personalised certificate per person from a single design and a list of recipients, instead of editing a file once per name.
Design once. Issue to everyone.
Templates are free to build, and every issued copy is rendered from them — personalised, verifiable, with its own QR. 300 free credits to start, no card.
“We issued 2,000+ certificates for InCTF — winners, participants, the lot.” — Aravind BL, Amrita InCTF
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