Everything you need to know about the Starter Sites Library
📝 Note: Some of the starter sites are available based on the subscription type for Neve PRO: Personal, Business, Agency.
The Starter Sites are a powerful tool of web development, very useful for users since it does not require any technical skills. You can design an entire website with a wide palette with just a few clicks.
🧰 Tools needed:
- The Neve theme - here is a doc about how to install it.
- The Starter Sites & Templates by Neve plugin - here is a doc about how to install it.
- The Otter Blocks plugin — required by all Gutenberg-powered starter sites.
⚠️ Important: All Gutenberg-powered Neve starter sites use Otter Blocks for their layouts and content. Importing a Gutenberg starter site without Otter Blocks installed and activated will result in broken or missing page sections. Elementor-powered starter sites do not require Otter Blocks.
📥 Onboarding New Users
If you are a new user, right after activating Starter Sites & Templates by Neve plugin, the Starter Sites experience will be facilitated by the onboarding modal. After introducing the type of website you need, you can select from the available designs according to the page builder.
📝 Note: Please note that this section is exclusively for new users. You will be able to access the onboarding modal only if you have activated Neve on the last day or if you didn't complete the import (you didn't click on Subscribe/Skip and view website). For existing users, please refer to the next paragraph.
Once you have made your choice, you can upload a logo and customize the design directly from the modal, using Colors and Typography controls:
In the following step, you can select the plugins that will be installed with the starter site. If you chose a Gutenberg starter site, Otter Blocks will appear in this list and is required — make sure it is selected before proceeding.
After that, you can click on Import Website, and everything will be ready.
🗒 Where to find them
The collection of Starter Sites can be found here. Scroll down and explore all the available starter sites, separated according to the page builders and pricing plans.
🗂 Free - Premium Starter Sites
The library of Starter Sites is very wide, but it depends on the pricing plans: Personal, Business, and Agency.
| Free | Premium |
Free
The free starter sites are available in all versions of Neve: free | Personal | Business | Agency.
Premium
To use premium starter sites available for other page builders as well (Elementor), you will have to purchase one of the Business or Agency plans.
You can find the plans with all the features detailed here.
🔌 Otter Blocks Dependency
All Gutenberg-powered Neve starter sites are built with Otter Blocks, a free Gutenberg blocks plugin developed by Themeisle. Every Gutenberg starter site template uses Otter blocks for its layouts, columns, sections, and interactive elements. Without Otter Blocks, imported pages will display broken layouts or missing content. Elementor-powered starter sites do not have this requirement.
Otter Blocks is installed automatically when you import a starter site through the onboarding modal or the Starter Sites library, as long as you keep it selected in the plugin step. If you skipped that step or deactivated the plugin later, follow these steps to install it manually:
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for Otter Blocks.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
📝 Note: Otter Blocks is free and available on WordPress.org. It does not require a paid plan to use with Neve starter sites.
🧩 Lightweight Alternatives
If you prefer to avoid installing additional plugins or want a more minimal starting point, there are alternatives to importing a full starter site:
- Neve + Otter Block Patterns: Otter Blocks includes a block patterns library with pre-designed sections (hero areas, testimonials, pricing tables, etc.) that you can insert individually into any page. This lets you reuse polished design components on a page-by-page basis, rather than importing an entire site.
- Build with core Gutenberg blocks: You can build your pages from scratch using only WordPress core blocks. This approach requires no additional plugins and gives you full control over your layout with no third-party dependencies.
💡 Tip: If site performance is a priority, building with core Gutenberg blocks or selectively using Otter block patterns will produce lighter pages than importing a full starter site.