Template guidelines

We’re looking for Cuttle Creators who can produce polished templates that Cuttle Pro subscribers will love and successfully make.

Take some time to study the Cuttle Official Templates on the Templates Page for examples. When evaluating new templates here’s what we’re looking for:

High-quality photo

Your photo should look like a professional product listing — the kind you'd see on a well-curated online store.

Aspect ratio: 16:9 (e.g., 1920 × 1080 pixels, landscape)
Framing: Crop tightly on the finished item so it's clearly visible even as a small thumbnail
Lighting: Ensure bright, even lighting without harsh shadows or glare. A lightbox works great, or use natural window light with a white foam core board as a bounce reflector (video tutorial). Tip: matte acrylic usually photographs better than glossy acrylic.
Background: Use a clean, non-distracting background that makes your item pop (white foam core works well for most projects). You don’t need additional props in the photo, but if you include them they should enhance the mood, not distract.
Presentation: Show the item fully assembled with all accessories attached — key rings on keychains, ribbons on ornaments, findings on jewelry, pictures in photo frames, etc.
Authenticity: Photograph the actual physical item. Do not “remove background” or use Photoshop or AI to composite your item onto a different background as this results in uncanny shadows. Light retouching is acceptable if it remains unnoticeable.
Realistic results: Your photo should represent an ideal but achievable outcome that users can realistically create. If specific techniques are needed to match the photo (such as ink filling acrylic), include those details in your Read Me.

Fool-proof

Users should not be able to "break" the template with typical customizations.
For templates with names, ensure they work with both short names (like "AJ") and long names (like "Penelope").

Well-formatted Read Me

Include the photo, a short description (1-2 sentences), and the component embed.
Optionally add sections like materials, tips, or assembly instructions below the component embed.
Consider linking to the materials used in your sample photo.
Affiliate links (like Amazon or other vendors) are allowed but must be disclosed as affiliate links. Do not share Cuttle affiliate links (URLs starting with https://cuttle.xyz and ending with ?via=…) on the Read Me — these are only intended for use external to Cuttle’s platform.

Use Cuttle’s conventions

Units: Use inches for project settings (most Cuttle users are in the US).
Colors: Use red stroke for cut, blue stroke for score, and black fill for engrave.
Preview: If your template has layers, use the “preview and cut” pattern so users can easily visualize their customizations. If your design is a single layer or easy to visualize then you don’t need to have a preview.

Well-formatted parameters

Avoid having lots of parameters that will overwhelm the user. Simple is better!
Put the parameters that people will most need to change first in the list.
Parameter names should clearly indicate what will change when adjusted.
Use realistic default values that illustrate typical examples. For a name parameter, use "Madison" instead of "Your Name Here".
If you include a font parameter, choose at least three recommended fonts.
If you must have more advanced parameters, organize them into Parameter Folders.