Pages 2.0 | Lock a Brand Style

Pages 2.0 refers to the new version of Happeo Pages, released on April 2, 2025. All Happeo accounts created from this date onward use the new page editor by default.

⚠️ Important: Brand Style Locking is an exclusive Pages 2.0 feature. Please refer to this article for branding support for the legacy version of Happeo Pages.

🎯 Who this article is for: Admins and users with the branding permission who are responsible for managing how Pages 2.0 looks across their organization.

💼 Package requirements: Brand Styles are available to all packages.

🔒 Permissions: Only admins and users with the branding permissions can enable or disable Brand Style Locking.

1. Overview

When a Brand Style is unlocked, editors can change how elements look on their pages outside of what the Brand Style defines — adjusting things like section padding, widget background colors, borders, and shadows without restriction. Over time, these changes build up, pages move away from the Brand Style, and getting things back to a consistent look means going through each affected element one by one. 

Brand Style Locking addresses this directly. When you lock a Brand Style, editors can only style elements in ways the Brand Style allows — no adjustments outside of what you have defined. The Brand Style becomes the visual standard for all Page Groups using it, maintained consistently across your intranet without anyone having to check.

🔎 New to Brand Styles? See Create and Manage Brand Styles before reading this article.

✨ Future enhancements: Soon, Brand Style Locking will offer even more flexibility. With Style Options, admins will be able to define pre-approved variations for locked styles – and determine which part of Brand Styles should be locked – giving editors a controlled set of brand-compliant options to choose from while still maintaining strict brand control.

2. Use cases

• Establishing a visual standard from day one: When setting up a Brand Style for the first time, enabling locking as part of the setup means the visual standard is in place before editors start building on any pages using that Brand Style. If it is set as your Default Brand Style, all new Page Groups will inherit it automatically — so off-brand styling is prevented from the start, with no need to go back and fix pages later.
• Locking a Brand Style that is already in use: If a Brand Style has been in use without locking enabled, editors may have made styling changes to elements on their pages outside of what the Brand Style defines. Enabling locking stops new changes like this from being made, so the Brand Style is respected going forward — while existing pages remain as they are until overrides are reset separately.

3. Before you begin

• You must be an admin or have the branding permission to lock or unlock a Brand Style.
• At least one Brand Style must already exist. See Create and Manage Brand Styles if you have not set one up yet.
• Locking applies to element styling only. It does not affect typography, color palette, content editing, page structure, widget usage, layout, or permissions. Editors retain full control over what their pages contain and how they are structured.
• Locking is off by default and must be actively enabled within a Brand Style. It can be enabled or disabled at any time.

4. How to lock or unlock a Brand Style

1. Click your avatar in the top-right corner of the main navigation.
2. Select Admin Settings.
3. Navigate to Branding → Pages 2.0.
4. Hover over the Brand Style you want to update.
5. Click the edit (pencil) icon.
6. At the top of the Brand Style, locate the Lock Branding toggle.
7. Click the toggle to enable or disable locking.

Changes save automatically and take effect immediately for all editors across every page using that Brand Style.

🔒 When locking: Styling controls are restricted straight away. If editors have already made off-brand styling changes before locking is enabled, those changes stay in place. Locking stops new off-brand styling from being applied but does not reset anything that already exists. 

🔑  When unlocking: Styling controls become available to editors straight away. Unlocking gives editors the ability to make off-brand styling changes going forward only. No pages are automatically updated, and no element styling is reset or restored. Any styling changes that existed before locking was enabled remain exactly as they were.

5. What editors see when a Brand Style is locked

What editors see in the Pages 2.0 editor depends on whether Style Options have been set up as part of the locked Brand Style.

Without Style Options set up

When no Style Options are set up, the Style tab for widgets, sections, hero, and navigation is completely greyed out and unavailable. All elements follow the Brand Style exactly, and editors have no way to change how they look.

This gives you full visual consistency across every Page Group using that Brand Style. The trade-off is uniformity: without approved style choices to pick from, editors cannot make pages look different from one another.

With Style Options set up

When Style Options have been set up, the Style tab is still available — but only for choosing from the approved variants you have defined. Editors can pick between those options but cannot go beyond them. All options stay tied to the Brand Style, so when you update a variant, the change is reflected everywhere that variant is in use.

This gives editors room to make pages feel distinct, but only within the visual range you have approved.

🗒 Note: Style Options applies to sections (Normal and Collapsible independently) and individual widgets. It does not apply to hero or navigation elements, which always follow the Brand Style defaults when locked.

🗒 Note: When a Brand Style is unlocked and Style Options are set up, editors can choose from approved options or select Customize to style elements freely. Selecting Customize — even without making any changes — moves that element outside the Brand Style and means it will no longer update when the Brand Style changes. Locking removes this option entirely, which is one of the main reasons the Style Options and locked setup is recommended for most organizations.

🔎 Learn how to set up Style Options in our dedicated article.

6. Best practices

How you set up Brand Style Locking from the start has a direct impact on how much work is needed to keep your intranet looking consistent over time. These recommendations apply whether you are setting up your intranet for the first time or managing one that has been live for a while.

• Set locking independently for each Brand Style: If your organization uses more than one Brand Style, locking one does not affect the others. Different teams or Page Groups can operate under different levels of styling flexibility — for example, keeping your main company Brand Style locked while allowing more freedom in a Brand Style used for internal project pages.

7. Frequently asked questions

Can I lock only certain elements, like widgets but not sections?

No. Locking applies to the entire Brand Style and covers all supported elements.

I locked a Brand Style but some pages still look inconsistent. Why?

Locking stops new off-brand styling from being applied, but does not reset styling changes that were already made. Elements that were changed before locking was enabled are no longer tied to the Brand Style and will not update when the Brand Style changes. To fix this, those elements need to be reset individually or at the page level. 

🔎 See Create and Manage Brand Styles, section 9.

How do I know if an element has been styled outside the Brand Style?

In the editor, open the element settings and go to the Style tab. If the element has been changed outside the Brand Style, a Reset to style default option will appear. You can also check the Styles tab at the page level, where a warning will show if any elements on that page have been changed.

What happens if a page is moved to a Page Group that uses a different Brand Style?

The page immediately picks up the Brand Style of its new Page Group. Elements that are still tied to the Brand Style will update to reflect the new one. Elements that were styled outside the Brand Style before the move will keep their custom styling — they are not reset when the Brand Style changes.

Does locking one Brand Style affect others?

No. Each Brand Style has its own locking setting and they are independent of one another. Locking one Brand Style has no effect on any other Brand Styles in your organization.

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