For digital agency owners and forward-thinking solopreneurs, the real long-term revenue play is not only selling services, but owning the platform where those services run. When your business depends on third-party systems like HubSpot or Salesforce, you’re basically allowing another company to control part of your client workflow. Over time, that can weaken ownership of your client relationships. The smarter move is to create a self-hosted and fully branded solution using a complete CRM website template.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the full technical process of implementing RATCRM so you can launch a fully working, white-labeled platform. With the right CRM website template, you can skip expensive custom development and set up a professional WordPress management dashboard in just hours instead of spending months building everything from scratch.
Why Use a CRM Website Template Instead of Custom Dev?
Building a full Customer Relationship Management (CRM) product from zero requires a full engineering workflow: backend development, UI/UX planning, continuous updates, and strict security maintenance. A strong CRM website template, especially one made for WordPress and built to work with RATCRM, is the shortcut that connects a simple Agency Website Template to a real software-like dashboard experience.
By following a SaaS Website Builder style process, you gain three major wins:
-
Speed to Market: launch a complete Project Management Template layout immediately.
-
Cost Efficiency: remove the heavy monthly per-seat payments of enterprise SaaS tools.
-
Total Brand Control: a White Label CRM Template lets you position the CRM as your own product and technology
Prerequisites
Before jumping into the setup, make sure these items are prepared:
-
A new WordPress installation (version 6.0 or higher).
-
The RATCRM plugin (Pro version recommended for full white-labeling).
-
Elementor (Free or Pro) to work with the SaaS UI Elementor Kit.
-
Reliable hosting (Cloudways or Kinsta recommended for SaaS performance).
Step 1: Establishing the Foundation with a WordPress SaaS Template
The key to turning WordPress into a dashboard-based web app is selecting the proper theme structure. While any theme can work, a dedicated WordPress SaaS Template gives you the clean layout and minimal styling needed for an app-like dashboard environment.
While choosing the base for your CRM website template, prioritize themes that support full-width layouts and remove unnecessary design clutter. The focus is not content publishing. You’re building a WordPress management dashboard experience.
Action Items:
-
Install a lightweight theme like Hello Elementor or Astra.
-
Disable default headers/footers for clean Elementor Dashboard Template building.
-
Go to Settings > Permalinks, select Post name, and keep URLs clean for CRM pages.
Step 2: Installing and Configuring RATCRM Core
RATCRM is what transforms your WordPress site into a real CRM website template environment. Unlike typical WordPress plugins, it upgrades WordPress data structure so your site can handle contacts, companies, projects, and all connected relationships. That’s what makes it feel like a true Custom CRM Template.
Installation Process:
-
Upload the RATCRM zip file using Plugins > Add New.
-
Activate the plugin and complete the Setup Wizard.
-
Crucial Step: Switch on frontend-only mode so your clients never access the default WP backend, a core feature of every serious Client Portal Template.
After setup, RATCRM will automatically create the necessary CPTs your CRM website template uses, including Leads, Customers, Invoices, and Tickets.
Step 3: designing the Dashboard with a SaaS UI Elementor Kit
Next, you’ll build the interface. A CRM database alone is not enough. The platform needs a clean design and a clear UI flow. Elementor allows you to create a modern frontend layout that feels like premium SaaS software, forming your CRM Dashboard UI Kit.
The best results come from designing a unified Elementor Dashboard Template, not from random widget placements.
Building the Sidebar Navigation
A successful CRM website template uses a vertical sidebar menu instead of the top navigation usually found on a SaaS Marketing Website.
Steps:
-
Open Elementor Theme Builder.
-
Create a new Single Page template.
-
Build a two-column section:
-
Left = 15% sidebar
-
Right = 85% main content
-
-
Add the RATCRM Nav Menu widget in the sidebar.
-
Style it with clean spacing and app-like active states (example: #f4f6f8) similar to designs in a premium SaaS UI Elementor Kit.
Creating the Data Overview
A high-quality CRM website template should instantly show what matters.
Build the main dashboard like this:
-
Stat Cards: Create 4 columns and add the RATCRM Dynamic Counter widget. Link each one to real business metrics like:
-
Open Leads
-
Active Projects
-
Unpaid Invoices
-
-
Data Tables: Under the counters, insert the Entity List widget. This becomes the main activity section of your Project Management Template views. Set it to display the 5 most recently updated entries.
Pro Tip: Add soft section shadow (0px 10px 30px rgba(0,0,0,0.05)) for the modern card-based effect seen in premium Digital Agency Website Template layouts.
Step 4: Configuring the Client Portal Template
For agencies, giving clients portal access makes collaboration faster and more professional. RATCRM already includes Client Portal Template logic, but you must set it up and style it properly.
Setting Permissions:
-
Go to RATCRM > Settings > Roles
-
Create role: Client
-
Permissions:
-
Read-Only for Projects
-
Read/Write for Tickets
-
That ensures your CRM website template stays safe and controlled.
The Client Dashboard:
-
Duplicate your main Elementor Dashboard Template
-
Rename it Client Dashboard
-
Remove financial widgets and sensitive information
-
Replace with:
-
Project Progress widget
-
File Upload widget
-
This turns your dashboard into a more client-focused Agency Website Template feature.
Step 5: Front-End Sales with a SaaS Landing Page Template
Once the system is built, the next mission is to sell it. Whether you sell subscriptions or bundle access with services, you need a strong homepage built using a SaaS Landing Page Template.
When creating your SaaS Marketing Website, keep the homepage separate from the app login but consistent in branding.
Must-have sections:
-
Hero Section: show a screenshot of the CRM Dashboard UI Kit you created.
-
Feature Grid: highlight modules like Automated Reporting and Lead Tracking using icons consistent with the SaaS UI Elementor Kit.
-
Pricing Tables: for a White Label CRM Template, clearly display tiers such as Solo vs. Agency.
Also make sure your SaaS Landing Page Template includes a “Login” button that links to the custom login page.
Step 6: White-Labeling and Branding
To complete the full CRM website template experience, remove all visible traces of WordPress and RATCRM and convert the platform into your own branded software.
Custom Login Page
Do not use wp-login.php because it ruins the flow of a SaaS Website Builder experience. Instead, build a custom login page using Elementor and the RATCRM Login Form widget.
Recommended design:
-
50/50 layout
-
Left side: brand image/lifestyle visual
-
Right side: clean login form
-
This layout style fits perfectly with a modern App Dashboard Template.
Branding the Backend
Go to RATCRM > White Label and customize:
-
Logo Replacement: upload your logo (replaces RATCRM branding across the CRM website template).
-
Color Mapping: apply brand hex codes across buttons, links, and UI states inside the WordPress Management Dashboard.
-
Footer Credit: replace “Powered by RATCRM” with “Powered by [Your Agency Name] Technology”.
Advanced Customization: Adding Project Management Capabilities
To make your CRM website template more valuable, extend it into full project tracking. Activate Projects and Tasks in RATCRM to create a complete Project Management Template.
Implementation:
-
Create custom fields for Projects:
-
Start Date
-
End Date
-
Budget
-
-
On the frontend Elementor Dashboard Template, use the Repeater widget to display tasks linked to projects.
This relational structure is what elevates your site into a true Custom CRM Template.
Monetizing Your New Platform
By completing this setup, you’ve turned WordPress into a powerful recurring-revenue system using RATCRM with a CRM website template strategy. Now you don’t just have a website, you have a scalable SaaS Website Builder foundation that can be cloned for different industries and client needs.
Start building your CRM website template today, and stop renting your infrastructure from the giants.
No comments:
Post a Comment