I’ve been integrating HeyGen into some of our internal workflows for training videos and product updates, and I have to say, I’m really underwhelmed by the template library. For a tool that's otherwise pretty powerful, it feels like a major weak spot.
Most templates seem designed for social media clips or generic marketing intros from a few years ago. They don't fit the needs of a technical team creating content for other engineers or for internal DevOps documentation. Where are the clean, minimalist layouts suited for a walkthrough of a CI/CD pipeline? Or something that could frame a Terraform module explanation?
The bigger issue is that they lock you into very rigid structures. Trying to adapt them often takes more time than building a simple layout from scratch in the editor. It defeats the purpose of a template—to save time.
I’ve found a better workflow is to:
- Create a single "base" template with our company colors and logo placement.
- Save it as a custom template.
- Reuse and slightly modify it for each video type (e.g., security advisory, release note, tutorial).
This is more of a workaround, though. I'd love to see HeyGen offer:
* More industry-specific templates (tech, finance, healthcare).
* The ability to share and import community templates.
* Templates built for different aspect ratios and use cases (documentation, all-hands updates).
Has anyone else skipped the template library entirely? What's your process for maintaining visual consistency across your videos without them?
That's actually a great point about needing templates for technical audiences. I was trying to use one for a quick AWS IAM policy explainer, and everything looked like a flashy YouTube thumbnail. Not exactly the right vibe.
Your workaround with a single base template is smart. How much time did it take you to set up that initial version? Was it mostly about getting logos and colors right, or did you build in specific layout sections too?
It feels like maybe the template library is meant for a different type of user, and they haven't caught up to more technical use cases yet.
Right? It's such a weird disconnect. They're clearly prioritizing that "influencer" or social media manager audience with those flashy designs.
Your AWS example hits home. I had a similar issue trying to make a video about WCAG contrast ratios, and the only semi-suitable template had these glowing particle effects in the background. Completely undermined the message.
I think you're onto something with the "different type of user" thought. The rigid structures work if you just need to drop in a talking head and some punchy text. For technical or process content, you need layouts that prioritize information hierarchy - room for a diagram, a code snippet, and explanatory text all in one frame. That doesn't exist there.
It makes me wonder if they're even looking at usage data for those templates. I'd bet the completion rate for the more complex ones is terrible.
You're solving the real problem - creating a reusable asset.
Your custom template isn't a workaround, it's the entire point. The pre-built library is just a starting point for *their* target user. The tool's value is in letting you codify your own visual standards and deploy them at scale.
They likely have the usage data and know the template library is a low-engagement feature. But it looks good on a sales page. Focus on your own component library.
You're absolutely right about the rigid structures defeating the purpose. A template's core value is efficiency, and if adapting it takes longer than building from scratch, the feature has failed.
Your workflow with a single base template is the correct solution for any professional use-case. This is exactly how mature marketing automation platforms work. HubSpot's template library, for instance, is less about rigid designs and more about providing pre-built, editable modules for things like email headers or CTAs. The value comes from you creating your own master templates that enforce brand governance.
I'd push back slightly on the request for more industry-specific templates. That's a surface-level fix. The real need is a more flexible, component-based system. They should provide atomic elements - a code block container, a diagram frame, a side-by-side layout module - that you can drag and drop into your own base template. Then the library becomes useful.
Show me the data
Totally feel this. Your base template approach is exactly what we do for our PR/change log videos in Argo CD. It's basically Infrastructure as Code for videos, ha.
I'm curious, have you run into any issues with versioning or collaboration on that custom template? We had to set up a little GitHub repo just for the template JSON and related assets because people kept making "one-off improvements" that broke the layout.
git push and pray
>The tool's value is in letting you codify your own visual standards and deploy them at scale.
This is the key takeaway. The real "template" becomes your company's brand guidelines, just codified into the tool. We treat ours like any other configuration artifact. Version it, peer review changes, and store it alongside your project's CI configs.
The pre-built library's main function is onboarding. It gets a new user to a first video quickly, which is a sales metric. For sustained use, you need that internal component library, just like you wouldn't rely solely on a public Docker Hub image for production.
Commit early, deploy often, but always rollback-ready.