Render Modes Explained

Render Mode is one of the key configurations of AE Templates. It defines where exactly that template will be applied.

Here is the list of all the Render Modes and where they are applied.

Normal: Use it if you want to create a template and display it anywhere using shortcode. You will find the shortcode and the PHP implementation code to use this template in the shortcode section. There is also a Usage Area dropdown with this mode. We support theme hooks from some themes so that you can display the template at those hook positions.
Single Post Template: It is used when you want to create a template for Single Post Layouts. This can be applied to Pages, Posts, or any other custom post types. Some additional configuration options come with this render mode.

Post Type: Select the Post Type for which you are creating this template.
Preview Post: Here, you will have to select a post from the above-selected post type. Just type some initial part of the title of the post that you want to select. Data from this post will be used to show the preview while editing the template in Elementor editor.
Auto Apply. Enable it if you want this template to be applied to all the posts from the above-selected post type. If you don’t select it, then you will be able to apply this template by selecting the template individually on posts and categories.
Template: This is how your template will appear on the front end and in the editor. If you select Theme Default, it will display, header, footer, and sidebars as per theme settings. If you want the header footer and empty area between them for designing your layout, select Elementor Header Footer. Elementor canvas will give you a completely blank area for editing.

Taxonomy Archive Template: This is for the category, tag, and custom taxonomy archives. If you are confused about the taxonomy archive, go to a category or custom taxonomy list in WordPress admin, hover on any term, and click on view. The link that opens up is the taxonomy archive. Here you can see the collection of all the posts associated with this term. Next, you will have to select the Taxonomy for which you are creating the template and select a preview term that belongs to the above-selected taxonomy. This will be used to display some term-related preview data in the Elementor editor.
Post Type Archive Template: What exactly is Post Type Archive? This one confuses some of the users. When a custom post type is registered, either by code or through some plugin, there is an option to enable archive. This gives a unique URL where all posts from that post type are displayed. Configuration here is pretty simple; you have to select the desired post type.
Block Layout: This is used by some of the widgets that render the post loop. For example, Post Blocks, Post Blocks Advanced, and Woo Products. All you have to select here is the preview post.
404 Page: This is damn simple. Use it to design the 404 pages of your site.
Search Template: This is to design the search result page
Author Archive: Use this to design the author archive template. A page where all the posts belong to a particular author is displayed. Select a preview author, from which we will get the data to show you the preview in Elementor editor. Check auto-apply to set this template to all authors, or select each author profile individually.
Date Archive: It will be applied on year, month, and day archives.
ACF Blocks(Repeater/Flexible): This is a blocks layout specifically for ACF Repeaters/Nested Repeaters and Flexible Content field. Here you will find some different configuration options.