diff --git a/brain/data/Render.inc.php b/brain/data/Render.inc.php
index 454e925..3c85a2a 100644
--- a/brain/data/Render.inc.php
+++ b/brain/data/Render.inc.php
@@ -78,7 +78,10 @@ class Render
 
       $layout = $page["layout"];
       //new pages have no layout, so defautl for now
-      $layout = "page";
+      if ($layout == "" || $layout == null) {
+        $layout = "page";
+      }
+
       $template = $this->theme . "/" . $layout . ".twig";
       if (str_contains($page["layout"], "index")) {
         $location = "../public/index.html";