diff --git a/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/resources/template.html b/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/resources/template.html
index 9f4e73d..2aaee2a 100644
--- a/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/resources/template.html
+++ b/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/resources/template.html
@@ -16,8 +16,12 @@
 <!--
 Google fonts api stuff
 -->
+$if(font_family)$
 <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=$font_family$' rel='stylesheet'>
+$endif$
+$if(titletext_fontfamily)$
 <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=$titletext_fontfamily$' rel='stylesheet'>
+$endif$
 
 $for(author-meta)$<meta name="author" content="$author-meta$" />$endfor$
 $if(date-meta)$<meta name="date" content="$date-meta$" />$endif$
@@ -41,46 +45,46 @@
 
 <style>
 @page {
-size: $poster_width$ $poster_height$;
+size: $if(poster_width)$$poster_width$$else$45in$endif$ $if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$;
 margin: 0;
 padding: 0;
 }
 body {
 margin: 0;
-font-size: $body_textsize$;
-width: $poster_width$;
-height: $poster_height$;
+font-size: $if(body_textsize)$$body_textsize$$else$45px$endif$;
+width: $if(poster_width)$$poster_width$$else$45in$endif$;
+height: $if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$;
 padding: 0;
 text-align: justify;
-font-family: $font_family$;
-background-color: $body_bgcol$;
+font-family: $if(font_family)$$font_family$$else$Palatino$endif$;
+background-color: $if(body_bgcol)$$body_bgcol$$else$#ffffff$endif$;
 }
 .poster_wrap {
-width: $poster_width$;
-height: $poster_height$;
+width: $if(poster_width)$$poster_width$$else$45in$endif$;
+height: $if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$;
 padding: 0cm;
 }
 .title_container {
-width: $poster_width$;
-height: calc($poster_height$ * 0.15);
+width: $if(poster_width)$$poster_width$$else$45in$endif$;
+height: calc($if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$ * 0.15);
 overflow: hidden;
-background-color: $titlebox_bgcol$;
-border: $titlebox_borderwidth$ solid $titlebox_bordercol$;
+background-color: $if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#008080$endif$;
+border: $if(titlebox_borderwidth)$$titlebox_borderwidth$$else$0$endif$ solid $if(secondary_colour)$$secondary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$;
 }
 .logo_left {
 float: left;
 width: 10%;
 height: 100%;
-background-color: $titlebox_bgcol$;
+background-color: $if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#008080$endif$;
 display: flex;
 align-items: center;
-justify-content: center;
+justify-content: center;x
 }
 .logo_right {
 float: right;
 width: 10%;
 height: 100%;
-background-color: $titlebox_bgcol$;
+background-color: $if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#008080$endif$;
 display: flex;
 align-items: center;
 justify-content: center;
@@ -91,75 +95,75 @@
 float: left;
 width: 80%;
 height: 100%;
-color: $title_textcol$;
+color: $if(title_textcol)$$title_textcol$$else$#FFFFFF$endif$;
 top: 50%;
 transform: translateY(-50%);
 -webkit-transform: translateY(-50%);
 }
 #title {
-font-family: $titletext_fontfamily$;
+font-family: $if(titletext_fontfamily)$$titletext_fontfamily$$else$$if(font_family)$$font_family$$else$Palatino$endif$$endif$;
 }
 /* unvisited link */
 a:link {
-color: $link_col$;
+color: $if(link_col)$$link_col$$else$$if(accent_colour)$$accent_colour$$else$#cc0000$endif$$endif$;
 }
 
 /* visited link */
 a:visited {
-color: $link_col$;
+color: $if(link_col)$$link_col$$else$$if(accent_colour)$$accent_colour$$else$#cc0000$endif$$endif$;
 }
 
 /* mouse over link */
 a:hover {
-color: $link_col$;
+color: $if(link_col)$$link_col$$else$$if(accent_colour)$$accent_colour$$else$#cc0000$endif$$endif$;
 }
 
 /* selected link */
 a:active {
-color: $link_col$;
+color: $if(link_col)$$link_col$$else$$if(accent_colour)$$accent_colour$$else$#cc0000$endif$$endif$;
 }
 .poster_body {
--webkit-column-count: $column_numbers$; /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
--moz-column-count: $column_numbers$; /* Firefox */
-column-count: $column_numbers$;
+-webkit-column-count: $if(column_numbers)$$column_numbers$$else$3$endif$; /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
+-moz-column-count: $if(column_numbers)$$column_numbers$$else$3$endif$; /* Firefox */
+column-count: $if(column_numbers)$$column_numbers$$else$3$endif$;
 -webkit-column-fill: auto;
 -moz-column-fill: auto;
 column-fill: auto;
--webkit-column-rule-width: $columnline_width$;
--moz-column-rule-width: $columnline_width$;
-column-rule-width: $columnline_width$;
--webkit-column-rule-style: $columnline_style$;
--moz-column-rule-style: $columnline_style$;
-column-rule-style: $columnline_style$;
--webkit-column-rule-color: $columnline_col$;
--moz-column-rule-color: $columnline_col$;
-column-rule-color: $columnline_col$;
+-webkit-column-rule-width: $if(columnline_width)$$columnline_width$$else$1mm$endif$;
+-moz-column-rule-width: $if(columnline_width)$$columnline_width$$else$1mm$endif$;
+column-rule-width: $if(columnline_width)$$columnline_width$$else$1mm$endif$;
+-webkit-column-rule-style: $if(columnline_style)$$columnline_style$$else$dashed$endif$;
+-moz-column-rule-style: $if(columnline_style)$$columnline_style$$else$dashed$endif$;
+column-rule-style: $if(columnline_style)$$columnline_style$$else$dashed$endif$;
+-webkit-column-rule-color: $if(columnline_col)$$columnline_col$$else$$if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$$endif$;
+-moz-column-rule-color: $if(columnline_col)$$columnline_col$$else$$if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$$endif$;
+column-rule-color: $if(columnline_col)$$columnline_col$$else$$if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$$endif$;
 width: 100%;
 height: 100%;
-color: $body_textcol$;
+color: $if(body_textcol)$$body_textcol$$else$#000000$endif$
 }
 .poster_title h1 {
-font-size: $title_textsize$;
+font-size: $if(title_textsize)$$title_textsize$$else$75pt$endif$;
 margin: 0;
 border: 0;
 font-weight: normal;
 }
 .poster_body_wrap{
-width: $poster_width$;
-height: calc($poster_height$ * 0.83);
-padding-top: calc($poster_height$ * 0.01);
-padding-bottom: calc($poster_height$ * 0.01);
+width: $if(poster_width)$$poster_width$$else$45in$endif$;
+height: calc($if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$ * 0.83);
+padding-top: calc($if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$ * 0.01);
+padding-bottom: calc($if(poster_height)$$poster_height$$else$38in$endif$ * 0.01);
 }
 .poster_title h3 {
-color: $author_textcol$;
-font-size: $author_textsize$;
+color: $if(author_textcol)$$author_textcol$$else$$if(secondary_colour)$$secondary_colour$$else$#008080$endif$$endif$;
+font-size: $if(author_textsize)$$author_textsize$$else$50pt$endif$;
 margin: 0;
 border: 0;
 font-weight: normal;
 }
 .poster_title h5 {
-color: $affiliation_textcol$;
-font-size: $affiliation_texsize$;
+color: $if(affiliation_textcol)$$affiliation_textcol$$else$#FFFFFF$endif$;
+font-size: $if(affiliation_textsize)$$affiliation_texsize$$else$40pt$endif$;
 margin: 0;
 border: 0;
 font-weight: normal;
@@ -173,18 +177,18 @@
 }
 .poster_body h1 {
 text-align: center;
-color: $sectitle_textcol$;
-font-size: $sectitle_textsize$;
-border: $sectitle_borderwidth$ solid $sectitle_bordercol$;
-background-color: $sectitle_bgcol$;
-border-radius: $sectitle_boxshape$;
+color: $if(sectitle_textcol)$$sectitle_textcol$$else$#FFFFFF$endif$;
+font-size: $if(sectitle_textsize)$$sectitle_textsize$$else$65pt$endif$;
+border: $if(sectitle_borderwidth)$$sectitle_borderwidth$$else$2mm$endif$ solid $if(sectitle_bordercol)$$sectitle_bordercol$$else$$if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$$endif$;
+background-color: $if(sectitle_bgcol)$$sectitle_bgcol$$else$$if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$$endif$;
+border-radius: $if(sectitle_boxshape)$$sectitle_boxshape$$else$4mm 0mm$endif$;
 margin-top: 2mm;
 margin-bottom: 2mm;
 font-weight: normal;
 }
 .poster_body h2 {
-color: $sectitle2_textcol$;
-font-size: 40pt;
+color: $if(sectitle2_textcol)$$sectitle2_textcol$$else$#000000$endif$;
+font-size: $if(sectitle2_textsize)$$sectitle2_textsize$$else$40pt$endif$;
 padding-left: 4mm;
 font-weight: normal;
 }
@@ -243,8 +247,8 @@
 code {
 font-size: 1em;
 font-family: monospace;
-background-color: #00808024;
-color: #0b4545;
+background-color: $if(secondary_colour)$$secondary_colour$24$else$#00808024$endif$;
+color: $if(primary_colour)$$primary_colour$$else$#0b4545$endif$;
 padding: 1.2mm;
 border-radius: 2mm;
 }
@@ -301,18 +305,21 @@
 <div class="title_container">
 <!-- Left Logo  -->
 <div class="logo_left">
+$if(logoleft_name)$
 <img src= '$logoleft_name$' style="width: 80%">
+$endif$
 </div>
 <!-- Poster Title -->
 <div class= "poster_title">
-<h1 id="title">$title$</h1>
-<h3 id="author">$for(author)$$author.name$<sup>$author.affil$</sup>$sep$, $endfor$</h3>
-<h5 id="affiliation">$for(affiliation)$<sup>$affiliation.num$</sup> $affiliation.address$$sep$, $endfor$</h5>
-
+$if(title)$<h1 id="title">$title$</h1>$endif$
+$if(author)$<h3 id="author">$for(author)$$author.name$<sup>$author.affil$</sup>$sep$, $endfor$</h3><br>$endif$
+$if(affiliation)$<h5 id="affiliation">$for(affiliation)$<sup>$affiliation.num$</sup> $affiliation.address$$sep$, $endfor$</h5>$endif$
 </div>
 <!-- Right Logo  -->
 <div class="logo_right">
+$if(logoright_name)$
 <img src="$logoright_name$" style="width: 80%">
+$endif$
 </div>
 </div>
 
diff --git a/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/skeleton/skeleton.Rmd b/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/skeleton/skeleton.Rmd
index 4433601..44c8670 100644
--- a/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/skeleton/skeleton.Rmd
+++ b/inst/rmarkdown/templates/posterdown_html/skeleton/skeleton.Rmd
@@ -1,63 +1,6 @@
 ---
-# PLEASE SEE THE README for in depth description github.com/brentthorne/posterdown
-#---POSTER SIZE & DEFAULT FONT---#
-poster_height: "38in" # height in inches of poster
-poster_width: "45in" # width in inches of poster
-font_family: Palatino # choose from typical html fonts (example: "Palatino")
-#---TITLE BOX OPTIONS---#
-#ESSENTIALS
-title: 'Using posterdown to `generate` reproducible conference posters via RMarkdown > Knitr > Markdown > Pandoc > HTML/CSS > PDF workflow'
-author: 
-  - name: Brent Thorne
-    affil: 1
-  - name: Another Contributor
-    affil: 2
-affiliation: 
-  - num: 1
-    address: Department of Earth Science, Brock University
-  - num: 2
-    address: Department of Graphics and Layouts, University of Posters; Canada
-#STYLE & FORMATTING
-titlebox_bgcol: "#008080"  #Colour of the Title Box background
-titlebox_bordercol: "#0b4545" #Colour of the title Box border.
-titlebox_shape: "" #ONLY posterdown_PDF
-titlebox_borderwidth: "0cm"
-titletext_fontfamily: Palatino
-title_textcol: "#ffffff" #colour of title text
-author_textcol: "#0b4545" # Colour of author text
-affiliation_textcol: "#FFFFFF" # Colour of affiliation text
-title_textsize: "75pt"         # Poster title fontsize
-author_textsize: "50pt"       # Author list font size
-affiliation_textsize: "40pt"  # Affiliation font size
-#ADDING LOGOS
-logoleft_name: "Figures/posterdownlogo.png"
-logoright_name: "Figures/posterdownlogo.png"
-#---POSTER BODY OPTIONS---#
-body_bgcol: "#ffffff" #colour of the poster main background
-body_textsize: "45px"    # Size of the main poster body text
-body_textcol: "#000000" # Colour of main text in the body of poster
-column_numbers: 3 # Number of columns that the poster has
-column_margins: "0.5in" # Margin spacing for columns
-columnline_col: "#008080" #colour 
-columnline_width: "1mm" #width of line between each column
-columnline_style: dashed #style of the column line seperator.
-#SECTION TITLE STYLING
-sectitle_textcol: "#ffffff" # Colour of the poster section titles
-sectitle_textsize: "65pt"
-sectitle_bgcol: "#0b4545" # Colour of the section title box
-sectitle_bordercol: "#0b4545" # Colour of the border around the section title box.
-sectitle_borderwidth: "2mm" # Thicknes of the section title box border
-sectitle_boxshape: "4mm 0mm" # Changes the shape of the section title box.
-sectitle2_textcol: "#0b4545" # Color of 2nd level header text.
-#--OTHER--#
-link_col: "#0b4545" #colour of other links within the poster
-#--Standard Options--#
 output: 
   posterdown::posterdown_html:
-    self_contained: false
-    pandoc_args: --mathjax
-    highlight: tango
-    number_sections: true
 bibliography: MyBib.bib
 ---