Renderings on Page Design not visible

Question

Environment: Sitecore 9.0.2 + SXA 1.8.0

What I have done: I have a 'partial design' P1. I applied this P1 to a 'page design' PD1. On this 'page design' PD1, I applied a few renderings. This 'page design' PD1 is rendering properly in the experience editor. On one of the test pages, I selected this 'page design' PD1. Then I accessed this test page in the experience editor.

What I was expecting: I was expecting the renderings from the 'partial design' P1 as well as, renderings applied on the 'page design' PD1.

What I found: Only renderings from the 'partial design' P1 were rendered.

My question:

1. The renderings applied on the 'page design' PD1 were not rendered. Was it by design or something missing from my side?

2. If it is not by design, is it right to apply renderings on a page design?

Answer 1

You should not be adding rendering to the Page Designs. You can check the documentation that also mentions that you should add renderings to partial designs and partial designs to the page design:

Also make sure to check this page with best practices when structuring pages in SXA. It's a must read for people starting with SXA ;)