I've been tearing my hear out with this one today.

I've created a new page layout and inserted an empty web part zone inside it, now when i add any web part to the web part zone using share point designer, web parts don't appear when i view the page, and when i edit the page only an empty web part zone shows (web parts that I've added to the web part zone doesn't render into the page)

in short words, How can i add web parts to a page layout?

Hi,

According to your post, my understanding is that you wanted to add the web part to page layout.

I had found the same behavior, when I added the web parts within a web part zone, the web parts disappeared.

Whats more, I had found that if we just added the web parts in the page directly, the web part also hided in the page.

Per my knowledge, if we add the web part zone in the page, we can add the web parts through the UI.

As a workaround, we can add the web parts in the web part zone through the UI.

http://www.manageprojectsonsharepoint.com/blog/2011/03/14/creating-your-own-web-part-page-layout-template/

Thanks & Regards,