diff --git a/functions.php b/functions.php
index 730c84af28..f8eecbb53d 100644
--- a/functions.php
+++ b/functions.php
@@ -16,11 +16,11 @@
  * themes/sage/index.php also contains some self-correcting code, just in case the template option gets reset
  */
 add_filter('stylesheet', function ($stylesheet) {
-  return dirname($stylesheet);
+    return dirname($stylesheet);
 });
 add_action('after_switch_theme', function () {
-  $stylesheet = get_option('stylesheet');
-  basename($stylesheet) == 'templates' || update_option('stylesheet', $stylesheet . '/templates');
+    $stylesheet = get_option('stylesheet');
+    basename($stylesheet) == 'templates' || update_option('stylesheet', $stylesheet . '/templates');
 });
 
 /**
diff --git a/phpcs.xml b/phpcs.xml
index d23b8193ad..4b4b390097 100644
--- a/phpcs.xml
+++ b/phpcs.xml
@@ -15,9 +15,18 @@
   <arg value="s"/>
 
   <!-- Use PSR-2 as a base -->
-  <rule ref="PSR2">
-    <!-- Allow braces on same line for named functions -->
-    <exclude name="Squiz.Functions.MultiLineFunctionDeclaration.BraceOnSameLine"/>
+  <rule ref="PSR2"/>
+
+  <!-- Exclusions below are for templates/ folder -->
+  
+  <!-- Allow php files without any PHP in them -->
+  <rule ref="Internal.NoCodeFound">
+    <exclude-pattern>templates</exclude-pattern>
+  </rule>
+
+  <!-- Allow braces on same line for named functions -->
+  <rule ref="Squiz.Functions.MultiLineFunctionDeclaration.BraceOnSameLine">
+    <exclude-pattern>templates</exclude-pattern>
   </rule>
 
   <!-- Allow closing braces to be on the same line -->
diff --git a/src/helpers.php b/src/helpers.php
index 5b21de4cf9..d4dd53fed5 100644
--- a/src/helpers.php
+++ b/src/helpers.php
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
  * @throws \Exception
  * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.StaticAccess) This is a helper function, so we can suppress this warning
  */
-function template_wrap(WrapperInterface $wrapper, $slug = 'base') {
+function template_wrap(WrapperInterface $wrapper, $slug = 'base')
+{
     WrapperCollection::add($wrapper, $slug);
     return $wrapper->getWrapper();
 }
@@ -21,7 +22,8 @@ function template_wrap(WrapperInterface $wrapper, $slug = 'base') {
  * @param string $slug
  * @return string
  */
-function template_unwrap($slug = 'base') {
+function template_unwrap($slug = 'base')
+{
     return WrapperCollection::get($slug)->getTemplate();
 }
 
@@ -29,7 +31,8 @@ function template_unwrap($slug = 'base') {
  * @param $filename
  * @return string
  */
-function asset_path($filename) {
+function asset_path($filename)
+{
     static $manifest;
     isset($manifest) || $manifest = new JsonManifest(get_template_directory() . '/' . Asset::$dist . '/assets.json');
     return (string) new Asset($filename, $manifest);
@@ -39,7 +42,8 @@ function asset_path($filename) {
  * Determine whether to show the sidebar
  * @return bool
  */
-function display_sidebar() {
+function display_sidebar()
+{
     static $display;
     isset($display) || $display = apply_filters('sage/display_sidebar', true);
     return $display;
@@ -49,7 +53,8 @@ function display_sidebar() {
  * Page titles
  * @return string
  */
-function title() {
+function title()
+{
     if (is_home()) {
         if ($home = get_option('page_for_posts', true)) {
             return get_the_title($home);
diff --git a/src/lib/Sage/Asset.php b/src/lib/Sage/Asset.php
index 8fe70d718c..143fd7ea44 100644
--- a/src/lib/Sage/Asset.php
+++ b/src/lib/Sage/Asset.php
@@ -18,17 +18,20 @@ class Asset
 
     protected $dir;
 
-    public function __construct($file, ManifestInterface $manifest = null) {
+    public function __construct($file, ManifestInterface $manifest = null)
+    {
         $this->manifest = $manifest;
         $this->asset = basename($file);
         $this->dir = dirname($file) != '.' ? dirname($file) : '';
     }
 
-    public function __toString() {
+    public function __toString()
+    {
         return $this->getUri();
     }
 
-    public function getUri() {
+    public function getUri()
+    {
         $file = ($this->manifest ? $this->manifest->get($this->asset) : $this->asset);
         return get_template_directory_uri() . self::$dist . '/' . $this->dir . '/' . $file;
     }