In this article, we will introduce you to all the key concepts you need to know to manage the Webflow CMS. You will then be able to start creating your collections, items, and dynamic pages.
Understanding the General Settings of Webflow CMS
In this section, we will present the main concepts of the Webflow CMS to help you understand the general settings of the tool.
Webflow CMS
First, let's define the term Webflow CMS. This simply refers to Webflow's visual content management system. It can be accessed from the Webflow dashboard by clicking on the CMS button in the site settings. Editors of your Webflow project can contribute to the development of the CMS through the editor mode.
CMS Settings
The CMS Settings tab is where the CMS administrator can add and remove content editors.
CMS Administrator
The CMS administrator is the only person who can invite and remove content editors. The administrator is the individual who owns the site in their Webflow account.
Editor Panel
The Editor Panel is the section of the Webflow CMS that appears at the bottom of the site and can be used by editors to manage collections and create new collection items.
Collection
A collection is a type of content (such as a blog post) represented by a set of fields that you define. Once created, you can add custom collection items.
Collection Item
A collection item refers to an individual element within a collection (for example, one blog post).
CMS Collection Page
A dynamic page that Webflow automatically creates for each collection item. When designing a collection page, all pages created for each item will share the same template but have different content. For instance, all blog posts will have the same page structure, but different content.
Learning to Manage Collection Fields
Now, let's delve deeper into the core subject by presenting the various elements to configure in the Webflow CMS.
Collection Field
A collection field is an individual field within a collection. You can customize the fields you want to have in your collection.
Required Field
You can designate any collection field as "required", compelling content editors to fill in this field.
Basic Info
The basic information in the Webflow CMS includes fields that must be filled out, namely the name and the slug of the collection.
Plain Text
The Plain Text field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert basic textual content.
Rich Text
The Rich Text field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert long content with paragraphs, media files, links, etc. It also enables text customization (bold, italic, etc.). This type of field is used, for example, to insert article content.
Image
The Image field is a Webflow CMS field that allows the use of images as dynamic elements.
Multi-Image
The Multi-Image field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to add a maximum of 25 images to be displayed as a gallery.
Video
The Video field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert videos via a link (such as an embedded YouTube or Vimeo video).
Link
The Link field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert a hyperlink pointing to another web page.
The Email field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert an email address. Clicking on the email address will initiate an email from that address.
Phone
The Phone field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert a phone number. Clicking on the number will enable a call to that number.
Number
The Number field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert an integer, with or without decimals.
Date/Time
The Date/Time field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to display a date and time.
Switch
The Switch field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to filter your items. For instance, a "Featured" Switch field can highlight certain blog posts when the field is checked.
Color
The Color field is a Webflow CMS field that enables you to add color to a collection for styling text, background color, etc.
Option
The Option field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to select a value from a predefined list. This list appears in the form of a dropdown menu.
File
The File field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to insert files (pdf, doc, ppt, jpg) that users can download.
Reference
The Reference field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to establish a link with another collection in your project.
Multi-Reference
The Multi-Reference field is a Webflow CMS field that allows you to establish links with multiple other collections in your project.
Now you know how to build your collections and items in the CMS of your Webflow project. Understanding all these concepts will allow you to create a blog section on your website or even a team section. Feel free to check out our YouTube videos to learn more about Webflow or consult our article on how to build a page in Webflow using elements.
