Use the Webflow CMS to create and manage dynamic content on your site.
A Content Management System (CMS) lets you store and manage dynamic content with a shared structure.
Static content vs. dynamic content
Static content is managed manually and only changes when you edit it. It’s great for content that doesn’t need to change often, but it’s not scalable. For example, if content appears in multiple places on your site, you’ll need to update each instance manually.
Dynamic content references one source of truth (i.e., the CMS) and automatically updates if the source changes. For example, let’s say a testimonial is referenced on multiple pages. If you update the source with an improved quote, every reference to the testimonial is automatically updated across your site.
How does the Webflow CMS work?
The CMS is a structured database that lets you store and manage content. You start by creating a CMS Collection, which serves as a database for a specific topic or type of content. Within the Collection, you create individual entries (e.g., one blog post) called Collection items.
Collection items can be dynamically added to your site as Collection pages, which you design using the Collection page template. The dynamic nature of CMS Collections lets you scale content creation without needing to build a unique static page for each entry. You can also insert dynamic content from Collection items on your static site pages with Collection lists.
Example CMS workflow
You could use the Webflow CMS to create a blog. To get started, you would:
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Create a CMS Collection for blog content and set fields that you want to use (e.g., title, body, image)
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Design the Collection Page template for your blog post pages
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Add new Collection items in the CMS for each blog post
A Collection page is generated using your template for each blog post — however, these pages are hidden by default. To reference the Collection pages or Collection item content on your site, you can:
About CMS Collections, Collection items, and Collection fields
Each Collection stores a different type of content with a shared structure. For example, you can create Collections of blog posts, testimonials, team members, job postings, or recipes. Each Collection consists of Collection items (i.e., individual entries, like a single blog post).
When you create a Collection, you decide how a Collection item should be structured and which Collection fields are included. For example, a Collection of team members could include a field for their name, bio, photo, and email address. You can update and delete Collection fields — or the content in Collection fields — at any time. Learn more about using Collection fields to structure Collections.
Once you’ve defined your Collection’s structure, you can start creating Collection items (i.e., individual entries). For example, in a “team members” Collection, you’d add a Collection item for each team member. In each Collection item, you’ll fill out the Collection fields you defined (e.g., name, bio, photo, and email address).
How to reference dynamic content on your site
Once you’ve structured your Collection and created Collection items, you can reference that dynamic content on your site using Collection lists and/or Collection pages.
About Collection lists
Collection lists let you reference dynamic Collection content on any site page (including static pages, like your site’s home page). You can show or hide specific Collection items using filters or conditional visibility based on Collection field values, and you can also sort the content.
About Collection pages
Collection pages are automatically created for every Collection item in your Collection. Each Collection page mirrors the design you made on the template, but elements that reference dynamic content are populated with content from the Collection fields associated with the Collection item.
When you edit the Collection page’s design or dynamic references, all Collection pages for items in that Collection automatically update.
Note
Elements added to Collection pages are static until you connect them to Collection fields.