Ability for Collaborators in the Editor to edit site design elements (add pages, add widgets, style the design)

  1. Content editors cannot create new static pages or dynamic template pages. Only the designer can.

  2. Start a new site, don’t connect a custom domain name to it, and have fun playing with the CMS! :smiley:

Edit: Collaborators can create new pages that are based on collections (dynamic template pages). They can create a new collection item (ex: blog post) and a page will be created automatically.

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[quote=“PixelGeek, post:4, topic:19333”]
2) Start a new site, don’t connect a custom domain name to it, and have fun playing with the CMS!
[/quote] I did but I still can create a test content editor account… not sure what I am missing.

[quote=“PixelGeek, post:4, topic:19333”]

  1. Content editors cannot create new static pages or dynamic template pages. Only the designer can.
    [/quote] If clients can’t create new pages (or duplicate existing pages using them as a starting place for a new page) then this seems like a deal breaker… from what I have read the CMS looks impressive but this seems like an important and obvious place to have started.
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I disagree … many of us are professional designers who “support” our clients, they need and want that, that is is how we stay in business and keep our clients sites ranked well and fresh … I prefer the current methodology … it is in line with my clients needs and expectations and my service system … some may want to do some CMS posting on defined pages but adding removing pages is way beyond them and more for designers who get a lot of up front money and then abandon the site to customer cms ( think Word Press ) and move on to the next big job … that model is destined to fail and has created some negative backlash in the industry to these type “designers” … in time this type of design service could kill off most the smaller design shop industry and either push customers into the med to big mill shops or “Godaddy type” free junk on their own … I think placing the designer permanently in the formula is wise and long term smart for Webflow and design support shops like mine … if it went the other way I might seriously in time have to use something else. Good job Webflow … no one is going to get this 100% pleasing to all players but you sure crank up the bar.

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Can you clarify this for us @PixelGeek?

So, if I develop a site for a client who wants to blog, and I make him/her an editor, he/she cannot create a new blog post?

Am I understanding you?

JFly

[quote=“webguy, post:6, topic:19333”]
designers who get a lot of up front money and then abandon the site to customer cms
[/quote] This is the exact opposite of my model. I actually use this as a selling point with many new clients.

I was simply getting at the fact that creating new pages based off of page templates (and being able to edit predefined content on those pages) is a fundamental and basic requirement for almost all of my clients (and isn’t something that must require a designer). This topic has nothing to do with how I support my clients. Many of my clients want the functionality to add/edit basic pages based off of templates… but often times they still turn to me due to time, etc,

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ok got it, this is why I seldom post, just read, missing so much detail in these small chunks …

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Whoa whoa whoa Really??? Absolute deal breaker! I’m sorry but if my clients are paying for a CMS, they will want to be able to duplicate an existing page to use it as a template for more content. If you can’t create pages, then how does the blog feature work? wouldn’t it create a new page for that post?

Sorry for the confusion. Let me.clarify. :smile:

Whenever a new item in a collection is added, a new page is created for it. That is how the dynamic page template works.

Editors can add/edit/delete items in a collection. Who b is the same as adding/editing/deleting dynamic pages. (Not dynamic page templates)

Would it be a stretch to use this same model for new pages without having the URL restrictions.? In otherwords, define new page templates via collections, provide clients the ability to create/edit those pages the same way they edit dynamic pages via the CMS, but allow those pages to live and behave the same as static pages (i.e. put them on their own or in folders)?

I could easily create a collection called “page” and define the template to pull content from the collection. The URLs would look like webflow.com/page/new-page… But this is a hack… as I would need a collection for each page template and the site URLs and navigation would all be a mess.

I think there might be a feature request in here somewhere…if you can marry the static page creation experience (OG tags, slugs, meta) with the dynamic page template creation experience (collections, fields etc.) then I think the CMS will really shine for clients and content editors!!! Then the current method of creating static pages would still be used for home, landing, and other custom pages…

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Do dynamic pages count within the page limit?

Ahh @PixelGeek - I loved your reply about the editable navigation until I tried it. I can only edit the text… not add new items or re-order navigation elements in the editor. This is a pretty common feature found in many basic CMS platforms. Better add it to the wish-list!

@PixelGeek - is more advanced editing of navigation menus via the CMS on Webflow’s roadmap? Specifically: adding new menu items, reorder items, etc.

Hi, to get dynamic menus, you can add a “dynamic list” to the menu instead of the normal nav links. The dynamic list items can then be bound to a collection and the text pulled from a field in that collection. The links can be configured to go to the item detail page.
Is this what you where looking for?
Check this video: http://help.webflow.com/lesson/designing-with-content-on-your-website. You can do the same in a menu.

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Thanks @Juri - I was thinking about a way to do this and landed on a similar conclusion. I will try it out and let you know how it works!

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We’ll be enhancing the capabilities of the Editor over time. Adding pages, some widgets and some styles is on the roadmap, but some of the most basic features will come down the pipe first.

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The page and navigation menu management feature is a big one for my clients. Thanks @thesergie

I thought I’d share a tip here that I used on a recent project to enable my client to create their own pages. Hint: Use the rich text block!

Here’s the setup: My client wanted the ability to add additional pages in the future, and add new links to the main navigation.

The issues to deal with: I don’t know of any way to add additional links to the navigation bar from the editor, unless the navigation bar uses a rich text block. From the design side, adding many links to a central navigation menu is dangerous, and I wanted to discourage this. As mentioned above, Webflow doesn’t allow editors to create new pages, but it does allow them to create new collection items. A new collection item template page is generated for each new item. What if… you could just make a collection for pages to be added by the editors? You can!

The solution in Webflow: Try making a collection with a single rich text field in addition to the required name field. I called my collection “Info Pages” to differentiate it from the “Pages” tab on the editor, but you could call it anything you want. The entire contents of the page (besides the navbar, footer, etc.) is a single rich text field. If you create styles for each element that an editor can create, you can make a really clean look with a lot of editor-accessible styling options for text, pictures, and embeds (what else do you really need?) If you want your client to be able to create pages with different layouts, you can take this same concept and create a collection for each type of page.

What I explained to my client: I explained that adding additional navigation links can be a slippery slope, as a central menu loses its convenience when it becomes full. I explained that you don’t need all your pages in the central navigation menu, since you can include links inline on any page where a visitor might be looking for that information. When I explained that using plenty of internal links has the double benefit of being great for your SEO, I didn’t have to explain anything else. The rich text “info pages” don’t provide as much flexibility as the Designer interface does, but it’s simple and seems to work for all of my client’s needs.

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