How can I create a CMS slider using pagination in Webflow?

To create a CMS-powered slider using pagination in Webflow, you'll need to creatively repurpose the CMS Collection List with pagination and style it like a slider. Here's how to do it:

1. Prepare Your CMS Collection

• Create a CMS Collection if you haven't already (e.g., Blog Posts, Testimonials).
• Add relevant fields (e.g., Image, Text, Author) to be used in your slider.

2. Add a Collection List With Pagination

• Drag in a Collection List from the Add panel.
• Bind it to your desired CMS Collection.
• In the Settings panel, enable Pagination and set items per page to 1 (so each "slide" is a single CMS item).

3. Style Your "Slides"

• Style the Collection Item container so it looks and behaves like a slide.
• You can give it a fixed width and height, and add layout/background options to match your intended slider design.

4. Add Custom Navigation Buttons

• Outside the Collection List, add two buttons: Previous and Next.
• Use Webflow Interactions to trigger Previous and Next page loads.

How to do it:

• Select the Next button, add an interaction On Click.
• In the interaction, use Element Trigger → Mouse Click → Start an Animation.
• Choose the Pagination next link inside the collection and trigger it via a Click animation (works as a workaround to "click" the next page).
• Repeat the process for the Previous button.

5. Optional: Smooth Transitions

• Add interactions to fade out the current item and fade in the next one when pagination occurs.
• Use Page Load animations for a smoother slide-style appearance.

6. Adjust Pagination Styles

• Webflow hides the built-in “Previous” and “Next” pagination links if you don’t style or override them.
• To avoid double-navigation, hide Webflow’s default pagination controls via display: none.

Summary

To create a CMS slider with pagination in Webflow, use a Collection List with pagination set to 1 item per page, then style each item as a slide and use custom buttons with interactions to trigger pagination next/previous. This workaround gives slider-like functionality, even though Webflow CMS doesn’t support true sliders out of the box.