How can I create a CMS or collection page in Webflow without having to create a whole new collection? Specifically, I want to create a "property page" for real estate listings where one version includes agent information and the other version is MLS-safe without agent information. Is it necessary to have two identical collections for this? Also, are the item limits on hosting plans too restrictive and how can I efficiently build websites within these quotas in Webflow?
To create a CMS or collection page in Webflow without creating a whole new collection, you can use a single collection and leverage conditional visibility settings and custom fields.
In your case, to create a property listing page that includes agent information (version A) and another version without agent information (version B), you can follow these steps:
1. Create a single collection for your property listings. This collection will include all the fields required for both versions A and B, including the agent information.
2. Add a custom field to the collection, let's call it "MLS-Safe." This field will be a checkbox or a multi-reference field.
3. For each property listing item, check the "MLS-Safe" field if it should be agent information-free (version B) and leave it unchecked for listings that require agent information (version A).
4. On your property detail page template, design the layout to include all the elements you want to display, including the agent information.
5. Now, you can set up conditions to control the visibility of elements based on the "MLS-Safe" field. For example, you can set an interaction to hide the agent information section if "MLS-Safe" is checked.
By utilizing conditional visibility and custom fields, you can effectively create two versions of the property page within a single collection.
Regarding the item limits on hosting plans, it's important to understand the quotas and how to efficiently build websites within them.
Webflow's hosting plans have different item limits, ranging from 100 items for the Lite plan to 10,000 items for the Business plan. While these limits may seem restrictive for large-scale projects, there are techniques to build efficient websites:
1. Plan your collections: Optimize your collections structure by having reusable elements and reducing the number of collections where possible. For example, use multi-reference fields to avoid duplicating data across collections.
2. Use dynamic lists and pagination: Instead of displaying all collection items on a single page, use dynamic lists with pagination to display a limited number of items per page. This helps optimize performance and ensures you stay within the item limits.
3. Use manual content updates: For content that doesn't require frequent updates or doesn't need to be managed through the CMS, consider manually adding it to static pages. This eliminates the need for CMS items altogether.
4. Optimize media assets: Leverage Webflow's built-in asset optimization to reduce the file size of images and other media used on your website. Smaller media files help minimize the impact on item limits.
By strategically planning your collections, using dynamic lists with pagination, considering manual content updates, and optimizing media assets, you can efficiently build websites within the item limits of Webflow's hosting plans.