What is the purpose of the "Template" sites under "CMS Collection Pages" in Webflow and should I create my collections there before rebuilding them in the "Static" sites?

"CMS Collection Pages" in Webflow are automatically generated template pages that display dynamic content from your CMS Collections. These pages are used to display a single item from a collection at a time (like blog posts, team members, products, etc.).

1. Purpose of CMS Collection Template Pages

• Automatically Created: When you create a CMS Collection (e.g., Blog Posts), Webflow automatically creates a matching template page (e.g., Blog Posts Template).
• Display Individual Items: Each page dynamically displays the content of one CMS item based on the design in the template.
• Reusable Layout: You design the layout once, and it populates for each item in the collection.
• Dynamic Fields: You can bind elements to data fields like names, images, rich text, etc.

2. When to Use CMS Templates vs. Static Pages

• Use Collection Template Pages if you want dynamic, scalable content—ideal for large sets of similar content (e.g., blog posts, portfolios, product pages).
• Use Static Pages if your content is one-off or not repeatedly structured (e.g., About, Contact, Landing pages).

3. Should You Create Collections Before Rebuilding in Static?

• Only if You Need Dynamic Content: Don’t create collections and template pages if you're planning to manually rebuild everything as Static Pages. It’s redundant.
• Avoid CMS Pages if static rebuilding is intentional and content doesn’t require scaling.
• Use Both Appropriately: Some projects benefit from combining both—CMS for repeated content, static for unique content.

Summary

CMS Collection Template Pages are for displaying dynamic content tied to your CMS Collections. Use them if you need to show many pieces of content with the same layout. Don’t create CMS collections if you intend to rebuild everything as static pages—the two approaches serve different purposes.