Posted my question in a thread but never got an answer: Difference between Static and CMS Collection page

[panos]

Hello,

I have a problem understanding the difference between static and CMS Collection pages and I want to make sure I understand it due to the restrictions in number of static pages that apply in pricing plans and the fact that my main goal with webflow is to create a blog.

I am under the impression that all the elements that are in the static CMS Collection template page I create, all those elements must be present in all of the blog posts. Is that true?

Example 1: This Webflow theme has all of its blog posts have 2 images right before the last paragraph, positioned the exact same way:

I opened 3 different blog posts in that theme and they all had 2 images right before the last paragraph.

My simple questions are:

1. What if in one of my blog posts I want to have 1 image or no images instead of those 2 images?

2. What if in one of my blog posts I want to place images in other parts of the blog posts? Maybe I want to place 1 image after the first paragraph and 4 images after the 3rd paragraph but no images before the last paragraph?

3. What if in one of my blog posts I want to place a YouTube video (an element that is not in the CMS Collection template page)? Can I do that?
Can I place it in a specific blog post or do I need to add it into the CMS Collection template page in order to be able to add it to that blog post?
And if I add it to the template page, does that mean that the YouTube element will be added in all of my blog posts, past and future?

Let me add one final example: Let’s assume I am building webpages for the team members of my company’s website and I do it through the CMS (like it was done in the Astro Law firm tutorial.)

I want the page of one team member to have this setup:

…and I want the webpage of another team member to have this setup:

Would that be possible only with the use of static pages or can it be done with CMS pages?

So, to sum up:
a) how different can the set up of a blog post be from another blog post?
b) Is it possible for a blog post to have different elements (images, YouTube embed, Soundcloud clip etc.) from other blog posts?

Thanks,
Panos

[Andy_Vaughan (Jolly Good Web)]

Think of a CMS Collection Page as a template.

You design the template, and then you (or your client) can populate pages with information, and the design will look the same across all of the CMS pages for that particular collection.

You can make a CMS collection page further customisable using conditional visibility. For example, you can create a CMS template page that includes multiple sections of text, however you can set these sections to hidden if no text is entered:

You could even use conditional visibility to hide entire sections of a page, showing a different design in each. So in an example from a project I am working on at the moment, the client selects “post type”, and depending on which option they pick, one of the three sections outlined in purple below will display. Each section has a drastically different layout:

Conversely, a static page is exactly that - static and unmoving. You, as the web developer will be the one to design the layout and populate it with information.

Here’s a good article on static vs dynamic content.

[panos]

@Andy_Vaughan

conditional visibility

Conditional visibility can be applied only to sections, correct? Not on a particular Div block for example that is in a section, right?

[Andy_Vaughan (Jolly Good Web)]

Sorry, I was being pretty general. Conditional visibility can be applied to most elements present within the CMS template page.

[panos]

Thank you so much, @Andy_Vaughan !

[Andy_Vaughan (Jolly Good Web)]

You’re very welcome! Keep working through Webflow University - it’s a steep learning curve, but the more you practice the easier this will come. I’m glad you’re further than when we last spoke in your other topic