Is there a way to set a default category on a Webflow CMS collection template instead of it always taking the last created category as the "current" category?

Published on
September 22, 2023

Yes, there is a way to set a default category on a Webflow CMS collection template. By default, Webflow automatically selects the last created category as the "current" category. However, if you want to change the default behavior and set a specific category as the default, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open your Webflow project and navigate to the CMS collection that you want to modify.
  2. Go to the Collection Template page, which is where the individual items of your collection are displayed.
  3. Select the Collection List wrapper that contains the dynamic content for your collection items.
  4. In the right-hand panel, under the "Settings" tab, find the "Category Filter" option.
  5. Click on the category field and choose the desired default category from the dropdown list. You can either choose an existing category or create a new one.
  6. Save your changes and publish your site.

Now, when you load the Collection Template page, it will show the items filtered by the default category you specified. This means that the template will no longer automatically select the last created category as the "current" category; instead, it will use the category you set as the default.

This is a helpful feature if you want to ensure that a specific category is always displayed on the Collection Template page, regardless of the order in which new categories are created.

Note: It's essential to keep in mind that the default category setting is specific to each Collection Template page. If you have multiple Collection Templates, you need to repeat the above steps for each of them if you want to set different default categories.

Additional questions:

  1. How can I change the default category on a Webflow CMS collection template?
  2. Can I have different default categories for different collection templates in Webflow?
  3. What is the process to create a new category on a CMS collection template in Webflow?