Why is it difficult to create a masonry grid style photo gallery with a lightbox in Webflow without using the CMS?

Published on

September 22, 2023

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Creating a masonry grid style photo gallery with a lightbox in Webflow without using the CMS can be challenging due to the limitations of the static design capabilities of the platform. Here are some reasons why it can be difficult:

Limited layout options: Webflow provides a range of layout options, but it does not have built-in support for masonry grids. This means you will need to manually create and position each image within the grid, which can be time-consuming and difficult to achieve a consistent and responsive design.
Lack of dynamic data: Without the CMS, you cannot easily pull and display images dynamically from a data source. This means you will need to manually upload and add each image to the gallery element. It can be difficult to maintain and update the gallery as you have to manually update the images whenever you want to make changes.
Lightbox customization: Webflow does not have a native lightbox component, so you will need to implement a custom lightbox solution using third-party tools or custom code. This can be challenging for non-technical users as it requires a good understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Responsive design challenges: Creating a masonry grid that works well across different screen sizes can be tricky without the use of the CMS. You might have to manually adjust the size and position of each image to ensure a visually pleasing and responsive grid.
SEO limitations: A masonry grid without CMS support will likely have separate pages for each image, which can result in a large number of pages. This can negatively impact search engine optimization (SEO) as search engines may view it as thin content or duplicate content.

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