How to Create a Draggable CMS Slider in Webflow

Are you looking to create a custom CMS slider in Webflow, complete with the ability to drag, play videos, and customize the layout for responsiveness? You've come to the right place. In this comprehensive tutorial, we'll walk through the step-by-step process to create a draggable CMS slider in Webflow.

Getting Started

First, let's start by setting up the basic structure. We'll need to drag in a collection list onto the page. You can place the collection list inside a div, ensuring it has a width of 100% of its parent and the parent has a minimum height of 100vh. To keep the content centered vertically on the screen, apply the Flexbox and alignment properties.

Setting Up the Collection List

Create a collection list and populate it with data from a collection you've already set up. For example, you may have a collection named "songs" and want to display the songs in your slider. Give the wrapper a class of "wrapper" and the list itself a class of "list."

Next, within the list, create items, and give them a class of "item." Inside each item, add a clickable card by dragging in a link block and setting its class to "card."

Setting up the Video

Within the card, pull in a video from the CMS using the video URL. You'll need to drag in an embed and place it inside the card. Give the embed a class of "embed" and set its width and height to 100% of its parent. Then, replace the default URL with the actual video URL from your CMS.

<embed class="embed" src="your-video-url.mp4" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;">

Styling the Layout

Adjust the styling, such as setting the width and height of the item and card to ensure the proper dimensions of the cards in the slider. You may also want to set a title over each video, which involves positioning a text container and aligning the text inside it. Ensure that you've also set the video's scale and rotation within the card.

Making the Slider Functional

Making the Slider Draggable

To enable dragging, we'll use the Slick Slider library. Add the Slick Slider code to your project and configure its properties, such as speed, infinite scrolling, and the number of slides to show. Ensure that the width of the items adjusts for responsiveness based on the number of slides shown.

Adding Navigation Arrows and Title

Next, you can add navigation arrows and a title to the slider. Create a container for the slider title, insert a heading, and add navigation arrows using link blocks with corresponding classes. Utilize Flexbox to position the title and arrows to your desired layout.

Customizing Interactions

To enhance the user experience, you can customize interactions, such as changing the background color when hovering over a card, graying out sibling items, and scaling up the video within the card when hovered over.

Ensuring Responsiveness

After setting up the functionalities, ensure that your slider is fully responsive. Test it across different breakpoints and make adjustments as needed. Pay attention to the layout, font size, and the number of slides shown on different devices.

By following these steps, you can create a fully functional and responsive CMS slider in Webflow. Enjoy customizing and enhancing the visual appeal and interactivity of your website with this powerful slider feature.

We hope this tutorial has helped you gain a better understanding of how to create a draggable CMS slider in Webflow. If you found this tutorial helpful, be sure to explore more tutorials on Webflow's official documentation and community forums to further expand your skills and knowledge in web design and development.