How to Create Customizable Website Sections with Webflow

Giving clients designer access to a website can be daunting, as their changes can affect the entire site. Fortunately, Webflow offers a way for clients to build their own pages using pre-defined sections created by you. This tutorial will guide you through creating these customizable sections using multi-reference fields in Webflow.

Setting Up Collections in Webflow

To achieve this, you'll need to set up three collections:

1. Pages: Here, clients can create new pages at any time.
2. Page Sections: These are the pre-designed modules, like image and text side by side or three columns, from which clients can choose.
3. Section Items: These are nested within the page sections, allowing clients to add and remove items within the chosen section.

Creating Customizable Page Sections

Let's dive into the step-by-step process of setting this up in Webflow.

Creating New Pages

Start by creating a new page in Webflow. Give it a name and input necessary fields like SEO description, hero text, and a hero image. Additionally, provide options for the client to hide or show the hero image.

Adding Page Sections

To add sections, navigate to the pages and select a specific page. Create a new page section, such as an image and text side by side, and populate it with content, including optional fields like an image and paragraph text.

Within page sections, you can also set options such as reversing the order or making media "wider," which affects how images or videos are displayed.

Building Three-Column Sections

You can also create complex sections like three columns with items. By using multi-reference fields, clients can add and reorder items to suit their needs.

Limitations and Workarounds

While this method offers great flexibility to clients, there are limitations. For example, you cannot drag to reorder items, and there's no direct inline editing for the sections.

Setting Up Collections

To set this up, you'd create collections for Pages, Page Sections, and Section Items. Within the Pages template, you'd use conditional visibility to display specific pre-designed sections based on the client's selection.

In the Page Sections collection, you'd have different field types based on the type of module, allowing clients to choose the type of module they want. For three-column sections, you'd utilize multi-reference fields to add and reorder items.

By linking these fields, you can effectively link the selected sections and items to the client's page, making the customization process seamless.

Conclusion

Creating customizable website sections through predefined modules is a powerful feature of Webflow. By taking advantage of multi-reference fields and conditional visibility, clients can build and customize their own web pages without needing direct designer access. This approach offers a user-friendly way for clients to personalize their pages without affecting the holistic design and functionality of the website.

Webflow's collection capabilities provide a highly efficient way to achieve this level of customization, making it a preferred choice for designers and clients alike. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can empower your clients to create unique and personalized web pages within the Webflow platform.