Introduction to Content Management Systems

A Content Management System (CMS) is a software platform that enables users to create, manage, and publish digital content without extensive technical knowledge. Essentially, it allows you to store and organize content in a database and display it on your website in a structured manner.

In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the steps to implement a CMS in Wix Studio. You'll see how to create collections, manage fields, and connect them to your website's front end to display content dynamically.

Demonstration of CMS Capabilities

To illustrate what a CMS can do, let's look at my website, Wix Ideas. On the tutorials page, I've listed all the YouTube tutorials in a repeater format. Each item in the repeater has the same layout but different content. Clicking on an item takes you to a dedicated page with more information about that tutorial.

This setup allows me to add content to my database and display it to site users in any format I choose. The CMS lets you add elements like upload dates, reading time estimates, social media sharing options, and more. You can also implement search functionality to filter through your content.

Setting Up a CMS in Wix Studio

Adding a Content Management System

First, you need to add a CMS to your Wix Studio site. Click on the CMS icon in the left panel. If you've never added a CMS before, you'll see an option to add it to your site. Once added, you can start by creating a collection from scratch or using a Wix preset.

Creating Collections

A collection is a set of related content items organized in a table format within a database. To create a collection, go to the CMS section and click "Create Collection." You can choose to start from scratch or use AI to generate fields and sample content.

For example, if you're creating a real estate collection, you might include fields like price, description, size, pet allowance, and images. Once the collection is created, you can add items manually or import them from a CSV file.

Managing Collections

In the CMS manager, you can view all your collections and manage them. You can rename collections, change visibility settings, and add or hide fields. You can also sort and filter items in a collection based on different criteria.

Displaying Content on Your Website

To display content from your collections, you'll use dynamic pages. A dynamic page has the same design but displays different content based on the URL. You can create list pages to show multiple items and item pages for individual content pieces.

Connecting Front End Elements to Your CMS

To link your front-end elements (like images, text, and buttons) to your CMS, you'll use datasets. A dataset connects elements on your page to the fields in your collection. For example, you can connect an image element to the "Product Image" field in your collection.

Adding Filters and Search Functionality

You can add dropdown filters to your pages to allow users to filter content based on specific criteria. For example, you can filter products by category or price range. Although Wix currently doesn't support search bars in Wix Studio, you can implement dropdown filters to achieve similar functionality.

Collecting Content from Site Users

To allow users to submit content to your site, you'll need to create forms. Forms can include text inputs, dropdowns, and file upload fields. Connect the form elements to your CMS using datasets, and configure the submit button to add the content to your collection.

Editing Content

You can also create pages that allow site users to edit existing content. These pages will include form elements pre-populated with the current content values. Users can update the content and submit changes, which will be reflected in the collection.

Advanced Settings and Permissions

In the CMS settings, you can manage permissions to control who can view, add, delete, and update content. You can also create folders to organize your collections and configure backups to ensure your data is safe.

Sandbox Environment

A sandbox is a test environment where you can preview and test changes to your collections before publishing them. You can synchronize items between the sandbox and the live site to ensure everything works correctly.

Conclusion

By leveraging the power of Wix Studio's CMS, you can create dynamic, content-rich websites that are easy to manage and update. Whether you're running a blog, an e-commerce site, or any other type of website, a CMS can streamline your content management processes and enhance the user experience.

I hope this tutorial was helpful! If you found it useful, please subscribe to my channel, turn on notifications, and give this video a thumbs up. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions for future tutorials. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you in the next video!