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Framer CMS Simplified: 7 Key Tips for Beginners

4 min read
Dec 5, 2024

The CMS is one of Framer’s most powerful features.

It transforms your site from static to dynamic, letting you manage and update content easily—no coding required.

With Framer CMS, you can build content-driven websites like blogs, team pages, portfolios, and product catalogs.

If you’re new to Framer and wondering how the CMS works, this post will guide you through seven essential tips to help you get started and make the most of it.

What is Framer CMS and why use it?

A CMS, or Content Management System, allows you to organize and manage your website's content.

Instead of hardcoding text and images directly into your site, you store that content in the CMS and connect it to your design.

This makes it easy to update and scale your site as needed.

In Framer, every project comes with access to the CMS. Here’s a quick breakdown of its key components.

Collections

Think of these as groups of related content, like "Blog Posts" or "Team Members." Each collection organizes similar types of information.

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Creating a CMS collection

Fields

Fields define the specific pieces of information in a collection. For a "Blog Posts" collection, fields might include "Title," "Author," "Publish Date," and "Featured Image."

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Edit CMS fields

Items

These are the individual entries within a collection. For example, each blog post is an item in the "Blog Posts" collection.

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Add items to CMS

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Filling out CMS item details

With your CMS set up, you can dynamically pull content into your Framer site. Here are three main ways to use it:

Add CMS Items to Any Page

Display specific content from your CMS on any page in your site by dragging and dropping.

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Use the Insert menu to find your CMS collection

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Drag and drop the CMS collection into any page

Create an Index Page

An index page lists all the items in a collection, like a blog archive or a team directory.

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Create index and details page

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An index page lists all items in your collection

Generate Detail Pages

Generate individual pages for each collection item automatically, using a uniform design applied across all pages.

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Individual pages for each item in your collection

Now, let’s explore seven essential tips to help you get started with Framer CMS.

7 Key Tips for Beginners

Start with a Clear Content Plan

Before diving in, decide what content your site will need. Will you feature team bios, blog posts, testimonials, or something else?

Mapping out your content ahead of time will help you organize your collections and fields effectively.

Use Reference Fields for Better Organization

Reference fields link one collection to another, making your CMS more powerful and efficient.

For example, instead of adding categories directly to a "Blog Posts" collection, create a separate "Categories" collection and reference it.

This approach keeps your CMS clean and easy to manage.

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Reference fields connect related CMS collections

Master Dynamic Binding

Dynamic binding connects elements in your design (like text, images, etc) to CMS fields.

For example, you can bind a text box to the "Title" field in your "Blog Posts" collection, and it will display the correct title for each post.

This ensures your pages dynamically update with the right content.

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Click on the plus icon, then set variable to bind the selected element to a CMS field

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The selected element is replaced with the content of the CMS field

Use Conditional Visibility

Control what appears on your site with conditional visibility. For example, you can make an image visible only if it’s uploaded for a specific item.

This keeps your design flexible and ensures your site looks professional, even if some CMS fields are left empty.

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Decide if an element shows on the page or not

Filter Your CMS Content

Filters allow you to decide which items from your CMS are displayed. For example, you can show only blog posts published after a certain date or testimonials with a specific tag. Combine multiple filters for even more precise control.

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Use filters to decide what items to show

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You can add multiple filters

Enable Pagination for Large Collections

If you’re displaying many CMS items, use pagination to improve performance and user experience.

Choose between "Infinite Scroll," where new items load as the user scrolls down, or a "Load More" button. Set how many items to display initially for better control.

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Choose between infinite scroll or a load more button

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Set the default number of items to show

Optimize for SEO with Dynamic Tags

In the settings for CMS pages, you can dynamically pull in CMS fields to customize the page title, description, and social preview image.

For example, use the {{Title}} field from your "Blog Posts" collection to generate unique titles for every blog post. This improves SEO and ensures your site ranks better on search engines.

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Plain text values from your CMS can be used for the page title and description

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CMS image fields can be used for social preview

Conclusion

Framer CMS makes it easy to create dynamic, content-driven websites. By following these seven tips, you’ll be able to build and manage your site efficiently while keeping it professional and scalable.

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