Can I design a site in Webflow with placeholder copy that clients can edit in while the site is still in development, and then revert back to static elements once all content is finalized and publish it as a normal website without incurring CMS costs?
TL;DR
- Design with static elements and placeholder text, share a staging URL for client edits.
- Use CMS Collection temporarily for client text edits.
- Convert finalized CMS content to static before publishing.
- Publish as a static site with no active CMS collections to avoid ongoing costs.
Yes, you can design a site in Webflow with placeholder text that clients can edit during development. Here's how you can achieve this while avoiding the ongoing CMS costs after publishing.
1. Use a Draft Site for Client Edits
- Design your site using static elements and placeholder copy to layout your design structure.
- Share a staging URL with your client to allow them to see and suggest edits to the content while the site is still in draft mode.
2. Utilize CMS Collection for Editing
- Temporarily convert the editable areas to a CMS Collection during development.
- Enable the client to have access to the CMS collection to make changes to the text.
3. Convert CMS Content to Static Elements
- Once the client finalizes the content, remove the CMS collections and replace the dynamic content fields with the finalized static content.
- Perform this by using the Copy-Paste feature in Webflow to easily copy the finalized text from CMS fields back into the static design elements.
4. Publish as a Static Site
- Re-publish the site without any active CMS collections to ensure it's a static site.
- After ensuring the removal of CMS collections, there will be no ongoing CMS hosting costs.
Summary
You can use Webflow to have clients edit placeholder text using CMS collections during development, and later convert these elements back to static without incurring CMS costs. Ensure all dynamic collections are converted back to static content before finalizing the site for publishing.
