Start with the CMS, not the homepage
Before I design a single Webflow page, I map the content into collections. It changes the design, the build and the handover, and it saves a week of rework.
On every Webflow project, the first thing I share with the client isn't a moodboard or a homepage. It's a short document that lists the collections, their fields and what each one feeds on the site. It's the least glamorous file I make, and it saves more time than anything else I do.
Content decides the layout
Designing the homepage first means designing for the best possible content: the perfect project title, the photo that happens to crop well, exactly three items in a row. Real content is never like that. When I know a project title can run to sixty characters and that some projects have no video, the cards are designed for that from day one instead of being patched in week three.
It also changes the conversation with the client. A list of collections is something everyone can read, including the people who never open a design file. It's the moment someone says "we also publish case studies, by the way", and it's far cheaper to hear that before the homepage exists than after it has been approved.
The questions I ask first
- What repeats, and how often will someone add a new one?
- Does each item need its own page, or does it only appear in a list?
- Which fields are required, and what happens on the page when one is empty?
- Who writes the content, and what will they see in the editor?
The last question matters most. A field called "Text 2" will be filled with the wrong thing. A field called "Summary" with help text that says "One or two sentences, shown on the card and in search results" usually won't.
A good CMS schema is a list of promises to the person who updates the site after launch.
Fewer fields, clearer pages
My first drafts always have too many fields. The second pass removes anything that only exists because of one sample item, merges fields that are always shown together and turns long free-text fields into a fixed structure where the page needs one. When the Journey template went from fourteen fields per project to nine, the template pages got simpler and the editor stopped needing a manual.
Only then do I open the Designer. By that point the homepage almost designs itself, because I already know what it has to hold.
