The short verdict
- On generated sites, content usually lives inside the code, not in a database.
- Plan the collections first, then extract, clean and import.
- The clean-up is most of the work, and most of the value.
01Where the content lives now
On a typical generated site, a blog post is a component file with the text written straight into it. Case studies are an array of objects in a data file. Team members are hard-coded cards. Adding a new post means asking the tool for a new page, or editing code.
A CMS turns those into structured items: each post is an entry with a title, a date, an author, an image and a body, and one template shows them all.
02Step 1: design the collections
Before moving anything, decide what types of content you have and what fields each needs. A typical small marketing site has three to five collections.
| Collection | Typical fields |
|---|---|
| Blog posts | Title, slug, date, author, category, summary, image, body, SEO title, SEO description |
| Case studies | Client, industry, result headline, images, body, related service |
| Team | Name, role, photo, short bio, order |
| Categories | Name, slug, description |
Use references between collections where things link: a post refers to an author, a case study refers to a service. That way, changing a name in one place updates it everywhere.
03Step 2: extract
For a handful of items, copying by hand is fastest and catches errors. For dozens, we extract from the code or the rendered pages with a script into a spreadsheet, one row per item and one column per field. Either way, the target is a CSV that matches the collection fields.
04Step 3: clean
This is where most of the time goes, and where most of the improvement happens.
- Remove filler. Generated sites often include sample posts or invented case studies. They do not come across.
- Fix formatting. Headings in the right order, no styled divs pretending to be headings, lists as real lists.
- Gather images. Download originals, compress them, name the files sensibly and write alt text.
- Write the summaries. Cards and search results need a short summary that most generated posts never had.
- Keep the slugs. Use the same URL slugs where the old pages were indexed, or plan redirects.
05Step 4: import and check
Webflow can import CSV files into a collection, mapping columns to fields. Rich text bodies and images usually need care: we test with five items, check the template, then import the rest. After import, we open every item, not a sample. Problems in item 37 are easy to miss otherwise.
“A migration is the one time someone reads every piece of content. Use it.”
06After the move
Once content is in the CMS, adding a post is a form: fill in the fields, upload an image, publish. No prompts, no code. That is usually the moment teams start publishing more, which is the real reason to do this.
07Questions people ask
How much content can Webflow CMS hold?
It depends on the site plan, which sets the number of CMS items. Check Webflow’s current plan limits against your content count, with room to grow.
Do I need a CMS for five blog posts?
If you plan to write more, yes. Setting it up for five is quick, and the sixth post becomes easy.
Will my old blog URLs still work?
If slugs stay the same and the folder matches, yes. If they change, 301 redirects send visitors and search engines to the new address.
Can you move our content for us?
Yes, it is part of a Webflow move. Send us the link and we will tell you how much there is to move.
