Know your limits.
In Webflow's CMS, your limits include;
- 20 total collections ( CMS plan ), or 40 ( Business plan )
- 2,000 total item ( CMS plan ), or 10,000+ ( Business plan )
- 5 Reference fields per collection, including single and multi-refs combined ( 10 for higher plans )
- Multi-ref fields are fixed in ordering
- Refs and multi-refs are one-way. You cannot query them from the other end of the reference.
In the Webflow designer your limits include;
- 20 Collection Lists per page
- 100 items per list, before pagination is needed
Nested Collection lists are supported, however they;
- Are limited to 5 items
- Cannot be filtered or sorted ( verify this )
Pricing
Mid-2024, Webflow introduced the ability to increase certain CMS limits on the Business plan, at an added cost.
- 10k items ( base Business plan ) - $49/mo*
- 15k items - $86/mo*
- 20k items - $124/mo*
* Prices are monthly, Webflow has a discount for annual plans.
Design for those limits.
If you don't design for these limits, you'll almost certainly hit them, hard.
Like a kid running full speed into a wall, you'll suddenly be laying there dazed, wondering what happened, why the world is upside-down, and why you're wearing your ice cream.
For me, it was coffee.
Most people encounter these limits completely unprepared.
The truth is, those limits really aren't a problem in good site design at all. You just have to be aware of them, and how to design with them in mind- the same way an architect needs a basic grasp of gravity and local weather, in order to build a decent home.
If you have hit these limits and it's frustrating your design, you probably want to rethink your design.
