CMS: Adding a Field to a Collection

In this article

Adding new fields to your CMS collection
FAQs

Add more fields to your CMS (Content Management System) collection to store additional information about the collection items. Choose from a wide range of field types, then give the field a name and a helpful tooltip that appears only in your collection.

Adding new fields to your CMS collection

When adding a new field to your collection, choose the field that best fits the type of content you want to store (e.g. text, image, date, address). Learn more about the various types of content you can store in each field type.

Note:

If anyone can view your collection, a warning appears when you encrypt a field. Learn more about storing PII data.

To add a field to your CMS collection:

Go to CMS in your site's dashboard. Alternatively, you can click the CMS icon in your editor, then click Your Collections.
Click the relevant collection.
Click Manage Fields.

A screenshot showing a collection in the Content Manager, highlighting the Manage Fields button.

Click + Add Field.
Choose the type of field you want to add and click Choose Field Type.

Screenshot of the essential CMS collection fields.

Enter the Field name.
(Velo only) If necessary, update the Field ID, which is used in the site's code. You cannot update this ID later.
(Optional) Enter help text to include a tooltip in your collection next to the field name.
('Text', 'Address', and 'Email' fields only) Enable the Encrypt this field content as Personally Identifiable Information toggle to encrypt sensitive information (e.g. social security and passport numbers). Encryption is on by default for new 'Email' fields.
Click Save.

Next, learn how to:

Add field validations to make the field a mandatory 'required' field.
Add default values that get added to the field automatically when you add a new item. You can replace the default values with your own content when needed.

FAQs

Click below for answers to our most frequently asked questions about adding fields.

What content can I store in each field type?

The field type you choose determines what kind of content you can store in the field. Choose from the following CMS field types:

Essentials:
- Text: Store plain text for use with titles, descriptions, and other text-based content.
- Rich Text: Create and manage text using formatting options, directly in your CMS.
- Rich Content: Create and manage content with rich text formatting, media embeds, and other advanced features directly in your CMS.
- URL: Store web addresses for use with creating hyperlinks and navigational links. You can use the following formats only: http://, https://, ftp://, mailto:, sms:, tel:
  Note: Web addresses must be in the format http:// or https://. Entries that start with www. are automatically converted to http://.
- Email: Store email addresses. This field ensures the address is in a valid format so links work correctly. You can connect it to buttons to allow visitors to send emails with one click.
- Number: Store numerical data for various purposes (e.g. quantity, price, dimensions).
- Boolean: Store binary "true" or "false" values that appear as checkboxes in the collection fields.
- Color: Save HEX numbers that represent colors. You can use the colors in connected text elements, buttons, and section backgrounds.
Organization & Reference:
- Reference: Create a relationship between content items by referencing another content item.
- Multi-Reference: Create many relationships between content items by referencing multiple other content items. Those references can also be linked to multiple sources.
- Tags: Manage and categorize content items using keywords or descriptive labels.
- Category: Assign items to categories for organizing and filtering content. Categories are managed in category collections and create automatic two-way connections. When you add a 'Category' field, Wix automatically creates an 'Assigned Items' field in the connected category collection and a hidden 'Primary Category' field in your items collection. Learn more about using category collections.
Media:
- Image: Store image files such as JPG, PNG, and GIF file types.
  Tip: You can add images to fields by pasting their image URLs in the fields.
- Media Gallery: Store multiple images or videos in each field.
- Video: Store single video files for each item using file types such as AVI, MPEG, MOV and more.
- Audio: Store single audio files for each item using file types such as MP3, WAV, FLAC, and more.
- Document: Store single document files for each item such as PDFs, CSVs, and more. Tip: You can add documents to fields by pasting their document URLs in the fields.
- Multiple documents: Store multiple document files for each item. You can also add multiple documents to fields by pasting their URLs in the fields.
- Digital asset: Store one secured file per item for delivery to customers after purchase. Only available in catalog collections, where it can be mapped as the digital file for sale. Learn more about the 'Digital asset' field type.
Time and location:
- Date: Store date values associated with content items.
  Note: The Include time field checkbox has been replaced by the 'Date and Time' field type. If you previously enabled Include time field for a 'Date' field, it was automatically converted to 'Date and Time'. No action is needed, and your existing data was kept.
- Date and Time: Store both date and exact time values associated with content items.
- Time: Store time information for associated items independently of the date.
- Address: Store structured data for physical addresses such as street names, city, state or province, postal code, and country.
Javascript (Velo code):
- Object: Manage complex and structured data using custom objects or data structures. You can use the object field type to store and organize multiple related pieces of data as a single unit.
- Array: Input and manage multiple values within a single field. You can use the array field type to handle a collection of related data, such as a list of options, tags, or other sets of related values.

Learn more about supported field types and their limitations.

Can I make mandatory 'required' fields?

Can I add default values that automatically populate when new items are added?

Can I organize collection items by category?

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