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ButterCMS offers three main content types: Pages, Collections, and Blog Engine. Choosing the right one for your needs is crucial for building a scalable, maintainable content model.

ButterCMS content types

Click on any of the cards below to dive into that content type in depth.

Pages

Think: Building BlocksBest for: Unique layouts and flexible content structuresExamples: Landing pages, product pages, case studies

Collections

Think: A shared spreadsheetBest for: Reusable structured dataExamples: Categories, team members, FAQs, testimonials

Blog Engine

Think: Just write and publishBest for: Chronological content with built-in featuresExamples: Blog posts, news articles, updates

Mapping a website to ButterCMS

Three content types

From design to CMS

Use this mental model to map a Figma (or other design) layout into ButterCMS content types:
  • Page sections become Page components (hero, features, CTA, etc.).
  • Repeatable grids become Collections (testimonials, team members, FAQs).
  • Blog lists map to Blog Posts (authors, categories, tags).
  • Pages + Collections combine when a page layout pulls reusable data.
Mapping a website design to ButterCMS content types

Pages

ButterCMS’s Page content type provides an easy and flexible way to manage and display complex data. Pages can break up text and images with CTAs, image galleries, forms, and other interactive content to engage with your end users.

When to use Pages

Create dynamic landing pages with customizable sections, hero images, feature lists, and call-to-action buttons.
Build product detail pages with specifications, images, reviews, and related products.
Create company information pages with team member bios, company history, and mission statements.
When you need more flexibility than the built-in blog engine, Pages with Components offer unlimited customization.

Key features of Pages

Pages deep dive
FeatureDescription
Page TypesDefine custom schemas with specific fields for different page categories
ComponentsAdd reusable content blocks that can be mixed and matched
Component PickerAllow editors to choose from multiple components and reorder them
ReferencesLink to Collections or other Pages for related content
LocalizationCreate content in multiple languages
SchedulingSchedule pages to publish at specific dates and times

Collections

Collections are tables of data to be referenced by Pages, extending the use cases that you can achieve with ButterCMS. Collections can also be queried from the API directly.

When to use Collections

Use Collections as filterable properties for your Pages. The simplest example would be to add Categories to your Pages.
Store reusable content like customer testimonials, team members, or featured products that can be referenced by multiple pages.
Collections Dashboard Example

Collection examples

Collection TypeFieldsUse Case
CategoriesName, SlugOrganize pages or products
TestimonialsName, Quote, Photo, TitleDisplay on marketing pages
Team MembersName, Role, Bio, HeadshotAbout/Team pages
FAQ ItemsQuestion, AnswerHelp center or product pages
LocationsCity, Address, Hours, MapStore locator pages
Collections deep dive

Blog Posts

The Blog Engine is ButterCMS’s built-in solution for managing blog content. It comes pre-configured with everything you need to run a blog.

Built-in blog features

  • Authors - Manage author profiles with name, bio, and photo
  • Categories - Organize posts into categories
  • Tags - Add multiple tags for fine-grained organization
  • Featured Images - Each post can have a featured/hero image
  • SEO Fields - Meta title and description for search optimization
  • Rich Text Editor - Full WYSIWYG editor for post content

When to use Blog Posts

For traditional blog posts with text content, images, and standard metadata like author, date, and categories.
Company news, product updates, and announcements that follow a consistent format.
When you need to publish content quickly without setting up custom schemas.
Blog Posts vs. Custom Pages: If you need highly customized layouts with multiple components, consider using Pages with a Component Picker instead of the Blog Engine.

Modeling content: making decisions

Choosing the right content type

How to figure out which content type is best for your use case, including a feature comparison matrix and example cases.

Content modeling best practices

General principles and best practices for designing a robust and scalable content model in ButterCMS.

Explore field types

Field types overview

Understand the different field types offered by ButterCMS, including what kinds of data they allow, what content types they can be used with, and some basic use cases.