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Your Webflow CMS is Powerful. Is It Easy to Use? A Guide to Live Filtering and Search

The Webflow CMS is a game-changer, allowing you to build massive, dynamic collections of portfolio pieces, blog posts, real estate listings, or team members. But as your collection grows, you introduce a new problem for your users: finding what they're looking for becomes a chore. Endless scrolling is a bad user experience and can cause visitors to leave your site in frustration.

The solution is to transform your static list into a dynamic, app-like experience with live filtering and search. Imagine allowing your users to instantly filter your portfolio by "Brand Identity" or "UX Design," or to type in a search bar and see results appear in real-time, all without the page ever reloading.

This is the hallmark of a professional, high-end website, and it's easier to achieve than you might think. This guide will walk you through the process of adding Webflow dynamic filtering to your CMS collection using the industry-standard free tool: Finsweet's Client-First Attributes.

Before You Begin: The One Tool You Need

This entire tutorial is powered by a free, powerful library called Finsweet's Client-First Attributes. It's a collection of simple text attributes that you add to your Webflow elements to give them superpowers. There are no complicated plugins to install.

Step 1: Add the Finsweet Script to Your Site

First, we need to add the "brain" of the filtering system to your website.

In your Webflow project, go to Site Settings.
Click on the Custom Code tab.
Find the Head Code section (the first box).
Copy the official Finsweet script below and paste it into this box.

Click Save Changes and publish your site. The script is now active.

Step 2: Set Up the Core Structure in Webflow

Now, we need to structure our page correctly. This involves three key elements with specific attributes.

The Wrapper: This is a div block that will contain everything—your filter controls and your collection list. Select this div and add the following custom attribute:
- Name: fs-cmsfilter-element
- Value: list
The Collection List: This is your standard Webflow Collection List element that you drag onto the page. You don't need to add any special attributes to the list itself.
The Empty State: This is a div block that you place inside the Wrapper but outside the Collection List. This is what Webflow will show if no filter results are found. Add the following attribute to it:
- Name: fs-cmsfilter-element
- Value: empty

Your basic structure in the Navigator should look like this: Wrapper > Filter Controls > Collection List > Empty State.

Step 3: Build Your Filter Controls

This is where you create the buttons and search bar your users will interact with. Place these elements inside your Wrapper but above your Collection List.

For Filter Buttons (e.g., Filtering by Category):

Create your filter buttons (you can use Buttons or Link Blocks). For example, "Brand Identity," "Web Design," "All."
Select a button. Add the following two attributes:
- Attribute 1 Name: fs-cmsfilter-element
- Attribute 1 Value: filter
- Attribute 2 Name: fs-cmsfilter-field
- Attribute 2 Value: category (Use the lowercase "slug" of the CMS field you want to filter by).
Now, in the Element Settings for that button, set the Text to be the exact value you want to filter for (e.g., "Brand Identity").
To create a "Show All" button, simply give it the first attribute (fs-cmsfilter-element="filter") but not the second one.

For a Live Search Bar:

Add a standard Form Block. Delete the extra fields, leaving only the Text Field (your search input).
Select the Text Field element. Add the following attribute:
- Name: fs-cmsfilter-element
- Value: search
By default, the search will look through all your CMS fields. To make it more efficient, you can tell it which specific fields to search. In the Project Settings > Custom Code > Footer Code, add the following script, changing the field slugs to your own:

Step 4: Connect Your Collection Items

The final step is to tell the filter which data to read from inside your collection items.

Select your Collection Item (the main div that repeats for each item).
Inside this item, you must have a text element that is bound to the CMS field you want to filter by (e.g., a text block connected to your "Category" field).
Select that specific text block and add the following attribute:
- Name: fs-cmsfilter-field
- Value: category (Again, use the field slug).

Important: This text block must exist for the filter to read the data, but it does not need to be visible. You can hide it by setting display: none in the Style Panel if you don't want it to show in your design.

Conclusion: From a List to an Application

By implementing a Webflow CMS filter, you have transformed a simple page into a sophisticated, user-friendly application. This level of dynamic interaction is what separates a basic template site from a high-performance, custom-built web experience.

While Finsweet makes this process accessible, creating a complex, multi-filter system can be challenging. If you're looking for an expert in custom Webflow development to build a high-performance website with advanced functionality, you're in the right place.

For a free, no-pressure consultation on your Webflow project, call me directly at (608) 888-3735.