The marketers ultimate guide to managing a Webflow website

As a marketer or startup founder, you live in a world of tight deadlines and ambitious goals. You need to launch campaigns, publish content, and update messaging on the fly. The last thing you want is to be stuck in a queue, waiting for a developer to make a simple text change on your website.

What if you could take control, confidently making website updates yourself without ever touching a line of code?

That’s the power of Webflow. You don’t need to be a Webflow developer to do this. The platform is designed to be incredibly intuitive for content creators.

When built in the right way, a Webflow website is extremely easy for clients to manage. This guide is your key to unlocking that potential.

1. Setting the right Webflow User Roles

2. Your Workspace: Build Mode vs Design Mode

First, let’s clarify where you’ll be working. When we hand over a Webflow website, you’ll have access to a few different environments, depending on the user role assigned to you. If you are a Site Manager then the two main ones you’ll have access to are the Design and Build Mode.

Design Mode: Think of this as the architect’s and builder’s workshop. It’s where developers like us assemble the entire structure of the website, from the layout and styling to complex interactions. It’s powerful, complex, and not a place you need to worry about.

Build Mode: This is your command centre. Build Mode is a visual, intuitive environment designed specifically for content managers and marketers. It’s made to feel as easy as editing a Word document, not like using complex software. It gives you the power to edit content, swap images, create new pages from pre-built components (page sections), and manage your blog, all without the risk of accidentally breaking the site’s design. This is where you’ll spend 99% of your time.

3. The Building Blocks: What is a Component?

Imagine you’re building with LEGOs. You have standard bricks that you use over and over again. In Webflow, those bricks are called Components.

A Component is a pre-designed, reusable section of your website. Common examples include:

• The navigation bar and footer
• Call-to-action (CTA) blocks
• Testimonial carousels
• Contact forms
• Feature sections with icons and text

When we build your site, we create a library of these custom components. The magic is that you can edit a component’s content without changing it’s layout or design. This ensures brand consistency and saves an enormous amount of time.

4. The Blueprint: What is a Page Template?

If components are the LEGO bricks, a Page Template is the instruction manual for building a specific model. It’s a pre-arranged layout for a specific type of page. It could be a page template for service pages, landing pages or other website pages.

When you need to create a new page, you don’t have to start with a blank screen. You simply choose which components you don’t want, edit any content you want changed and move components into the order you want them in.

It’s a rapid way of constructing a page without being a developer. Plus, doing it this way ensures you are always on-brand and the pages you create remain consistent with the intended design of your website.

Keep reading! We’ll show you how to build pages in point #6.

5. Let's Get Practical: Editing in Build Mode

This is where the fun begins. Editing content in Build Mode is as simple as clicking and typing. Seriously, it’s that straightforward. Once you’ve edited your first sentence, you’ll see just how intuitive it is. There’s no code, no complicated menus, just click and edit.

To Edit Text: Simply navigate to the page you want to change, hover over the text, click on it, and start typing. You’ll see the changes live.

To Change an Image: Click on an image, and a panel will appear on the right. You can click ‘Replace Image’ to upload a new one from your computer or choose one from the Asset Manager.

Here’s a great video that walks you through the basics of editing in Build Mode:

6. Creating New Pages Without a Developer

Need a new landing page for a campaign? Or a unique page to announce a new feature? You don’t need to call us. You have two powerful ways to do this yourself.

From a Page Template: As already mentioned, this is the fastest way. Go to the ‘Pages’ panel in Build Mode, create a new page, and select the template you want to use (e.g., ‘Landing Page Template’). It’s that simple.

Using Pre-existing Components: This is where you become a true website manager. You can start with a blank page and then access your site’s library of Components. From there, you can drag and drop sections in the order you want them … a hero section, followed by a features grid, then a testimonial slider, and finally a contact form. You can build a completely custom-looking page in minutes, knowing every piece is perfectly on-brand.

This video provides an excellent overview of building pages with components:

7. The Powerhouse: Understanding the Webflow CMS

So far, we’ve talked about editing content directly on pages. But what about content that’s repeated and structured, like blog posts, team members, or FAQs? That’s handled by the CMS (Content Management System).

In Build Mode, you can access the CMS via the CMS button in the top navigation panel. Inside, you’ll find your CMS Collections. A Collection is essentially a spreadsheet or database for a specific type of content. As the name suggests, it’s a collection of things. You might have Collections for:

• Blog Posts
• Case Studies
• Job Openings
• Team Members
• Services
• FAQs

The key difference is that content you edit on a static page (like the homepage) lives on that one page. Content you add to a CMS Collection can be automatically displayed across many pages. Adding your first blog post is a real ‘aha!’ moment. You’ll fill out a simple form including title, author, and your content. Webflow then handles all the complex work of publishing it beautifully on your site.

For example, when you add a new ‘Case Study’ to your CMS Collection, Webflow automatically creates a new page for it using the Case Study page template and adds a summary of it to your main Case Studies listing page. You enter the information once, and Webflow does the rest.

Check out this video for a clear explanation of using the Webflow CMS:

8. An Even Simpler View: What is Editor Mode?

Webflow also offers a more streamlined experience called Editor Mode. It’s a simplified version of Build Mode, designed for team members or clients who only need to change text and images.

They can’t access Build Mode’s more advanced features like creating pages or adding components. It’s a completely foolproof way to allow your wider team to contribute content without any risk.

9. Don't Forget SEO: Managing Your On-Page Essentials

As a marketer, you know how crucial SEO is. Webflow makes managing the technical basics incredibly straightforward. In the ‘Pages’ panel in Build Mode, you can select any page and go to its settings.

Here you can easily edit:

• Title Tag: The main title that appears in the browser tab and on search engine results pages.
• Meta Description: The short summary that appears under your title on Google.
• Open Graph Settings: Control how your page looks when shared on social media.

Furthermore, in the main Project Settings, you have a dedicated ‘Hosting’ tab where you can manage 301 Redirects. This is vital for telling search engines that a page has moved, ensuring you don’t lose valuable SEO equity when you change a URL. No developer ticket is required; you can add and manage redirects yourself in seconds.

You’re in Control!

Webflow is designed to bridge the gap between powerful design and marketing agility. It empowers you, the marketer, to own your website and execute your strategy without friction. You don’t need to be a developer to wield this power.

While we at Launch Lab are always here to support you with strategy and new features, our goal is to give you the keys to your new digital home. We want you to feel confident walking in, rearranging the furniture, and hanging new pictures on the wall whenever you like. After your first few edits, you’ll wonder how you ever worked any other way.

Launch Lab's 'How To' Guide but with even more Guidance

• Edit static page content
• Create new pages from page templates
• Add, and edit, blog posts
• How to track form submissions
• How to manage SEO settings like 301 redirects, meta descritions, schema and page titles.