Can I add a field on a Webflow CMS collection that references the user who created it, in order to create a user-specific dashboard for each logged in user?
- Webflow CMS lacks native support for tracking which logged-in user created a CMS item.
- Use tools like Memberstack or Wized with Zapier/Make and Airtable to capture and associate user IDs with submissions, or manually link users with a Reference field if dealing with few known users.
You cannot natively add a "Created by" reference in a Webflow CMS Collection to track which user created a CMS item. Webflow CMS does not currently support user-authored relationships or native multi-user accounts for form submissions or item creation.
1. Webflow CMS Limitations
- Webflow CMS Collections do not have a system to automatically capture or relate the logged-in user who created an item.
- CMS Items can only include manually added Reference or Multi-reference fields—you can't dynamically attach a user from a login session.
- CMS access is tied to Editor or Designer roles, not site users. So users cannot create items through native Webflow login.
2. Workaround Using Memberstack or Wized + Airtable
If you're using a tool like Memberstack, Wized, or Outseta to handle user authentication, you can create a workaround:
- Use Memberstack to create user login and IDs.
- Use a form + automation (e.g., Make.com or Zapier) where:
- The user submits a form.
- Their Memberstack User ID or email is passed as a hidden field.
- The form data is sent to Airtable (or similar CMS) where the item is stored with the user ID.
- On your dashboard page, you use a tool like Wized or Jetboost connected to Airtable to filter items based on the logged-in user's ID.
3. Manual Reference Field (If Few Users)
If you're managing a small number of known users and CMS items are created manually (not submitted by users from the front end):
- Create a Users Collection.
- In your content Collections (e.g., Posts), add a Reference field (e.g., "Created by") linking to a user.
- Manually select the user when creating each item.
- On the user dashboard page, use a filtered Collection List to show items where “Created by = Current Logged-In User” (requires integration via Memberstack + custom filtering).
Summary
Webflow does not offer native support for tracking CMS authorship by logged-in users. To create user-specific dashboards, you need an integration layer like Memberstack + Zapier + Airtable or a CMS proxy like Wized to manage dynamic user-generated content.