Do the URLs for inline images in articles on Webflow CMS persist when shutting down a site, or do they need to be migrated?
TL;DR
- Inline images in Webflow CMS Rich Text fields are hosted on Webflow's CDN and are removed when a site is unpublished or deleted.
- To preserve them, download the images while the site is live, rehost them externally, and update URLs in your content accordingly.
When you shut down a Webflow site, inline image URLs hosted by Webflow generally do not persist, so migration is required if you intend to preserve those images elsewhere.
1. How Webflow Stores Inline CMS Images
- Inline images added inside a Rich Text field (e.g., uploaded while editing a Rich Text block) are hosted on the Webflow CDN.
- These images have URLs like:
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/.... - The images are associated with the particular project's hosting and are not guaranteed to be permanently available once the project is unpublished or deleted.
2. What Happens When a Site Is Shut Down
- When you unpublish or delete a Webflow site:
- The Webflow CDN may eventually remove the assets, including inline images, especially if the project no longer exists or is inactive.
- Unlike static assets (e.g., images in the "Assets" panel), inline Rich Text images are not globally accessible and may not persist reliably.
3. How to Migrate and Preserve Inline Images
- Export your CMS content, either via:
- CMS Collection export to CSV (note: this excludes inline Rich Text images).
- Manual copy or you can use Webflow API or third-party tools to extract contents including image URLs.
- Download all inline images from their URLs while the site is still live.
- Upload and host the images elsewhere, such as:
- A new CMS (like WordPress, Ghost, etc.)
- A static asset service or cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3, Cloudinary).
- Update image URLs in your Rich Text or blog content accordingly in the new environment.
4. Permanent Image Hosting Strategies
- To avoid issues in the future:
- Upload important images to the Assets panel instead of embedding them directly into Rich Text fields.
- Use external image hosting services for critical content.
- Avoid assuming long-term persistence for any Webflow-hosted image after deactivating the site.
Summary
Inline image URLs in Webflow CMS do not persist reliably once the site is shut down. Migrate and rehost those images if you want to preserve them after unpublishing or deleting your Webflow project.