How do I add an option field in Webflow?

Use an option field for a fixed list

An option field stores one value from a list you define in advance. Each Collection item can select one of those values. It is a fit for a set that should stay still: a project status, a shirt size, a department, or a short list of categories when you do not need a page for each category.

It is a poor fit when the list will keep growing, when each choice needs its own image or text, or when the same choices must appear in more than one Collection. Those cases belong in a reference field. The reference field guide covers that link to another Collection.

A yes or no flag is a different field. Featured, or Hidden, belongs on a switch. The switch field guide is that two-value control. An option field is for labels, not for a single on or off.

Add the field and write the allowed values

Open the CMS panel, hover the Collection, and click the Settings icon. Click Add New Field and choose Option. Name and Slug already exist on every Collection. Option is an extra field.

Give the field a label people will understand in the item editor, such as Status. Help text is optional and clarifies what the field is for when the name alone is vague. You can mark the field required when every item should have a choice. Webflow lets you set Help text and required on a field while you add it.

Enter the values that should appear in the list. You can add up to 100 options on one field, and each option can be up to 256 characters. Keep them short, and use the same capitalization for every value. In progress, Complete, and Archived is a clear status list. Mixing 'Complete' and 'complete' treats them as different choices.

Example: a Projects collection gets a Status option with those three values. On each project you pick one. An editor cannot type a fourth status into the item. Only the values on the field are available.

Changing the Collection's fields needs a full site publish before the live site reflects the new schema.

Renaming a value changes items that already use it

The option text is stored on the items that selected it. Rename Complete to Done and every item that had Complete now has Done. Webflow also notes that a rename can affect filters, styles, and conditional visibility that were built on the old text. Change the label only when you mean to change those items, then check any list that filters on that field and any element that shows or hides from it.

The values belong to this Collection only. Another Collection cannot reuse the same option list. If blog posts and projects should share one set of categories, build a Categories collection and reference it, instead of typing the same options twice.

Collaborators cannot add a new option. They select from the list the designer saved. If a marketing editor should be able to create a new category without a Designer change, an option field will block them. A reference field lets them add a category item, within the CMS access they already have.

You also cannot attach extra information to an option. A status cannot carry its own color or description inside the option field. A reference can, because the referenced item has its own fields.

Show or hide something from the selected value

On a Collection list or a Collection page, a conditional can use the option field. Webflow's example is an Ingredients section that shows only when a Category option equals Recipe. Select the element, open Element settings, use the purple dot, and create a conditional. Choose the option field, set the rule, and set what happens when it matches and when it does not. The conditional visibility guide walks through that control.

A conditional shows or hides an element. It does not remove the Collection item from a list. If projects with Archived should disappear from the list entirely, use a filter on the Collection list instead. The filter guide is that other control.

You can select only one option. If a project needs several tags, a multi-reference field stores several items. An option field will not.

Keep the list stable on purpose

Write the values before the Collection has many items, and avoid renaming them during a campaign. A status list of three words is easier to filter than a list that gains a new spelling every month.

If each option later needs its own page, its own image, or its own paragraph, replace the option with a reference. Do that before many items depend on the old text. Export or otherwise note the current values first if an integration reads this field, because a schema change can affect a connected app.

When the list is agreed, send the field label and the exact option names in writing, plus which items should use each one. I can add the field from that note. The membership is one plan for every existing Webflow site: $999 per month, including 10 hours of Webflow work. Additional work is $75 per hour, and a written estimate is approved before that extra work starts.