We've been building with Webflow for a long time (going on 11 years!). Over our time working with the brand, working on the platform, and introducing more than 700 brands to it, we’ve found that there's a difference between learning a platform and using it. 

When our clients are deep in it, trying to update something or build a new page, or when we’re onboarding new team members, what everyone really needs is a good reference shelf: a handful of great links they can come back to when they’re stuck or trying to remember how something works.

This is that shelf. Nine resources that cover the foundational concepts in Webflow in an order that builds in complexity. Not everything you could ever need to know, but the things that come up most often when you're building or maintaining a site. 

Enjoy, and happy creating.

Start Here: The Foundation

Webflow Glossary

Delightfully, Webflow has its own vocabulary. If you don't know what a Collection is versus a Collection List, or why people keep mentioning the Designer, things can get confusing fast. Bookmark this and come back to it when you hit a term you don't recognize.

CMS Introduction

Once you understand the basic terminology, you need to understand how Webflow handles content. The CMS is what turns a static site into something dynamic and scalable. This intro covers what you need to know if you're building anything beyond basic pages.

The Building Blocks

Essential Elements
This might feel a little basic if you've worked with HTML before, but Webflow's visual interface means you’ll need to know what it calls things. This overview maps the HTML building blocks to what you'll actually see in the Designer.

Style Labels Overview
Style labels are Webflow's version of CSS classes, and understanding how they work is fundamental to keeping your site maintainable. This is about understanding how Webflow lets you work with styles visually.

Systems and Efficiency

Style Systems
Style systems are how you create consistency and make future updates manageable. We use these on every build, which means understanding how they work helps you maintain what we've built together.

Variables
Variables are pre-defined CSS properties that work with style systems. They let you change things like brand colors in one place and see them update across the entire site. They can be used on their own, but they work best as part of a larger system. Learn more about them here.

Components

Introduction to Components
Components are reusable elements that can be dropped anywhere and updated everywhere. If style systems are about consistency, components are about efficiency. We use them a lot, and the optionality they create is one of the biggest reasons our clients love Webflow.

Component Properties
Once you understand components, you need to understand properties: the customizable parts that make each instance unique while keeping the core structure the same.

Component Slots
Finally, Slots are where components become extra useful. They're containers that let you swap in different content while maintaining the component's structure. Great for large sites and creating consistency.

Why These Resources?

Well, we could have listed fifty resources. We didn't because you don't need fifty; you need the right ones, in a helpful order. So, these nine resources cover the concepts that come up most often when you're working on a Webflow site.

Will you eventually need to know more? Yeah, probably. Will you occasionally need to Google something specific? Oh, yeah. But if you start here and understand these foundations, you'll be able to figure out the rest as you need it.

Part of our POV at Edgar Allan is that we want to shorten the gap between idea and execution, from wanting to update something to actually being able to do it. These resources are a great way to start strong and launch brilliantly.

Read more from the Edgar Allan Blog.