What are Collections

Collections in Pixelesq are a set of content items that share the same structure and design. It's a way to manage and generate many pages of the same type from a single template. Collections are ideal for content like blog posts, case studies, team profiles, or service pages – any group of pages that have a similar layout but different content.

Collection Structure and Schema

Each collection defines a schema (a set of fields) that every item in the collection will have. For example, a "Blog Posts" collection might have fields like Title, Author, Date, Featured Image, and Body Text. Each individual entry (called a collection item) is like a record that fills in those fields (e.g., one item's Title is "Our Company Launch", another's Title is "Year-In-Review Insights"). All items in the collection use the same fields, ensuring consistency in how content is structured.

Collection Templates

What makes collections powerful is that they come with a collection template – a design layout that applies to every item's page. You design the template once (using the visual editor), and the platform automatically generates a page for each item using that design. This means you don't have to design each blog post or product page one by one. Instead, you create the template and then just add content items, while seeing a live preview of the page in the editor. Pixelesq will create a page for each item automatically.

Key Benefits

In summary, a collection acts like a content database inside your site. It lets you:

• Structure content consistently: All items have the same fields, so you maintain uniform content structure.

• Design once, use many times: One template controls the design of all item pages, so changes to the template update every page in the collection.

• Easily add or update pages: Creating a new page is as simple as adding a new item (no need to copy designs or duplicate pages manually).

Collections vs Pages

Pages

A page in Pixelesq is a standalone webpage with its own content and design. You create pages individually and design each one in the visual editor. Examples include a Home page, About Us page, or any landing page. Pages are ideal for unique content that doesn't repeat in structure.

When to Use What

• Use a Page for one-off content or unique layouts.

• Use a Collection when you have multiple items of the same type and want to manage them uniformly.

Real-World Example

Imagine you have a "Services" collection where each item is a service offering. You'd design the Services collection template with placeholders for fields like Service Name, Description, and an Image. Pixelesq will then create a page for each service item, all following that layout. If you later change the design (say, move the image above the text), that update reflects on every service page because they all use the template. If you had built each service as a separate page instead, you would have to edit each page one by one to make the same change.