Sub pages solution?

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Question:
Hi there! I would like to create a site that is an encyclopedia of sorts. So, I would like the structure to be domain.com/plant/apple/honeycrisp, domain.com/plant/apple/fuji, domain.com/animal/dog/poodle, etc. Since there will be such a large number of things, I thought dynamic pages are the only thing that makes sense.

I found this link and tried to follow these instructions. CMS: Creating Dynamic Pages that List Items by Category | Help Center | Wix.com

I successfully created the URL structure by following the directions here (see first screenshot), but I can’t get the page to actually look the way I want and function as an item page. It should look something like this (see second screenshot).

(The circles below are so users can click to browse between the different types of Apple, i.e. go between Honeycrisp domain.com/plant/apple/honeycrisp, Fuji domain.com/plant/apple/fuji) etc

Thank you so much!! :smiley:

Austin

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bumping now! thanks! :slight_smile:

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To create a structured, encyclopedia-style site with detailed and easily navigable pages, dynamic pages are an excellent solution. Start by organizing your content into a CMS collection with clear categories and subcategories, ensuring that each item is properly connected to its parent category. Use dynamic pages to generate the desired URL structure, such as domain.com/plant/apple/honeycrisp, and design your item pages to display relevant information dynamically. For smooth browsing between related items, you can enhance navigation by linking similar entries within the same category.

This approach provides a scalable and user-friendly way to build your encyclopedia. If you encounter any challenges or need guidance on implementation, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to help.

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Thanks for the reply Tech! As noted in my original post above with screenshots, I know that the solution you’re describing is probably the best way to do it. However, it’s not working as it should. When I tried to create subcategories with dynamic pages using this structure, it creates a page in the list format (first screenshot), not the item format (second screenshot) in which I can add as much custom CMS-linked content as I want.

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what are the issues that you are facing ?

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Actually, I think I got it!! Thank you so much! :smiley:

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Actually, I have a question: So, I can set up a CMS with the structure of

domain.com/plant/apple/honeycrisp

where “honeycrisp” is the title of the item.

But how do I create the pages that lead up to the final item? In other words, how do I create the item pages for domain.com/plant/apple, domain.com/plant/tomato, domain.com/plant/pumpkin. And then, the item pages for domain.com/plant, domain.com/animal, domain.com/fungi. And so on.

I am wondering about the best solution, because I would like to keep a simple URL structure of domain.com/type/species/variety, to make it easy for SEO and for the user to follow. However, I don’t know how to make this work with using dynamic pages, because I also want each “level” (i.e. domain.com/type, domain.com/type/species, domain.com/type/species/variety), to have its own distinct appearance and elements.

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The best way to structure your site is to think of each level—like “type,” “species,” and “variety”—as its own dynamic page, each linked to the data it represents. Start with broad categories, then nest subcategories and individual items beneath them. Use dynamic pages for flexibility, allowing each level to have a unique design and content that automatically adapts based on the URL. This keeps your site organized, makes navigation intuitive for users, and improves SEO by maintaining a clean, logical URL structure. Think of it as building a hierarchy where each level connects seamlessly to the next, all while staying visually distinct.

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Hi Tech, that’s exactly what I want to do—the problem is that if my original dynamic collection has the structure of domain.com/type, I cannot create another collection with the structure of domain.com/type/species, because it says that the slug of type is already in use. So that’s where I’m running into issues.

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I understand your concern if you want i can schedule a meeting to discuss all your problems and find all the best possible solutions to them

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Is it possible to explain here? That way other people could see it too :slight_smile:

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it requires discussion and various codes.

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This is very, very important for me. Please, others, if you think you know a solution, I would love to see you post it here! :smiley:

Tech_Voyager, I would be happy to discuss this with you in a meeting, as well.

1 Like
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You cannot use code to change the URL structure of a page.

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Are you using variables or plain text for your URL settings?

.com/plant/${category}
.com/plant/${category}/${title}

or

.com/plants/something
.com/plants/something/else

Can you provide a screenshot?

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Hi, codequeen! Thank you so much for replying!! :smiley:

So, here are a couple screenshots, one from inside the CMS and another from when you click the three dots in the outside menu and “SEO Basics”. I tried to set it up with variables.

Right now as you can see the structure is .com/every-me/species/type (in this example, .com/every-me/apple/honeycrisp). The first “every-me” part is meant to be the overall encyclopedia directory. Then, the “apple” part takes you to the main apple page. The “honeycrisp” part takes you to the specific type of apple, in this case, a honeycrisp.

Ideally, as mentioned, since the goal is to make an encyclopedia of life, the goal is to have a .com/every-me/plant/species/type structure…and .com/every-me/animal/species/type…and .com/fungus/species/type…etc. But my problem is each of the “parts” (the areas between the slashes) needs to have its own unique appearance, while maintaining the breadcrumb/URL structure.

There are other parts of my site that I have this same question about. For example, there is a “learn” component of my site, that functions as an online university where you can learn anything you want. So the structure would be: .com/learn/schools/math, .com/learn/schools/art, etc. But the /learn/ section would be the general homepage. The /schools/ part would be the entrance portal and info about all the schools. The /art/ last section would be the pages about the actual schools.

The same goes for the “live” component of the site (providing you the best things of a good life), with a URL structure of .com/live/eat/fruit, .com/live/eat/bread, .com/live/eat/dessert, .com/live/drink/water, .com/live/drink/juice, etc. And so on for the 4 other main components of the site—the “play,” “create,” “party,” “win” areas, with a similar URL structure as the above.

I don’t know how to do what I’m talking about because I need to maintain the URL/breadcrumb structure, while having a mix of static/dynamic pages that depending on the /section/ of the URL are different from each other.

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Screenshot 2024-12-12 at 11.58.01 PM
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You don’t need to mix regular and dynamic pages. They would all need to be dynamic in order to continue using the variables the way you are.

The elements within those pages would be filtered by the variables.

Look up dynamic category page vs dynamic item page.

You are getting those errors because you are most likely attempting to create regular pages with the existing URL pattern that you have already defined for your dynamic pages.