--- title: "Add and edit entries in a collection" url: "https://mycommunitysync.com/manage-cms-entries" community: "CommunitySync" description: "Create, edit, and publish the items in a collection — and understand why a published entry might still not be live." updated: "2026-07-22T15:53:31.851+00:00" --- # Add and edit entries in a collection *Website Content & Blog* A collection turns one reusable layout into many pages — every blog post, case study, or resource shares the same design, and each entry just fills in the words. This article covers adding an entry, editing its fields, and publishing it. If you're new to how collections work, start with [Collections overview](/cms-collections-overview). ## Who can do this The website builder — including the CMS — is edited by community **owners** and **admins** inside the orange platform panel. Community managers and agents cannot edit it, and there is no member-facing editor. ## Open the CMS 1. In the orange platform panel, go to **Website**, then open **CMS**. 2. Each collection template appears as its own card, showing the template name, how many entries it has, a category roster editor, a **New entry** button, and a list of entry rows. Each row carries a **Published** or **Draft** badge so you can see its status at a glance. ![A CMS collection card with its entries and status badges](https://iaktsmonietvbikzietg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-assets/kb/cms-01.png "Each collection is a card with its entry list, category roster, and Published/Draft badges.") ## Add a new entry 1. On the template card, click **New entry**. 2. Type a title for the entry. 3. Click **Create**. A form opens, auto-generated from the blocks in that template's layout. The new entry starts as a **Draft** — it won't appear on your site until you publish it (and meet the two other conditions in Troubleshooting below). ## Find your way around the editor An open entry is organized into four tabs, with one action bar above them — **Publish**, **Save draft**, **Preview**, and **Delete** apply to everything across all four: - **Write** — the entry's content fields (this section). - **Details** — the card metadata used when the entry is listed: category, summary, cover image, post date, and the byline author. - **TL;DR & FAQ** — a summary callout and FAQ for the entry, with AI drafting. See [Add a TL;DR and FAQ to a post](/post-tldr-and-faq). - **SEO** — the entry's search snippet and share preview. See [Set a post's search snippet and share preview](/post-seo-search-and-social). ## Edit the entry's content The **Write** tab mirrors the template's layout, one field per editable block. The template supplies a default value for every field; your entry inherits those defaults until you change them. 1. Edit any field to override the template's value for this one entry. Overridden fields are marked **edited**. 2. To go back to the template's value, clear the field — it re-inherits the default. 3. Use a block's **Shown** / **Hidden** toggle to include or drop that block for this entry only, without touching the template. A few things to know: - Text fields and structured lists can both be overridden per entry. A list (FAQ items, feature cards, gallery images) edits as a stack of item cards — add, remove, and reorder items, or use **Reset to template** to re-inherit the template's list. - Style options (such as layout and appearance dropdowns) live on the template, so they stay the same across every entry. - Changing the template's layout changes it for every entry that still inherits those values — that's the point of a collection. ## Set the entry's card details The **Details** tab holds the card metadata — the information used when the entry is listed alongside others (for example on a blog index): - **Category** dropdown — which category the entry belongs to. - **Summary** — the teaser line shown on the entry's card (it also becomes the entry's default search description). - **Cover image** — chosen through the image picker (also the default social share image). - **Post date** — the date shown on the entry; "Newest" sorting uses it. - **Author (byline)** — who the entry is credited to. The byline shows on the post and powers its author markup. Card details save with the rest of the entry — use **Save draft** or **Publish**. ![An open CMS entry showing the form and card details](https://iaktsmonietvbikzietg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-assets/kb/b2-cms-entry-form.png "An open entry: the action bar, the card details (category, summary, cover image, post date), and the auto-form with 'edited' overrides.") ## Save or publish One save covers the whole entry — content, card details, TL;DR & FAQ, and SEO together: - **Save draft** keeps your work without putting it live. - **Publish** takes the entry live — as long as the two conditions below are also met. To remove an entry, use its **Delete** control. Delete affects only that single entry; the template and all other entries are untouched. ## Blog posts A blog is just a collection with a blog-style layout. If you're setting up posts, see [Add a blog](/add-a-blog) for the full walkthrough — the entry mechanics on this page are exactly the same. ## Troubleshooting ### My entry is Published but not showing on the site Publishing the entry is only one of three things that must all be true before it appears live: 1. The **entry** is Published (the row shows a **Published** badge). 2. The **template's layout** is Published — open the template in the editor and use **Publish layout**. A brand-new template whose layout was never published won't render any of its entries, even published ones. 3. The **site** is Live. If your entry still isn't showing, the most common cause is the second one: the entry was published but the template's layout was never published. Publish the layout and check again. For taking the whole site live, see [Take your website live](/take-your-website-live). ### My field keeps showing the template's text instead of mine If a field snaps back to the template's value, it was cleared and re-inherited. Type your text into the field again — once it shows **edited**, your value is the one that will be used for this entry. ### I can't find where to edit a style option Style dropdowns (layout and appearance choices) aren't editable per entry — they're set on the template's layout in the editor, so every entry shares them. Text fields and lists, on the other hand, can be overridden entry by entry in the **Write** tab. ### Website Content & Blog - [Content collections explained (templates & entries)](https://mycommunitysync.com/cms-collections-overview.md) - [Add a blog to your website](https://mycommunitysync.com/add-a-blog.md) - [Build a help or resource center](https://mycommunitysync.com/build-a-resource-center.md) - [Add a TL;DR and FAQ to a post](https://mycommunitysync.com/post-tldr-and-faq.md) - [Generate a post's TL;DR and FAQ with AI](https://mycommunitysync.com/generate-tldr-faq-with-ai.md) - [Find content gaps with live search demand](https://mycommunitysync.com/find-content-gaps.md) - [Set a post's search snippet and share preview](https://mycommunitysync.com/post-seo-search-and-social.md)