CMS: Creating Automations for Collection Items
Use Wix Automations to work with your CMS (Content Management System) collections. Automatically respond when collection items change, or automate changes to your collections based on other triggers.
This is the primary method for automating actions when visitors submit CMS forms. Since forms save data as new items in your collection, the Item added trigger allows you to send emails, create contacts, or perform other actions immediately after a submission.
Before you begin:
Make sure to add the CMS to your site, if you haven't already.
Creating automations with CMS triggers
Set up an automation that runs whenever there is a change in your collection. You can choose to trigger the automation when a new item is added, an existing item is updated, or an item is deleted.
To create an automation for collection items:
Go to Automations in your site's dashboard.
Click + Create Automation at the top right.
Click Start from Scratch.
Click the title at the top left to give your automation a name.
Type "CMS" in the search bar.
Select the relevant trigger under Wix CMS:
Item updated: The automation runs when an existing item in the collection is modified.
Item added: The automation runs when a new item is added to the collection.
Item deleted: The automation runs when an item is deleted from the collection.
Select the relevant collection below Select a collection.
Click Apply.
Click the Add step icon
and choose what you want to do:
Note: Repeat this step as many times as you need to customize your automation.
Delay: Add a delay that makes the automation wait before performing the next step. Choose the duration of the delay and click Apply.
Condition: Add a condition that allows the flow to continue, only if the condition is met. You can set an ELSE path to define what happens if the condition is not met:
Click Select a property and choose the dynamic field that the automation collects when it runs (e.g. Form Name, Form ID).
Click the Select logic drop-down and choose an operator that will compare the received data with the value (e.g. equals, contains, is true).
Click the Enter value drop-down or field that appears under your selected operator. The logical statement you've created will determine whether the automation continues.
(Optional) Click + Or / + And to add another condition for the automation to check.
Click Apply.
Action: Select an action that will occur next (e.g. send an email, create a contact, send via webhook). Set up the action using the available options, which vary depending on the action type, then click Apply. Learn more about the actions you can choose.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Using CMS actions in automations
In addition to triggering automations when items in your collections are added, updated, or deleted, you can also automate changes to your collections themselves. CMS actions allow you to add, delete, update, find, patch, or query items in your collections as part of your automation workflows.
For example, you can automatically update a collection item when an invoice is paid, add new items to a collection based on form submissions, query items that match specific filters, or patch individual fields without overwriting the entire item.
To use CMS actions in your automations:
Go to Automations in your site's dashboard.
Create a new automation or open an existing one.
Select a trigger for your automation.
Click the Add step icon
to add a new step to your automation.
Click Action.
Enter "CMS" in the search bar.
Select the action you want to use under Wix CMS:
Add item
Add a new item to an existing collection.
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection in which the automation will add a new item.
Click OK.
Choose how to populate each field:
Click the field to enter a static value.
Click Customize to add dynamic data from your trigger (Properties tab), apply functions (Functions tab), or select preset values (Values tab).
(Optional) Repeat step 4 for each field you want to include in the new item.
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Note: Fields you don't populate remain empty in the new item.
Delete item
Delete an item from an existing collection. Deleting an item is permanent and cannot be undone.
To delete an item:
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection from which the automation will delete an item.
Click OK.
Click the ID of the item to delete field.
Choose how to specify the item ID:
Click the field to enter a static ID value.
Click Customize to add the item ID dynamically from your trigger (Properties tab), apply functions (Functions tab), or select preset values (Values tab).
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Find item
Find an item by ID only. Get an empty result if not found.
To find an item:
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection in which the automation will search for an item.
Click OK.
Click the Item ID field.
Choose how to specify the item ID:
Click the field to enter a static ID value.
Click Customize to add the item ID dynamically from your trigger (Properties tab), apply functions (Functions tab), or select preset values (Values tab).
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Note: Use the found item's data in subsequent steps of your automation by selecting properties from the Find item action.
Patch item
Edit or clear values in selected fields only. Fields you don't include in the patch remain unchanged.
To patch an item:
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection in which the automation will search for an item.
Click OK.
Click the ID of the item to patch field.
Choose how to specify the item ID:
Static value: Click the field and enter the ID directly.
Dynamic value: Click Customize to add the item ID from your trigger (Properties tab), apply functions (Functions tab), or select preset values (Values tab).
Set up the update:
Field: Select the collection field you want to modify (e.g. Description, Title).
Action: Choose what to do with the field (e.g. Set to assign a new value, or Clear to remove the current value).
Value: Enter a static value or click Customize to use dynamic data.
(Optional) Click + Add New Item to include more field updates in the same patch. Then follow step 6 above.
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Query items
Get items from a CMS collection based on specific filters. Unlike the Find item action — which retrieves a single item by ID — Query items returns all items that match your filter criteria.
To query items:
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection in which the automation will query items.
Click OK.
In the Max items field, enter the maximum number of items to return.
Click + Add New Item under Filter to add a filter.
Set up the filter:
Field: Select the collection field to filter by (e.g. Recipe Name, Status).
Operator: Choose a comparison operator (e.g. is exactly, contains, is not).
Value: Enter a static value or click Customize to use dynamic data.
Click Add.
(Optional) Click + Add New Item to include more filters. Then follow steps 6-7 above. Items must match all filters to be returned.
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
Tip: After the Query items action runs, you can use the returned items' data in later steps of your automation. Select properties from the Query items action when setting up subsequent steps.
Update item
Overwrite every field. Leaving a field empty deletes its existing content.
Important: This action overwrites all fields in the selected item. Any field you don't populate will have its existing content deleted. Make sure to map all fields you want to preserve.
To update an item:
Click the Collection field.
Select the CMS collection in which the automation will update an item.
Click OK.
Choose how to populate each field:
Click the field to enter a static value.
Click Customize to add dynamic data from your trigger (Properties tab), apply functions (Functions tab), or select preset values (Values tab).
(Optional) Repeat step 4 for each additional field.
Click Apply.
(Optional) Add more steps to your automation, if needed.
Click to choose what you want to do:
Save: Save the automation but do not make it active yet.
Activate: Save and make your automation active.
FAQs
Click below for answers to common questions about using CMS triggers in Wix Automations.
Can I use these triggers for CMS form submissions?
Yes. This is the recommended way to automate form submissions. When a visitor submits a custom form on your site, the data saves as a new item in your collection. This activates the Item added trigger. With the Item added trigger, you can use most field types in your collection, including 'Email' fields. This helps your automation match data accurately.
Does this automation run on sandbox or live collections?
Automations trigger based on changes to your live collections.
How do I understand which automations are available to me?
The automations you can create depend on which apps (e.g. Wix Blog, Wix Restaurants) you have added to your site.
Automation trigger options are specific to the app you've selected, and automation action options are specific to the trigger you've selected. Select an app to view and set up its trigger options. Then add an action to view the actions available for your selected trigger.
Popular automations include:
Sending a "thank you", "welcome" or "next steps" email when a visitor submits a form. Learn more about sending automated emails to contacts after form submissions.
Sending a discount coupon or reminder email when a customer has abandoned their shopping cart. Learn more about automatically sending discount coupons.
Sending an email when an invoice is overdue. Learn more about Wix Invoices automations.
Awarding loyalty points when a restaurant order is received. Learn more about Wix Restaurants automations.
Sending a chat message when a form is submitted, or automatically replying to incoming chat messages. Learn more about Wix Chat automations
What are some examples of CMS action automations?
CMS actions let you automate repetitive collection management tasks.
Here are some common ways to use them:
Automatically update inventory status: Keep your product catalog current without manual updates. Set up an automation where the trigger is Invoice is paid and the action is Update item in your Products collection to mark the item as 'Sold'. This ensures your inventory status stays accurate as sales happen.
Add event registrations to a collection: Capture registrations directly into your CMS. When the trigger Form submitted fires, use the Add item action to add a new entry to your Events collection with the registrant's details. This eliminates the need to manually transfer form data into your collection.
Remove outdated entries automatically: Clean up your collections on a schedule. For example, use a time-based trigger with the Delete item action to remove expired promotions or past events from your collections.
Find and update specific items: Combine actions for complex workflows. Use Find item to locate a specific collection entry, then follow it with Update item to modify that entry based on conditions in your automation.
Can I connect my automations to apps that I use outside of my Wix site?
Yes, you can use Zapier to connect your Wix automations to external apps such as Slack, Trello and Google Docs.
What CMS collection fields can I use in Wix Automations?
You can use most CMS field types in your automations, including Date and Time, Address, and Media Gallery fields. Use them in CMS triggers and in the Add item and Update item actions. You can also use the data from CMS actions, such as Find item, in later steps (e.g. conditions).
Choose from the following field types: Text, Rich Text, URL, Email, Number, Boolean, Color, Reference, Tags, Image, Media Gallery, Video, Audio, Document, Multiple documents, Date, Date and Time, Time, Address, Object, and Array.
You can't use Rich Content or Multi-Reference fields in automations.
Note: The Patch item action supports Date and Time fields, but not Address or Media Gallery fields. To change these fields, use the Update item action instead. Make sure to map all the fields you want to keep.
Learn more about CMS collection fields.
What is the difference between Patch item and Update item?
The Update item action overwrites every field in the selected item. Any field you don't populate will have its existing content deleted. The Patch item action only modifies the specific fields you choose — all other fields remain untouched. Use Patch item when you want to change one or two fields without affecting the rest of the item's data.
What is the difference between Query items and Find item?
The Find item action retrieves a single item by its ID. If the ID doesn't match any item, you get an empty result. The Query items action lets you search for multiple items using filters based on field values, operators, and conditions. Use Query items when you need to find all items matching certain criteria rather than looking up one specific item.
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