Unlocking the Power of Craft CMS 5: A Deep Dive into the New Features

Entry Types: Structuring Content

Entry types serve as foundational blueprints for content in Craft. Developers define these atomic units, representing different content structures such as blog posts, product pages, or events. Think of entry types as customisable templates that guide how content is organised and presented. They ensure consistency across your site.

Flexibility and Efficiency

Entry types are no longer tied to specific sections. This flexibility allows developers to create an entry type once and reuse it across various sections, Matrix fields, or CKEditor fields. By defining a single entry type (e.g., “News Article”) and applying it wherever needed, you reduce redundancy and achieve efficient content management.

Custom Fields for Authors

We can associate custom fields with specific entry types. This customisation tailors the editing experience for authors. For example, an entry type for “Events” might have fields like “Date,” “Location,” and “Speakers.” Authors only see relevant fields when creating or editing event content.

Visual Customisation in Craft 5

A new feature in Craft 5 is the ability to assign icons and colours to entry types. This visual customisation helps authors quickly identify and manage different content types. For instance, news articles might have a newspaper icon, while events have a calendar icon.

Matrix fields have recently received a significant upgrade, empowering content creators with more flexibility and efficiency. Here’s what you need to know:

Nested Entries within Matrix Blocks:

In the past, managing complex content structures using page builders often required relying on plugins. Not anymore! With the latest Matrix upgrade, you can now nest entries within Matrix blocks seamlessly. This means you can organise your content hierarchically, creating intricate layouts without external dependencies. Bye-bye, technical debt!

View Modes for Display:


Choose from three different view modes to present your content effectively:


• Cards: A visual grid view, perfect for showcasing diverse content elements.
• Entry Lists: A straightforward list format for easy scanning.
• Classic Blocks: Traditional, grid-free display for a timeless look.

Field Instances - Reusable Custom Fields:

Field Instances allow you to reuse custom fields within the same layout. No more duplicating efforts! Define a custom field once, then use it across different sections of your content.

The changes made to matrix fields has already impacted how we work with craft, making content modeling smoother, more intuitive, and importantly plugin-free.

Craft 5 doesn’t assume anything about your content or delivery, granting developers greater freedom. It comes with a built-in GraphQL API and a fully-headless mode, allowing seamless integration with other services. At Nzime, we’ve been using the headless mode since its release in Craft 3, enabling us to work with our preferred frontend frameworks. Additionally, Craft 5 has introduced changes to tiers, pricing, and features. The headless mode is now available on the solo account, making it the perfect time to explore the CMS and leverage a frontend framework of your choice.

• User edit pages and inline-editable Matrix blocks now support live conditions, improving the editing experience.
• Enhanced security features for user authentication, ensuring better protection for your content with passkeys and 2FA.
• First-party plugins (such as CKEditor) have been updated to work seamlessly with Craft 5.
• You can easily set detailed permissions for user groups or individual users. Craft Pro goes a step further by enabling public user registration, which enhances community engagement.

The recent changes not only enhance what was already great but also introduce new levels of usability, flexibility, and developer-friendliness. It’s a significant leap forward, bridging the gap between developers and clients.