Switch / Boolean Fields

What is a switch field?

A switch field (also called a boolean or checkbox field) stores a single true/false value. In Webflow, it renders as a toggle switch in the CMS editor. In Airtable, it appears as a checkbox.

When to use a switch

Switch fields are perfect for binary states:

• Featured — is this item promoted on the homepage?
• Published — should this item be visible on the site?
• Active — is this team member, product, or listing currently active?
• Sold — has this item been sold?
• Show on Homepage — should this appear in the homepage carousel?

The rule of thumb

If the answer is always strictly yes or no with no nuance, use a switch. If there are three or more possible states (e.g., Draft / In Review / Published), use an option field instead.

Switch vs. option for yes/no

It is tempting to use an option field with "Yes" and "No" values. Here is why a switch is usually better:

Consideration	Switch	Option ("Yes"/"No")
Editor UX	Toggle — one click	Dropdown — two clicks
Default value	False (unchecked)	Empty (no selection)
Filtering	Supported natively	Supported natively
Readability	Visual toggle is clear	Dropdown is clunky for binary
Storage	Boolean	String

Use an option field only when you need a third state like "Pending" or when the value might expand beyond two choices in the future.

Common patterns

Content visibility

Featured (switch) — show in "Featured" section
Published (switch) — show on the live site
Hide from Listing (switch) — suppress from collection list pages

Inventory and status

In Stock (switch) — product availability
Sold (switch) — estate sale or real estate listing
Active (switch) — team member or service still active

Display toggles

Show Testimonial (switch) — display quote on the page
Include in Navigation (switch) — add to nav menu
Open in New Tab (switch) — link behavior

Webflow-specific behavior

Conditional visibility

In Webflow, you can use conditional visibility to show or hide elements based on a switch field's value. This is the primary way to use switch fields in your design:

1. Select the element you want to conditionally show.
2. Open the element settings panel.
3. Under Conditional Visibility, add a condition.
4. Choose the switch field and set the condition to "is on" or "is off".

Filtering gotcha

Webflow collection lists do not support native filtering by switch fields in the designer. You cannot set a collection list to "only show items where Featured is on" using the built-in filter UI.

Instead, use conditional visibility on the collection item wrapper. This means all items are loaded but hidden ones are not displayed. For small collections (under 100 items), this works fine. For large collections, consider using an option field instead, which does support collection list filtering.

Sync considerations

When syncing from Airtable, checkbox fields map directly to Webflow switch fields. The mapping is straightforward:

• Checked → On (true)
• Unchecked → Off (false)
• Empty → Off (false)

No transformation is needed — Trellis handles this automatically.

Tips

1. Default to false — switch fields should default to "off". Name them so the "on" state is the exception: "Featured" (off by default, turned on for special items).
2. Name fields positively — "Published" is clearer than "Not Hidden". Avoid double negatives.
3. Use for workflow flags — switches make great internal flags that editors toggle as they work through content (e.g., "Reviewed", "Approved", "Ready to Publish").
4. Keep conditional visibility in mind — since Webflow renders switches as toggles, they work beautifully with conditional visibility to create dynamic layouts without code.