The Wix Data ecosystem is a comprehensive data management system that enables you to create dynamic, data-driven sites. This ecosystem brings together multiple interconnected components that work seamlessly together to handle everything from simple content display to complex data operations.
The Wix Data ecosystem consists of the following components:
These components work together to provide a complete solution for storing, managing, and displaying data on your Wix site.
The Wix CMS is a built-in document-oriented database optimized to store and retrieve website content. It's globally replicated to be performant from all regions, secure, and fully managed by Wix.
The CMS stores any data you want to use on a site. This includes simple content like form submissions and complex structured data like course materials or property listings. It also stores data from Wix apps like Wix Stores, Wix Bookings, and Wix Events. This means you can access and work with both your custom content and app data using the same tools and APIs.
The CMS serves as the foundation for the entire ecosystem. Datasets connect CMS data to page elements, dynamic pages display content from the CMS, and APIs provide direct access to the CMS and its data.
For projects requiring specific database technologies or integration with existing data sources, you can use external databases through adapters. These adapters make external database data appear as regular CMS data, allowing you to use the same datasets, dynamic pages, and APIs regardless of whether your data lives in the CMS or external systems.
Datasets are invisible page components that serve as the bridge between data from the CMS and a site's visual elements. They control how repeaters, forms, and other page elements interact with your data. Datasets also manage filtering, sorting, pagination, and visitor input.
Both regular pages and dynamic pages use datasets to connect to CMS data or external databases.
Dynamic pages let you create multiple pages with the same layout but different content, all driven by CMS data.
Dynamic pages use datasets to connect to your data and populate the page content automatically, with the page URL determining which specific content to display.
There are 2 main APIs for working with data:
These APIs provide programmatic control over all ecosystem components. You can manage CMS and external database content, control dataset behavior, and add custom functionality to dynamic pages.
The Wix Data ecosystem has several important limitations to consider when planning your project:
These limits may vary by site plan. Learn more about data limits and quotas.
Now that you understand the Wix Data ecosystem overview, explore each component in detail:
Each component builds on the others, creating a flexible foundation for any data-driven site.