Navigation & URL Conventions

How the CAS.org site navigation is organized, how URLs are structured, and the rules for creating slugs, setting up redirects, and working with Webflow's page branching system.

Last Updated: March 30, 2026 | Audience: Everyone

Site Navigation Structure

The CAS.org main navigation is controlled by the Site Header component, which is a global component shared across all pages. Any change to the Site Header affects every page on the site. Do not modify the header without coordinating with Jimmy.

Primary Navigation

The top-level nav items link to the main site areas. The current primary navigation structure is:

• Solutions — Product and solution pages (/solutions/...)
• Resources — CAS Insights, webinars, events, reports, podcasts (/resources/...)
• Industries — Vertical market pages (/industries/...)
• CAS Data — CAS Content Collection and Registry (/cas-data/...)
• Custom Services — Data services and consulting (/cas-custom-services/...)
• About — Company information, careers, contact

Dropdown Menus

Several primary nav items have dropdown menus with subcategories and featured content. These dropdowns are built as nested elements inside the Site Header component. Adding or removing dropdown items requires Designer access.

Footer Navigation

The Site Footer is also a global component. It contains link groups organized by category, plus legal links, social media icons, and the ACS logo. Footer link changes follow the same coordination rules as the header.

URL Structure

CAS.org follows a consistent URL hierarchy. Understanding this structure is essential for creating new pages and CMS items with correct slugs.

Static Pages

Static pages are organized in Webflow's Pages panel using folders. The folder structure directly maps to the URL path:

• /solutions/cas-scifinder-discovery-platform/cas-scifinder — A product page nested under its platform folder
• /resources/cas-insights/{slug} — CAS Insights article (CMS template)
• /resources/webinar/{slug} — Webinar page (CMS template)
• /resources/event/{slug} — Event page (CMS template)
• /resources/gated-content/{slug} — Gated content page (CMS template)
• /training/{slug} — Training pages
• /academic-key-contact-resource-center/... — Academic section
• /lp/{campaign-type}/{slug} — Landing pages by campaign
• /legal/{slug} — Legal pages

CMS Template Pages

Each CMS collection has a template page that generates individual URLs based on the item slug. The template page URL pattern is set in Webflow's Collection Settings. For example, the CAS Insights template page generates URLs at /resources/cas-insights/{item-slug}.

You cannot change the base path of a CMS template URL without changing the template page's folder location in Webflow, which requires Designer access and will break all existing links unless 301 redirects are set up.

Landing Pages

Landing pages follow a specific subfolder convention under /lp/:

• /lp/svc/ — Custom Services campaigns
• /lp/stp/ — STN campaigns
• /lp/bfdp/ — BioFinder campaigns
• /lp/sf/ — SciFinder campaigns
• /lp/event/ — Event-specific landing pages
• /lp/about/ — Brand/about campaigns
• /lp/biofinder/ — BioFinder legacy campaigns
• /lp/outsell/ — Outsell campaigns

Localized URLs

CAS.org supports 6 languages. Localized pages use a language prefix after the domain:

• /pt-br/ — Portuguese (Brazil)
• /ko/ — Korean
• /es-es/ — Spanish
• /zh-hans/ — Chinese Simplified
• /ja/ — Japanese

The English version has no prefix (it is the default locale). Localized URLs mirror the English URL structure: cas.org/solutions/cas-scifinder becomes cas.org/ja/solutions/cas-scifinder.

Slug Rules

Every page and CMS item has a slug that determines its URL. Follow these rules without exception:

Format

• Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
• No spaces, underscores, periods, or special characters
• No trailing slashes
• No leading hyphens

Best Practices

• Keep it short. Aim for 2–5 words. cas-scifinder not cas-scifinder-discovery-platform-overview-page.
• Use keywords. The slug contributes to SEO. Include the primary keyword for the page content.
• Be descriptive. Someone should be able to guess the page content from the slug alone.
• Match the page title loosely. The slug doesn't need to be an exact replica of the title, but it should be recognizably related.
• Avoid dates in slugs unless the content is inherently time-bound (e.g., acs-spring-2026 for an annual event).

The Cardinal Rule

Never change a slug after publishing. Changing a published slug breaks every inbound link, bookmark, search engine index entry, email link, and social media post pointing to the old URL. If a slug absolutely must change, set up a 301 redirect from the old slug to the new one before publishing the change. See the Redirects section below.

Redirects

Redirects are managed in Webflow's site settings under Hosting > 301 Redirects. Only users with Designer or Admin access can add redirects.

When to Use Redirects

• A page or CMS item slug is being changed
• A page is being removed and its traffic should go somewhere else
• Two pages are being merged into one
• A URL structure is being reorganized (e.g., moving a page to a different folder)
• An external campaign link needs to map to a CAS.org page

How to Add a Redirect

1. Go to Site Settings > Hosting > 301 Redirects.
2. In the Old Path field, enter the old URL path (e.g., /old-page-slug). Do not include the domain.
3. In the Redirect to URL field, enter the new URL path (e.g., /new-page-slug). For external URLs, enter the full URL including https://.
4. Click Add redirect.
5. Publish the site for the redirect to take effect. Redirects only go live after a site publish.

Redirect Rules

• Always use 301 (permanent) redirects. Webflow only supports 301s, which is correct for SEO.
• Redirects are case-sensitive in Webflow. /Old-Page and /old-page are treated as different paths.
• Test redirects after publishing by visiting the old URL in an incognito browser window.
• Keep a log of redirects. Webflow does not provide an export of existing redirects, so maintain a spreadsheet or doc with all active redirects and the reason for each one.
• Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C). Each redirect adds latency and search engines penalize long chains. Always point the old URL directly to the final destination.

Page Branching

Webflow's branching feature creates a copy of a page for staging changes before they go live. Branches are the standard workflow for any structural change to an existing page.

When to Use Branching

• Redesigning or restructuring an existing page's layout
• Testing a new section or component before adding it to the live page
• Making changes that need review before going live
• Any edit that touches layout, components, or structure (not just text/image swaps)

Branching Workflow

1. Create a branch: In the Designer, right-click the page in the Pages panel and select "Create Branch." This creates a copy named branch_{original-slug}.
2. Make changes on the branch: All edits happen on the branch page. The original page remains untouched and live.
3. Review: Preview the branch page on the staging URL. Share the staging link with stakeholders for review.
4. Merge: Once approved, right-click the branch and select "Merge to Main." This replaces the original page with the branch version.
5. Delete the branch: After merging, delete the branch page. It is no longer needed.
6. Publish: Publish the site to push the merged changes live.

Branching Rules

• Branch pages are visible in the Pages panel with the branch_ prefix. They also have an isBranch: true flag in the API.
• Never publish a branch page directly to a custom domain. Branches are for staging only. They should only go live through the merge workflow.
• Don't leave stale branches. If a branch is no longer needed (the project was canceled, the approach changed), delete it. Old branches clutter the Pages panel and can cause confusion.
• Branch pages do not affect the live site until merged and published.
• CMS template pages can also be branched, but use extra caution since the template affects every item in the collection.

Page Folders

Webflow's Pages panel supports folders to organize static pages. Folders map directly to URL path segments.

Existing Folder Structure

The main folders on CAS.org include: solutions, resources, industries, cas-data, cas-custom-services, training, academic-key-contact-resource-center, lp (with sub-folders by campaign type), legal, and several utility folders.

Folder Rules

• Do not create top-level folders without coordinating with Jimmy. New top-level folders create new URL path prefixes and may conflict with existing routes or localization.
• Do not rename folders. Renaming a folder changes the URL path for every page inside it, breaking all links.
• Do not move pages between folders unless redirects are set up for the old URLs first.
• Nested folders create nested URL paths. /solutions/cas-scifinder-discovery-platform/ is a folder, and pages inside it become /solutions/cas-scifinder-discovery-platform/{page-slug}.

Thank You & Confirmation Pages

CAS.org uses a system of thank you pages for post-form-submission confirmation. These follow a specific naming and routing pattern:

• Gated content downloads redirect to a thank you page that delivers the asset.
• Demo request forms redirect to a confirmation page.
• Webinar registrations use a dynamic thank you page system (see How the webinar thank you page system is setup).
• Event registrations redirect to event-specific or generic confirmation pages.

Thank you page URLs typically follow the pattern /thank-you/{context} or are embedded within the form handler's redirect configuration.

Quick Reference

• Slug format: lowercase, hyphens, no spaces or special characters
• Never change a published slug without setting up a 301 redirect first
• CMS article URLs: /resources/cas-insights/{slug}
• CMS webinar URLs: /resources/webinar/{slug}
• CMS event URLs: /resources/event/{slug}
• CMS gated content URLs: /resources/gated-content/{slug}
• Landing page URLs: /lp/{campaign-type}/{slug}
• Localized URLs: /{locale-prefix}/{same-path}
• Redirects: Site Settings > Hosting > 301 Redirects (requires site publish)
• Branching: Right-click page > Create Branch > edit > merge > delete branch > publish