I am working on a directory project (eSIMGlobo) that organizes global mobile network data, and I'm looking for advice from developers on how best to architect the CMS collections.
The core requirement is to display country pages that list associated mobile network operators along with their network codes (like MCC and MNC identifiers). Each operator record also needs to track specific metadata such as verification status, update dates, and source references. As the dataset scales, I want to avoid duplicating data while keeping country-level browsing and filtering straightforward for users.
I am weighing a few potential approaches:
Multi-collection setup with Reference fields: Having separate collections for Countries, Operators, and Identifiers, connected via multi-reference and reference fields, then using dynamic filtering on template pages.
Flattened single/dual collections: Embedding operator data or identifier lists within multi-reference fields or rich text elements to reduce collection counts, though this might compromise relational filtering.
External database / Headless integration: Keeping the heavy telecom identifier dataset in an external relational database and pulling it into Webflow via API if collection item limits or filtering constraints become an issue.
For those who have built large structured directories in Webflow, what collection structure has proven most maintainable when handling one-to-many relationships with frequent metadata updates? Are there specific collection item limits or filtering bottlenecks I should anticipate?