How To Enable The Contentful Integration for Content Workflow

Candace Estelle
Candace Estelle
  • Updated

Contentful is a content management system (CMS) designed to empower organizations to create, manage, and deliver digital content seamlessly.

By integrating Content Workflow and Contentful, you can seamlessly import or export content from Content Workflow into any Contentful space and vice versa. In addition, you can use template mapping to import multiple items and update dynamic statuses within both platforms.

The Contentful integration works by setting up Template mappings between Contentful's Content Models and Content Workflow's Templates. These map the fields of Content Models to the fields of the Content Workflow's Template. Template mappings signal which fields should be populated when importing or exporting content.

Note: This integration works with all Contentful account types.

This feature/solution requires your Customer Success Contact to enable, but then individual permissions can be done by the Bynder Admin.

Who can set up this integration?

Users with the following rights can set up this integration

How to Set up the Integration

  1. Log into your Contentful Account.
  2. Click here to find the integration on Contentful's Marketplace
  3. Choose which space and environment to install the app to and select Continue. Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.11.58 PM.png
  4. Select Authorize Access to authorize access to your Contentful Account. Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.12.38 PM.png
  5. Generate an API Key.
  6. Navigate back to your Contentful Account.
  7. Once you have generated an API key, paste your Content Workflow email and API key into the configuration screen and click SaveScreenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.13.19 PM.png
  8. Your integration is now set up and you can begin to use the integration.

Create Template Mapping

  1. Navigate to Contentful.
  2. Click Apps in the top toolbar and select Content Workflow by Bynder. Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.14.52 PM.png
  3. Click New Template Mapping.
  4. Select the Account you wish to map content to from the options across the top navigation bar.
  5. This can be done across multiple Content Workflow accounts.
  6. Select the Content Workflow Project you wish to map content to from the dropdown.
  7. You'll only see the projects for the Account you selected.
  8. A list of available Content Workflow templates for the selected project will appear.
  9. Choose a template to map content to. Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.15.46 PM.png
  10. Select the Content Type.
  11. Click Map Template.
  12. You can either:
    • Select the Content Model Name: This is required only if you're not choosing to map to an existing model. If you aren't choosing an existing content model, this will be the name of the new model created.
    • Map to an existing content model (optional): Choose an existing content model that hasn't been mapped to a template yet.
    • If this is selected, the Content Model Name and Description fields are no longer required.
  13. Description The description for the new content model, if required.

Fields Mapping

  • You can map specific fields from Contentful to Content Workflow.
  • The tabs of a template are displayed across the top navigation in Contentful. Selecting these will change the fields shown below.
  • Note: Not every field needs to be mapped. By default, fields are "Ignored," meaning they are not imported or exported.
  • Each field that should be imported will need to be configured via the dropdown for the field.
  1. Select the Contentful Model field to map the Content Workflow field.
  2. If the field is new, i.e., you did not choose to map to an existing content model, you choose which type of field it should be.
  3. The field types are based on the field type from Content Workflow, e.g., a Text field in CW cannot be mapped to a media field within Contentful, etc.
  4. (Optional) Select if you want to use the Content Workflow item name as the Entry Title in Contentful.
    1. If this option is not checked, you can use one of the fields as the entry title by selecting Use field as the Entry title below the field.

Status Mapping

Both Contentful and Content Workflow use a Status for their content items. Contentful has Draft / Archived / Published and Content Workflow has customizable workflow steps.
You can map workflow statuses from Content Workflow and Contentful and vice versa. For example, when a Content Workflow item is imported to Contentful, the item's status matches a mapping, and it will be pushed into that status on import.

  • For example, Content Workflow Status (First Draft ) ⇒ Contentful Status (Draft)
  • When an item is imported from Content Workflow on the status "First Draft," it is set to "Draft" in Contentful.
  • Example of Mapping After Import:  Content Workflow Status (Ready for Import to Contentful) ⇒ Contentful Status (Published) ⇒ After Import, set Content Workflow status to (Live on the CMS). This example shows the status the imported item should be set to after importing it into Content Workflow.

Importing Content

After you save your mapping, you can begin importing your content.
Note: When importing content that contains a template with a component, the content for the component is first imported into a separate content type and then added to the entity reference field within the template. There are two ways to import content: bulk import or individual import.

Bulk Import

  1. In Contentful, navigate to the Import Entries tab.
  2. Here, you can see all the items in your Content Workflow template associated with the configured Template mapping.
  3. You can use the Item Status filter to filter an item('s current status in Content Workflow or by item name.
  4. Under Import Items, select the check box next to the items you want to import into Contentful.
  5. Items imported for the first time will be created, while items that have already been imported will have their content overwritten in Contentful.
  6. The date of the last import will appear in the Last Import Date column. Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.27.36 PM.png

Individual Import

You can import individual Contentful entries into Content Workflow.

  1. Navigate to your Contentful entry.
  2. On the right-hand sidebar, click Reimport Entry.
  3. Select Sync Changes. This will push the change from Contentful to Content Workflow.Screenshot 2024-03-01 at 3.28.09 PM.png

Edit Integration

  1. Navigate to Contentful.
  2. Select Organization Settings and Subscriptions > Apps > Content Workflow by Bynder.
  3. Type in Content Workflow by Bynder, then select Delete.

Important Information 

    • Components can only be "auto" mapped, meaning a component has its fields "selected" automatically.
    • If the Content Workflow Component does not contain a plain text field, all entries will appear as Untitled and will need to be named manually after import.
    • Images are mapped to Multiple media fields (not single).
    • Inline images are provided as Links in the content, not as an embedded asset.
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