Craft CMS 5.3: New Link Field Type and Entry Migration Between Sections

Craft CMS 5.3 arrived this week with two significant features that make content management more flexible: a new Link field type and the ability to move entries between sections. If your site has evolved over time or you’re planning content reorganisation, these capabilities matter.

The New Link Field Replaces URL Fields

Craft 5.3 introduces a Link field type that replaces the old URL field with something far more capable. Instead of only storing plain URLs, Link fields can handle:

• Web URLs: Regular website links
• Email addresses: mailto: links formatted properly
• Phone numbers: tel: links for click-to-call functionality
• Internal content: Relations to entries, assets, or categories

This consolidation means you don’t need separate fields for external links, internal page references, and contact methods. One field type handles all of it, and the interface guides content editors to create properly formatted links regardless of type.

For existing sites with URL fields, those continue working. But new projects or field additions benefit from using the more versatile Link field instead.

Move Entries Between Sections

The ability to move entries between sections sounds simple but solves a genuinely frustrating limitation. Previously, if you wanted to reorganise content - moving blog posts into a different section, for example - you had to manually recreate entries. Now there’s a “Move to…” bulk action that handles it properly.

This is particularly useful for sites that have evolved over time. Maybe you started with a single “News” section and later realised you needed separate sections for company news, industry updates, and press releases. Or perhaps you’re restructuring how content is organised and need to move dozens of entries without recreating them.

The move function preserves your content, SEO data, and publishing history. It’s a proper migration, not a copy-and-delete workaround.

Better Validation and User Permissions

Craft 5.3 includes improved validation for Matrix fields - the flexible content builder fields that let editors create rich page layouts. When nested entries within Matrix blocks have validation issues, those errors now display clearly, making it easier for content editors to fix problems before publishing.

User permission screens got small but useful improvements too. There are now keyboard shortcuts for saving, and new users can have permissions set before they’re activated - streamlining the user onboarding process for sites with defined permission structures.

What This Means for Content Strategy

The Link field and entry migration capabilities make Craft more adaptable to changing content strategies. You’re not locked into the organisational decisions you made when the site launched. As your content needs evolve, the CMS can accommodate those changes without requiring developer intervention for every reorganisation.

This flexibility matters more over time. A year or two into a site’s life, you’ll have learned what works for your content and audience. Being able to adjust the structure to match that understanding - without technical debt or workarounds - keeps your content management system aligned with your needs.

Keeping Your CMS Capable and Current

Updates like Craft 5.3 add capabilities that weren’t there when you launched your site. The Link field, entry migration, and improved validation are all features that make content management more sophisticated without making it more complex.

Through our website maintenance support packages, we ensure client sites stay current with these releases. When new capabilities arrive, you get access to them without managing the update process. We handle the testing, deployment, and any adjustments needed for plugins or custom code.

If you have a Craft site and want to take advantage of features like the new Link field or entry migration, or if you need help keeping your site current with regular updates, email us at hello@mutual.agency.

Your content management system should support your evolving needs, not constrain them. Craft 5.3’s additions to linking and content organisation make it more adaptable to however your content strategy develops.