Webflow vs WordPress
Comparing WordPress and Webflow to Build Your Online Business
There are many website builders and content management systems (CMSs) readily available online today — some free to use, others that require licensing or ongoing fees. Understanding your website needs before researching website building platforms will simplify the decision-making process and allow you to choose the best web design tool for your growing business.
Making the right decision for your page builder functionality is especially important for small businesses that are just starting out. Startups can’t often devote as much capital to design and build their website as an established business for the most part, but to choose the wrong CMS and be stuck with a platform that limits or cannot support your business as it grows could be catastrophic!
For most business owners, it’s important to choose a website builder that is scalable and customizable to adapt to your needs as your business grows. Design freedom and plug-and-play functionality are common aspects we recommend people keep in mind as they compare Webflow vs WordPress.
For the more serious website owners, you want to choose a CMS that is also geared up for search engine optimization(SEO) as this will help you to drive more traffic to your site, increase your leads and drive sales.
Webflow and WordPress are two very strong CMS platforms that offer design freedom and flexibility to customize your website. While each page builder has its own pros and cons to consider, deciding which one is the better choice overall depends on your current needs and long-term goals.
What to Look For In A Website Builder
For growing businesses aiming to expand, there are several important things to consider when choosing a CMS.
First of all, how easy is it to use, and do you need to have any experience with coding or website development, or does it include simple drag-and-drop functionality? Paying for or investing in a service or custom website that you are unsure how to use could quickly burn up your budget.
How much does the website builder cost? This is an important consideration to make if you are on a tight marketing budget. Compare prices and figure out what features you are willing to pay for.
You also need to consider the flexibility of your chosen solution. Does it make it easy to scale your website as your business grows? How simple is it to add new features and capabilities to your website? With WordPress, there are thousands of WordPress themes and plugins available for you to choose from that can help you expand your site and make your investment last for years to come.
You should also figure out if you are able to process sales online if eCommerce is a core aspect of your business, as well as the SEO capabilities of the solution. You’ll also want to make sure that you have access to a website support team if you run into any difficulties.
Webflow vs WordPress Overview
WordPress has been around since 2003 and first gained popularity among bloggers for its famous 5-minute setup and easy-to-use CMS. WordPress has continued to grow and is now widely used by developers, business owners, marketers, and so much more.
Comparing Webflow vs WordPress, the WordPress CMS is far more popular. In fact, it is the most widely used website builder in the world holding 64% of the CMS market share.
Nearly half of all websites are powered by WordPress. It is free to use and highly customizable to achieve virtually any design or function your business may require.
In comparison, Webflow has only been around for about 8 years. It has become more popular over recent years among website owners and some designers as it makes the website design process quick and easy.
The Webflow CMS has a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface to help beginners to edit their posts and pages. You do have to pay for added extras like upgrades and eCommerce features however which naturally leads to a degree of frustration with business owners. Unlike WordPress, it is not free to use and you have to pay for a basic website plan or an eCommerce plan.
Let’s take a look at some of the key differences between Webflow and WordPress.
Some Key Differences Comparing Webflow vs WordPress
While you do have a lot of freedom when it comes to designing your pages on Webflow, it might be quite difficult to get used to their interface if you don’t have experience working with other website platforms. WordPress, on the other hand, is very intuitive and has a large knowledge base to help you learn how to use it.
Webflow allows you to make edits on the front-end of your page, which can be useful because you can see exactly how your changes will look. WordPress lets you make changes on dashboards and private page editors on the backend of your website.
Webflow can be more expensive than WordPress, but this, of course, depends on the plan you choose with Webflow. You will be able to keep your long-term expenses down with WordPress as your initial investment will upfront whether you choose to work with an existing template or hire a web design company to design and build a custom WordPress theme. The beauty of this is that you will only be paying for what you need for your website.
Both WordPress and Webflow offer an interface that makes it easy to drag and drop elements into your new posts or pages to work with different content types.
Which Is Better For Your Business: Webflow vs WordPress
Now that we know what to look for in a website builder, and we’ve brushed over the key differences to compare Webflow vs WordPress, let’s look at a more detailed comparison.
Ease Of Use
More often than not, people starting up a new site do not have a background in HTML, CSS and javascript coding. So, it can be quite daunting when it comes to selecting a platform that will suit your needs and abilities long term.
WordPress
WordPress is used by millions of people all over the world who have entirely different abilities. While it does involve getting to know how to use some of the features, beginners are able to familiarize themselves with the application quickly to get the most out of it.
It is also very easy to add new content to your WordPress site and take advantage of many customization options to have complete control over content using WordPress’s style editor. The great thing about solutions like this is that you do not need to know how to write code to start using WordPress.
Webflow
The Webflow editor makes use of several features that might take a bit of time to get used to if you are a beginner. This website platform is considered to be better suited to individuals who are more familiar with website development and management in general.
Verdict
WordPress definitely beats Webflow when it comes to ease of use. While both platforms have the option of using templates to create your website, the WordPress interface is much easier to navigate and WordPress users generally feel comfortable in this environment much quicker. Webflow could prove to be a challenge for non-web designers and waste your time unnecessarily while learning how to use the interface.
CMS Functionality
Your website builder’s content management system is what helps you to create, modify, and manage the content you put out on your website. A good CMS is vital for website owners who need to be able to manage their pages but do not have advanced technical abilities.
WordPress
WordPress makes it very easy to manage your content without any restriction on how many posts, pages, or images you add. You can also create custom post types using a variety of alternative WordPress plugins available. This wide flexibility flattens the learning curve when it comes to managing your own site.
Webflow
The content management functionality in Webflow makes it easy for users to organize their pages into folders. You can organize your pages by their title, SEO settings, or URL slug. This makes it very easy to find pages you want to edit later on.
One of the biggest disadvantages of Webflow’s CMS functionality is that each website is limited to 100 pages only. This can obviously be quite restrictive for many companies, especially those that focus on eCommerce to market and sell their products online. Fortunately, content types such as blog posts, portfolios, and menus are not included in this limitation.
Webflow can also be quite limiting if you want to write in-depth content for articles. There are not very many formatting options available within the system and that can be quite frustrating when you want to focus on creating high-value content using Webflow.
Verdict
Webflow’s 100-page limit is a big limitation for larger businesses with expansive websites. As such, it could be a deal-breaker for many website owners. While the Webflow CMS functions do work well in practice, it does not offer a lot of flexibility compared to WordPress, which on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to do much more without limitations or frustration.
Price
Pricing is an important fact to consider when choosing your website builder. Initially, you may want to keep your costs low, but as your business grows, you will want to invest more into your website. You need to make sure that you get the most out of your website investment when comparing Webflow and WordPress.
WordPress
Using the WordPress software is free and you have the ability to host your WordPress website anywhere you like. Aside from hosting fees and annual domain registration fees that are fundamental expenses to managing any website, there are no ongoing fees required to use the software.
This is very affordable for both new and established businesses alike. With WordPress, you will also have access to thousands of free third-party plugins and themes, both free and paid if you don’t hire professional web designers to create a custom WordPress website for your business. This means that you will be able to keep your costs down without having to compromise on functionality and quality.
Webflow
Webflow offers a free version that is hosted under its own Webflow subdomain. While this might be a good option to keep down costs, your website will feature Webflow branding and will not be highly optimized for SEO. If you want to be able to use your own site without Webflow branding, you have the option to pay for a site plan or an account plan.
With a Webflow site plan, you can use your own domain name and you will pay per site. The price also depends on the type of site that you want to create. For example, a basic plan starts at $12 per month if you choose to pay annually. Otherwise, it will cost up to $15 per month. This option is best for people who are not in need of a content management system (CMS).
For sites that rely heavily on being able to manage a lot of content, such as a blog, you might start to consider a CMS plan, which starts at $16 per month if paid annually, or $20 paid monthly. Above this tier is a business plan that will cost you $36 per month if paid annually, or $45 paid monthly. This plan is best suited for marketing sites with higher traffic where a page builder makes sense.
Finally, you can opt for the Webflow enterprise plan. You need to approach Webflow directly for a quote to use their enterprise plan and they will tailor a plan that includes exclusive features that will best suit your business.
In addition to all of this, you can also opt for an account plan. With this option, you will be able to manage several websites at the same time. You can either host them yourself, or you can host them with Webflow. If you decide to host your site yourself, you might consider hiring a Webflow designer to help with things like eCommerce features or front-end design.
Verdict
After considering all the costs, it is clear that you get a bigger bang for your buck with WordPress. All of the same features that you get with Webflow are much cheaper, if not entirely free with WordPress. There are also thousands of high-quality plugins that you can add to your site which are free of charge if you’re using WordPress. You can also start an online store and implement eCommerce capabilities without any additional WordPress costs.
The beauty of WordPress is that you don’t have to pay a package or plan fee that includes a multitude of features that you don’t need. You can instead save your money and only pay for features and plugins that you want to include. You can then add extra features later down the line if they become necessary or have a professional web designer create a custom WordPress site for you with everything you need.
Design and Templates
Unless you have experience as a web designer, it is unlikely that you will be able to create a professional-looking website that is aesthetically pleasing and optimized for conversion. Luckily, most website platforms feature professional designs and templates that you can use and customize with the onboard page builder if necessary.
WordPress
There are thousands of templates (called WordPress themes) to choose from when using WordPress. Many themes are in fact free to use and are also mobile-friendly. You can easily customize your WordPress theme if preferred and you have the ability to switch to a completely different theme later on without losing your page content.
If you’re looking to make the most of your website, a professional web design company can build you a beautiful WordPress site from scratch that is highly engaging and optimized for SEO and conversion. This way, you can have a completely unique website that caters to your brand and business perfectly instead of using a free or paid theme that other businesses may be using.
Webflow
While WordPress offers thousands of different themes that are useful when you are getting started, Webflow only offers a few dozen pre-designed templates. They are all mobile-friendly and can be used for many different types of websites.
One of the biggest downfalls of Webflow is that once you have chosen a template, you cannot change it later on without losing your content. To change your website template in Webflow you would have to start a new project which could be very time-consuming and financially draining for many businesses.
Webflow templates are very easy to use and customize using the visual editor that allows you to change any design element you want. The changes that you make will then be executed across your website.
Verdict
WordPress offers far more design flexibility than Webflow does. The fact that you can change your theme across your website at any point is a huge advantage when comparing Webflow vs WordPress. While both website builders offer templates that are fairly easy to use, WordPress comes on top with its advanced customization capabilities.
E-Commerce
To make sales online, your customized website needs to include eCommerce features. Both WordPress and Webflow offer many eCommerce features to grow your online business.
WordPress
Almost half of all online stores in the world are powered by WooCommerce on WordPress. WooCommerce is a free plugin that has the capabilities needed to make sales online. This plugin also comes with its own free add-ons and plugins, so you can continue to add more features to your store as your needs change and your business grows.
WordPress is also compatible with nearly any payment platform you want to use on your site. This includes Bitcoin, Stripe, PayPal, Moneris, and many more. There are eCommerce plugins that allow you to sell physical products, subscriptions, memberships, services, and anything else you can think of.
Webflow
Compared to WordPress, Webflow is quite limited in terms of its eCommerce capabilities. With Webflow, you can only sell a set number of products depending on the plan that you are paying for. For example, the standard eCommerce plan allows you to sell 500 products.
Webflow is also limited in terms of the payment platforms that it works with. Using Webflow you can only process payments using Stripe. You will also be charged a 2% transaction fee by Webflow which is in addition to the transaction fees charged by Stripe.
While it is easy to add products to your website, Webflow does not allow you to sell things like subscriptions and memberships to your audience. You can only sell physical products or digital goods like music, apps, ebooks, and software.
Verdict
Comparing Webflow vs WordPress in the eCommerce environment it’s clear that WordPress is far more flexible with its multiple payment options and the ability to add plugins to extend the functionality and capabilities of your site. It also does not limit the type of products you can sell or exclude memberships and subscription-based services. Using Webflow to operate an eCommerce stone is much more expensive, making WordPress a more viable option for most people.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral part of any website that is required to draw traffic organically. This includes specialized features like keyword targeting, title tags, meta descriptions, mobile responsiveness and speed and performance. Good SEO practices help you to rank higher in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and therefore helps to boost natural traffic to your site. It is crucial for online marketing, which is why your website builder must provide the tools you need to optimize your website for Google.
WordPress
Using WordPress puts advanced SEO at your fingertips with the integration of many free SEO plugins like RankMath or Yoast. These plugins can examine the SEO of your website and make suggestions to improve it on the fly which is an incredibly powerful tool for all website owners.
If you use WordPress, you can also add rich snippets to your website to show useful information such as pricing or reviews. This information will appear below your website listing when it appears on a Google Search Results Page and is easily controlled via your SEO plugin. WordPress makes this very easy to do which is a huge advantage for business owners because it is not always possible with other website builders unless you are familiar with coding and schema markup.
Webflow
Webflow also helps you to optimize your website for Google and its SEO settings are easy to modify. Another bonus with Webflow is that their pages are responsive making them more appealing to Google given their preference for mobile friendliness.
Verdict
While both website builders help with SEO, there are a couple of things to consider. Webflow makes its SEO settings easy to work with and is optimized for mobile devices. On the other hand, WordPress has several useful SEO plugins that show you exactly what you need to improve for good SEO including content and link analysis that go well beyond the capabilities of Webflow.
It depends on what you want to get out of your website and whether you are willing to learn how to manage your SEO. Webflow makes SEO a little easier to understand, but WordPress offers a more comprehensive system of search engine optimization tools. This learning curve might quite literally be what sets your website above the rest of the search engines.
Support
Customer support from your website builder is important in case you ever come across any problems. You want to be able to get the most out of the service you’re using to manage your sites.
WordPress
Many people all over the world use WordPress as their content management system and more often than not, you will be able to find a search result on Google for any issues or challenges that arise. WordPress has a massive online support community to draw from. As such, you can easily find tutorials and other resources to help you learn how to use specific functions.
As WordPress is open-source software, it is not owned by anyone making direct support impossible. However, most website hosting companies offer WordPress support to help troubleshoot problems with WordPress. Additionally, if you’ve partnered with a WordPress designer to create your website, they will be able to support your website long-term.
Webflow
While Webflow also does not offer 24/7 support, they do have a support ticket system where you can submit a support request and you will typically get a response within 24 to 48 hours. However, this might not be ideal if you have a pressing question.
Instead, you could make use of their active discussion forum where you can look for assistance from other Webflow users. Aside from that, you will typically be able to find answers to common questions on Google or on Youtube.
Similar to WordPress, if you’ve hired a Webflow designer to help build your website they will most likely be your best point of support.
Verdict
If you think that it is valuable to be able to ask your web page builder directly for help and advice, then Webflow might come out on top here. However, keep in mind that you will likely not receive a response immediately, which would be a problem if you have an urgent matter that needs to be dealt with.
For both platforms, you will be able to find support online from other users. With that said, WordPress has an advantage by there being more users. You will have an easier time finding more detailed posts and videos containing advice about WordPress.
In both cases, if you’re working with a web developer, support shouldn’t be a challenge with either platform.
Plugins and Add-Ons
Apps and plugins allow you to add more functionality to your website without having to write any code. While different platforms offer different plugin options, it is unlikely that one will include everything. This is why third-party apps can be very useful to extend the functionality of your website.
WordPress
WordPress offers over 50,000 different apps and WordPress plugins. You will have even more to choose from if you are willing to pay a small licensing fee for premium apps. These apps allow you to integrate things like Google Analytics, advanced SEO features, custom security features, and so much more.
In addition to all of this, you also have thousands of apps made by third-party developers to choose from. WordPress is compatible with these third-party apps so there is truly no limit to the features that you want to include with your website. Being the most widely used website platform in the world, WordPress offers the deepest pool of apps and plugins to choose from.
Webflow
Compared to WordPress, Webflow offers a very limited selection of plugins and addons. Unfortunately, many of these apps require you to follow a tutorial to connect it to your site and are known to create conflicts with other integrations if you were to move to a new hosting service.
Verdict
With the sheer volume of plugins to choose from, WordPress comes out on top. It is also an important advantage that WordPress is able to support all of these third-party apps and provides a rating system to clarify code quality before you install any new plugins. Unlike Webflow, you don’t have to worry about whether or not your apps will work if you move to a new hosting service with WordPress.
Final Thoughts
Both of these website design platforms are strong contenders. Webflow might be a good option to consider if you are just starting out and you want a simple interface that lets you easily manage your pages. However, as your business starts to grow and you look to expand your offering and integration new marketing tools, you will likely find that you will need access to the more comprehensive features and SEO capabilities that WordPress offers.
If your business is growing, you might want to consider hiring a web designer to create custom WordPress themes for you. Our web design team can tailor the website design, functionality and CMS administration to your unique business needs so that you can get the most out of your site. Book a call today to learn more about how Parachute can help grow your business.
