Webflow and WordPress are two platforms, which are definitely worth trying, if you intend to design, manage and promote a full-featured website. Each system comes with its integrated set of features required to start a professional project.
At the same time, the services utilize quite different approaches to the process of website development. This is explained by their nature, functionality and target audience.
Webflow – is a website builder that has made a name for itself as a popular cloud-based SaaS platform. At the same time, the range and complexity of tools and options the system offers have given it the CMS-like features.
This has made the software a kind of a canvas for professional web designers focused on website semantic and visualization.
WordPress – is the open-source PHP-based Content Management System, which doesn’t require any introduction because of its reputability and high demand of users for the tools and features it offers.
WordPress is known for its extensive integration options and flexibility of website design customization options.
Both systems are worthy competitors, which make it possible to create feature-rich projects. Likewise, it takes time to learn and master each of them because Webflow and WordPress come with complex editors and an abundance of tools and elements that have to be thoroughly explored.
So, which platform prevails over its competitor? Which of them is worth user attention and time or budget investment? What are the distinctions between them that can affect your choice?
We have come up with a detailed overview of WordPress vs Webflow comparison to highlight some of the benefits and possible drawbacks of the systems for users.
General Overview
Webflow resembles contemporary CMS and some Adobe-powered platforms like Dreamweaver. This is due to its dashboard, which is a bit oversaturated with features, tools and design customization elements.
These features make Webflow quite a complex and unusual solution for most beginners. The undeniable advantage of the system, though, is that it does not require any coding proficiency to launch websites with it.
If you have programming knowledge, however, and wish to use it for your advanced project customization, you can do that any time.
Webflow was first introduced to the market in 2013 and its popularity has notably grown since that time. Statistics says, however, that the current number of web projects launched with the service has now exceeded 678,719 websites. This is quite a substantial figure.
WordPress has made a name for itself as the world-renowned Content Management System. It is free and feature-laden enough to start any kind of website.
The platform comes with an impressive variety of integrations that can notably enhance the performance of websites created with it. At the same time, the CMS is not difficult to master, even though inexperienced users may spend more time getting used to it.
The CMS was launched in 2008 as a blogging platform, but its functionality has extended a lot since that time. Currently, WordPress is a perfect choice to create business websites, portfolios, online stores and other types of projects for personal and professional use.
According to recent stats, the overall number of websites created with the platform has reached 61,909,719 projects – that’s more than a striking figure!
Which One Is Easier to Use?
Webflow was designed for professional developers. You will never find it difficult to work with the platform if you know such terms as class, DIV, Container, etc. However, you should also know how to deal with coding to create one-of-a-kind projects.
It will not take you long to understand how the Webflow Content Management System works. The platform looks familiar to professional designers as well for users who regularly work with editors such as Photoshop or Adobe Muse.
The interface is pretty the same. You will get used to all available tools and sections really fast to add different elements, style and position them.
Webflow boasts an advanced Content Management System with its Site Editor like Elementor that lets users add new content as well as reuse previous layouts and work in collaboration with other developers or designers.
You can define the custom types of content whether it is a blog post, team member or project creating custom fields for each type.
Do you own a website already? If so, the system allows deleting and rebuilding it once again, running the project on the available basis.
There are several options here. It is possible to launch a website from scratch, use a free preset or a professional paid template, pick a free design or the one shared by other users.
Likewise, you can use a web project developed by other clients, who have allowed creating a clone version of their website.
The platform boasts a huge knowledge base provided by its digital University. Here you can find all necessary information about how to get started with website building in addition to design basics, hosting, integration and more.
Over a hundred tutorial videos are available for visitors of the Webflow University. Apart from knowledge base and video guides, users can keep in touch with the customer support via email, official forum or community portal. No phone or live chat support are available here. There is also a built-in marketplace for finding tech specialists here.
The only exception is the owners of Workspace subscriptions, who have upgraded to the Enterprise level. These users get professional assistance from a personal tech support manager.
WordPress open-source nature makes it a great choice for professional developers. You have multiple ways to customize templates or write the code for your future website using your HTML/PHP knowledge and numerous paid and free plugins.
As an open-source platform, WordPress lets users handle the PHP and HTML editing. You can modify any template to create a unique style for the website or export your old HTML site to WordPress.
At the same time, you are free to add new blocks and elements. You will certainly need them due to the fact that most of the WordPress templates are pretty simple and all look alike. You might want some extra customization in addition to the solid HTML knowledge.
While being an open-source platform, WordPress does not have a customer support team. You can only count on the experience of previous developers and web designers who faced the same problems.
As a rule, problematic issues are described on numerous forums available online, including the official WordPress.org community.
Design and Flexibility
Webflow and WordPress both come with stunning integrated functionality that works best for all types of projects. There is also an opportunity to make use of external tools, if you have an intention to enhance your website design and performance.
To define the system, which will be a better solution for your individual project, it is reasonable to compare their main parameters. That’s exactly what we are going to do right away.
eCommerce
Webflow now comes with its own integrated eCommerce engine that lets users build and grow shops with excellent design and performance. However, not all plans allow setting up a web store. This is only possible for eCommerce Site subscribers.
The system puts a user in charge of the web development process, tracking all its steps from the very beginning and up to the final web store publication. No coding is needed to start and grow your web-based business with the system.
What you can do here is adding and managing product collections, customizing the integrated shopping cart, assigning titles, descriptions and price specifications to each and every product you are going to offer for sale.
Webflow integrates with external services, including Zapier, MailChimp, ShipStation, QuickBooks and more. It’s also possible to track website performance and order statuses, customize transactional emails, integrate parallax effects and animations.
It’s up to you to adjust payment, shipping and tax parameters as well as to update the web store details 24/7. There is also an opportunity to create a custom checkout page here along with a customizable shopping cart.
Webflow makes it possible to add special CMS objects – products – to the catalog. All in all, it is possible to add from 500 to 3000 goods here.
Likewise, the software grants access to multiple eCommerce tools for convenient product/category management, customizable email templates, numerous ways of calculating shipping expenses etc. If needed, the website builder lets users create separate accounts for web store owners and for employees.
At the same time, Webflow has certain limitations that do not let you get the most out of your web store development and its further promotion. Thus, it is impossible to create nested categories here (you can create and manage a single-level catalog only), add similar and related products to one product card.
A notable disadvantage is absence of the ready-made mobile app for convenient online store management. This makes it impossible to effectively track balances, manage orders, receive notification and complete other eCommerce-related actions.
WordPress eCommerce functionality is on the top notch level. Even though the CMS doesn’t have an integrated eCommerce engine, it realizes its web store development potential via the use of niche-specific plugins.
There are many of them available out there and each plugin has much to offer to come up to your eCommerce web design needs. Most of these plugins are paid, which contributes to their reliability and safety.
Among the plugins you can use for your web store creation, the following ones go first: Cart66 Cloud, Ecwid eCommerce Shopping Cart, BigCommerce WP Plugin, WP eCommerce, WP EasyCart Shopping Cart and eCommerce Store and more.
If you really intend to run a web store with WordPress, using its open-source WooCommerce plugin will be the best solution. WooCommerce is free by default and it grants access to multiple eCommerce features and tools.
The extension comes with geolocation support, special offers and discounts, convenient product catalog organization and management, opportunity to sell physical/digital items, setting their major parameters and using a rich inventory toolset.
To enhance the eCommerce potential of your web store built with WooCommerce, you can download and install a variety of free and paid plugins with regard to your needs.
Blogging
Webflow provides extensive blogging options. The website builder makes it possible to browse its integrated collection of blog templates you can further customize and edit to your liking.
The platform allows writing, editing, updating and managing blog posts, adjusting SEO settings, uploading images, integrating social media files etc. The system works great for diverse blogging projects, irrespective of the niche you specialize in.
There are two ways to start a blog with Webflow – either from static pages (when each new page is created in the editor based on previous ones) or using CMS functionality (in this case, you will have to create a blog from scratch). The second option is more logical and convenient, making it possible to post more content – up to 10,000 records.
Webflow offers a standard preset for launching standard blogs yet it is also possible to pick one of its CMS collection sets – Blog Posts section.
You can use it to create your own blog, adjusting the available fields. These include plain/formatted text, videos, date/time, images, links, files, email/phone etc.
By the way, if you already own a blog powered by another platform, webflow allows transferring the posts using CSV file import/export feature. This makes the website builder quite a flexible solution for blog creation and its further management.
WordPress was initially designed as a blogging platform. No wonder, its blog development functionality is on the top level. WordPress provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for bloggers of all skill levels to create and manage their websites.
The CMS comes with multiple ready-made templates used specifically for blogging and there is also an opportunity to find and customize quality designs out there. You can choose from free or premium themes, and easily modify elements like colors, fonts, layouts, and more.
With WordPress, you can easily create and publish blog posts using the built-in editor. The editor offers a diversity of formatting options, such as headings, lists, images, videos etc. This lets you create visually appealing and engaging content.
The system comes with an integrated media library where you can upload and manage your images, videos, audio files, and other media. You can easily insert the elements into your blog posts and customize their display settings afterwards.
To properly organize blog content, WordPress allows assigning categories and tags to your posts. This helps readers navigate your blog and find relevant content.
Boosting project performance matters a lot, when it comes to running a blog. With this purpose, you can integrate the most feature-laden plugins, such as Easy Social Sharing, Everest Forms, Akismet, NextGEN Gallery, User Registration, UpdraftPlus, Maintenance Page, Jetpack and WPDiscuz to mention a few.
What’s more, WordPress includes a commenting system that enables visitors to share their comments under each blog post. You can moderate and reply to comments, fostering engagement and interaction with your audience.
If you plan to work on your blog with a team of writers or editors, WordPress makes it possible to assign various user roles with specific capabilities. This contributes to more effective content creation, management, moderation and promotion.
Third-Party Integrations and Special Features
Webflow integrations are not quite numerous, but they are still worth user attention. Among the most powerful and useful extensions one can make use of, it initially makes sense to mention the Lottie and AfterEffects integration as well as Lightbox Gallery integration.
The latter lets you create stunning image galleries and grids, using the preliminary uploaded videos/photos. No special coding or skills are required to complete the task here.
Additionally, it is possible to create your own project design by using lightboxes on a chosen template page that will match the content of your gallery.
The website builder allows adjusting and moving objects in various directions on a web page across y and x planes or axes. The system comes with the 3D CSS transforms feature, which allows implementing diverse object dimensions without any code editing required.
With Webflow, users can enhance their website presentation by creating interactive animations and transitions. The software offers a range of animation tools, including scroll effects, hover interactions, and complex multi-step animations, enabling designers to create engaging and immersive experiences. Integration of these interactive effects does not imply any deep JavaScript awareness.
Apart from integrations, Webflow makes it possible to work with images in WebP and SVG formats. The system also allows creating crops for various website versions in the automated mode. However, there are no ready-made integrations with free or paid photo stocks here.
Webflow facilitates collaboration between team members and clients through its Designer and Editor modes. Users can invite other users to collaborate, provide client billing options and even transfer project ownership when required.
The platform also comes with multiple SEO and marketing tools, domain management options, code export features, automated backups and a built-in audit tool. These features make it possible to control the promotion of your Webflow-powered project to be able to prevent the potential problems on time.
WordPress allows creating unique websites of any type and there is also the opportunity to do lots of coding in addition to using an endless list of plugins. WordPress provides all plugins you may need.
However, the more of them you have, the more updates you will need to make. At the same time, some plugins may contain malicious codes. It may have a negative effect not only on the website’s performance, but also on its search engine ranks, traffic, etc.
When picking plugins for your project, make sure they comply both with your business niche and major safety requirements.
Web developers will appreciate extra flexibility when it comes to website hosting. They can choose from multiple options as well as use their own servers to host the site’s files though the procedure requires extra costs and special skills.
Additionally, WordPress can be integrated with any third party service and provides access to WordPress site databases where you can work with file configurations and more.
Design Set Up and Customization
Webflow Site Designer acts as a coding automation tool where you can deal with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript without actually coding.
You can visualize the code and the system will automatically adjust it to a chosen layout. In other words, the Site Designer writes the code for all the elements and layouts.
If you do not want to deal with the Site Designer, you can choose from a selection of ready-to-use 50 free and about 300 paid templates.
Premium templates differ from free themes. They look more professional and functional. The cost of premium themes ranges between $24 and $129.
Webflow professional community has designed all available paid templates. It means no third parties and 100% smooth running on Desktop and Mobile devices.
Website layouts may be filtered by a number of criteria, including project niche, functionality, style, language, design options etc. It is possible to start working on your website creation not with a template, but with a pre-designed thematic website.
There are ready-made projects developed by third-party authors that are available for cloning in the corresponding section of the website builder. Additionally, the system allows buying and customizing templates from a popular ThemeForest platform, but you have to be ready to use coding skills to edit them as required.
Mind that if none of the suggested web design options appeals to you for some reason, you can get in touch with professional website developers to hire an expert to create a website for you from scratch. To do this, reach the freelance marketplace and browse the available samples/authors there.
All Webflow templates are responsive by default. However, it is possible to fine-tune the breakpoints here, if required. This is needed to adjust proper website resolutions for various types of devices for proper website display.
An interesting opportunity is to set up a mobile website version by means of using breakpoints. This task mainly works great for web design pros as it implies the division of screens into 4 types of devices. These are mobile devices in the portrait mode, tablets, desktops and mobile devices in the landscape mode (horizontal position).
Animations feature certainly worth paying extra attention. Available at the “Interaction” section on the panel, it lets users bring to life practically all elements on their website pages.
You can make animations for menus, blocks, content blocks, images, and more. The tool contains enough different options to animate up to 90% of the page content.
Webflow is a self-hosted platform. However, it does not mean you need to stick to it all the time. The software has export capabilities letting users replace the entire website code and host it somewhere else although it is hardly the best idea from security perspectives (we just mention the capability).
If you are planning to run several projects at the same time, Webflow lets you switch between them as well as copy and paste your previous layouts. You can duplicate some elements as well as the whole pages from the previous project.
The software delivers different built-in capabilities out of the box in addition to integrated hosting with a free integrated SSL certificate that does not require any prolongation. The distributed infrastructures and a built-in content delivery network are in the list of extra Webflow Hosting advantages that can improve the website performance.
WordPress design customization options are quite impressive and versatile. Despite numerous templates delivered by WordPress, they all look pretty much the same. Even premium themes are limited to visual effects.
You can add parallax and some animations in your Theme Options settings. However, professional web designers and developers will hardly find it difficult to create a unique website.
As an open-source platform, WordPress provides full access to CSS files. It means that you can change the look of our website by changing its code without opting for a visual editor.
Users can work with font color, typography, and general website performance. Advanced theme settings let you change typography, font color, title sizes, etc. You can customize some parts of the page, change header, footer or sidebar.
General Pricing Comparison
Webflow has a FREE plan though it looks too limited. A user can create only two pages on the platform’s official subdomain. If you require to build a bigger project, you should definitely consider upgrading to one of the paid subscriptions the platform offers.
Actually, the system provides a striking selection of plans many users may even find confusing. There are several large groups of subscriptions, including Site plans (General and eCommerce) and Workspace packages (for In-House Teams and plans for Freelancers & Agencies). Each of them is correspondingly divided into more detailed plans.
All subscriptions can be billed on a monthly and yearly basis based on users’ needs. The price difference between the plans ranges up to 50%, depending upon the term they imply. Let’s have a detailed overview of Webflow subscriptions now.
Site Plans (used for simple or content-driven web projects as well as for large high-traffic marketing websites) include:
General Subscriptions
- Starter ($0) – software subdomain, 50 CMS items, 1GB of bandwidth;
- Basic ($14/mo billed annually) – CDN, 0 CMS items, free SSL certificate, 50GB bandwidth, 500 form submissions, custom domain connection etc.;
- CMS ($23/mo billed annually) – custom domain, 2000 CMS items, 1000 form submissions, 3 content editors, site search, limited CMS API, 200GB of bandwidth etc.;
- Business ($39/mo billed annually) – unlimited form submissions, custom domain, 10000 CMS items, full CMS API, advanced global CDN, 10 content editors, 400GB of bandwidth etc.;
- Enterprise (the cost is discussed individually) – custom bandwidth and domain name, 10000 CMS items, uptime SLAs etc.
eCommerce plans (work well for eCommerce projects that do not require coding skills) include:
- Standard ($29/mo) – all features of the CMS plan plus custom checkout and shopping cart, integrated CMS for blogs, 500 items, $50K annual sales volume, 2% transaction fee, email customization etc;
- Plus ($74/mo) – all features of the Business plan plus unbranded emails, 10 staff accounts, zero transaction fee, 1000 items, $200K annual sales volume etc.;
- Advanced ($212/mo) – all Business plan features plus 15 staff accounts, unlimited annual sales volume, 3000 items and more.
These plans, however, are applicable for managing one website only. If you plan to set up and promote more projects with the software, it makes sense to upgrade to Workspace accounts.
Workspace Plans make it possible to manage multiple websites and cooperate with team members. They work best for simple or content-driven projects as well as for large high-traffic marketing websites. For greater convenience, they are also divided into 2 large groups – for In-House Teams and for Freelancers & Agencies.
Plans for In-House Teams include:
- Starter ($0) – 1 seat and 2 unhosted websites etc.;
- Core ($19/mo per seat billed annually) – up to 3 seats, 10 unhosted sites, billing permissions, custom codes, code export etc.;
- Growth ($49/mo per seat billed annually) – up to 9 seats, unlimited number of unhosted sites, custom code, code export, publishing permissions etc.;
- Enterprise (the cost is discussed individually) – custom seat limits and code, unlimited unhosted sites, advanced permissions and security, code export, performance and customer success etc.
Plans for Freelancers & Agencies encompass:
- Starter ($0) – 1 seat and 2 unhosted websites on the system domains, 2 agency or freelancer guests etc.;
- Freelancer ($16/mo per seat billed annually) – up to 3 seats, 10 unhosted sites, full CMS access on unhosted sites, free guest access in Client Workspaces etc.;
- Agency ($35/mo per seat billed annually) – up to 9 seats, free guest access in Client Workspaces, opportunity to manage publishing permissions for your team, unlimited number of unhosted sites, full CMS access on unhosted sites, etc.
WordPress is 100% free to use. However, you will have to handle lots of extra costs from a place to host your future website to paid premium themes and different extensions every time you want to take maximum from your SEO plugin.
The most reliable hosting provider the CMS recommends to its users is Bluehost. The company is a trusted niche leader, which delivers a surprising variety of features, tools and services. The cost of its plans starts with $2.95 to reach $13.95/mo for the most expensive solution.
What you will get at this cost is a bonus domain name, fast page load speed time, strong uptime rates, integrated eCommerce functionality, rich integrated app marketplace, Site Access Blockage tool, DDOS protection, content marketing and SEO options, IP blacklist features and more.
The final cost of building a website using WordPress can be even higher if compared with Webflow paid plans. It depends on the number of premium plugins you use.
Moreover, you will need premium-quality hosting services to ensure the website’s smooth running and performance. It will affect the price of the project.
Which One Is the Best for SEO?
Webflow delivers extensive SEO optimization options, letting users manually fill out the main parameters required for effective search engine optimization. These include titles, descriptions, keywords and ALT tags for images. The website builder automatically generates the sitemap file along with meta tags for the blog feed articles.
Additionally, the platform provides API access to web developers and it’s also possible to connect Facebook and Google services, adjust the parameters of getting user info from the integrated forms, add HTML/CSS codes and Webhooks, activate the process of user IP anonymization etc.
WordPress is also good at SEO promotion. The system allows adjusting the SEO parameters of projects created with it by means of integrating corresponding plugins. The latter differ in pricing, functionality, integration complexity and other features.
The most popular and powerful SEO plugin designed for WordPress is Yoast SEO, but it’s up to you to pick those that work best for your individual project. There are many of them available on the web (SEMRush, Rank Math, Broken Link Checker, SEO Press, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Google Search Console, Yoast SEO and All In One SEO Pack) to mention just a few.
Which One Is Better for a Small Business Website?
Webflow is a nice choice for small business website development. The platform grants access to a stunning variety of advanced design customization tools as it is geared towards the needs and skills of web designers first.
What’s more, it is possible to edit and customize numerous ready-made business templates, make use of blogging and eCommerce features, integrate third-party extensions like After Effects, Lightbox gallery and Lottie as well as adjust project promotion and HTML/CSS editing parameters.
WordPress can also be effectively used to develop small business projects and it offers advanced features and tools to reach the goal. The CMS comes with a set of integrated business templates and there is also an opportunity to pick the designs on the web.
Advanced functionality of your WP-based business project can still be reached by the integration of corresponding plugins. Some of them are as follows: WP Forms, MonsterInsights, Sucuri, UpdraftPlus, WP Rocket, Beaver Builder, MemberPress, RafflePress, CSS Hero, Constant Contact, OptinMonster and many more.
Which One Is the Best for eCommerce?
Webflow has an integrated eCommerce engine that allows for web store development and customization. To get access to the toolset, you should reach the dashboard of the platform and browse the available options there. No coding skills are required to start a web store with Webflow.
Among the set of eCommerce features you can use for your project, it makes sense to mention shopping cart integration and customization, addition of animation effects, creation/management of product catalogs, set up of product parameters (characteristics, cost, statistics, stock availability etc.), collection of customers’ info etc.
You can also effectively use multiple eCommerce marketing tools and integrations, such as MailChimp, ShipStation, Zapier, QuickBooks and more.
WordPress web store functionality is not provided by default as the CMS doesn’t have an integrated eCommerce engine. This doesn’t mean that you cannot start a full-featured online store with the system.
For this very purpose, WordPress allows for integration of eCommerce plugins that differ in complexity, cost, parameters etc. The most popular and functional WordPress plugin meant for web store development is WooCommerce.
It is free yet very functional, which lets you start and run a professional project with regard to your eCommerce needs.
Which One to Choose for Blogging?
Webflow blogging options are worth the attention as the system lets you start and manage a functional blog for personal or business needs. The website builder boasts a collection of quality customizable templates, which are responsive by default.
Alongside, you can use advanced design customization tools to create your blog design and layout. It is also possible to set up SEO parameters for your website, integrate media files, upload and crop images, write and update blog posts.
WordPress has distinguished itself as a professional blogging platform. Obviously, the CMS excels at blog development, customization, management and promotion tools. Just reach the admin panel of the system to find out what exactly it has in stock.
To create your personal or business blog with WordPress, you can write, add and update articles, integrate media files, adjust social sharing options, set up SEO parameters etc.
There is also an opportunity to choose and customize WordPress templates designed for blogging purposes here. To see the way your blog will look after the publication, you can make use of the preview feature before going live.
WordPress plugin integration options are also quite extensive, when it comes to blog creation. There are lots of free and paid plugins available on the web and you can pick any of them with regard to your needs.
Some of the most popular options are as follows: Maintenance Page, Jetpack, Akismet, UpdraftPlus, Everest Forms, WPDiscuz and many more.
Moving from Webflow to WordPress
Webflow is a nice pick to start a website, especially if you expect high end flexibility and strong design focus from it. The website builder works best for the needs of proficient web developers, but it can also be used by those users, who are just exploring the major web design nuances. In this case, though, it will take much more time and effort to cope with the project.
As your Webflow-based website starts growing as you realize that you need a more flexible web design tool, you might consider switching to WordPress. The CMS is full-featured and powerful enough to let you design all types of projects with maximum efficacy.
The process of switching from Webflow to WordPress also takes time and effort, but this mainly depends upon your initial coding proficiency and complexity of the project you intend to move. It is possible to try DIY website migration and this is where the detailed guide listed above will be of great help to you.
Keep in mind that you will have to take care of both content and domain name transfer. Hosting preservation and traffic redirection should not be overlooked as well, because these parameters have a notable impact upon the ranking of your newly-transferred project in the search engines.
Do you feel doubts regarding the success of your DIY website migration process? Not to pose your project at risk, it makes sense to use professional assistance.
There are special website migration services that are aware of all the details and characteristics of both platforms as well as of the must-have steps of the transfer procedure. They use an individual approach to each client and project they work on, which always guarantees the best result possible. This is what makes the idea of hiring professionals a reasonable investment, which will eventually pay off.
Key Differences Between Webflow and WordPress
| Webflow | WordPress | |
| Ease of Use: | Webflow is a website builder, which has advanced web design tools and services that make it similar to popular CMS. It takes time, patience and skills to explore the platform and master its nuances. | WordPress is the CMS, which is quite complex for beginners. However, it’s quite simple to master it, if you have some time and skills. |
| Functionality: | The website builder is feature-rich. It allows for deep website customization via code editing and it delivers advanced integration options. They make it possible to create numerous simple and complex projects, such as business websites, blogs, portfolios, eCommerce websites, landing pages etc. | The platform is quite feature-laden. It offers advanced integration options, which let you start and manage almost any type of website, such as blogs, business websites, web stores or landing pages. |
| Design: | Webflow has more than 300 themes. They are responsive by default and completely customizable. The designs are free (around 50 templates) and paid and there is an opportunity to pick a blank template to customize it absolutely from scratch. | WordPress has a set of built-in themes, but there are lots of third-party templates available on the web. They are free and paid and they are well optimized for mobile viewing. |
| eCommerce: | The website builder lets you run a quality web store. It has an advanced eCommerce engine that grants access to numerous tools and features. | The CMS allows starting a web store by means of eCommerce plugin integration. The most popular shopping cart plugin created for WordPress is WooCommerce, which is absolutely free. |
| Blogging: | Webflow is also a nice blogging solution. Its integrated engine makes it possible to design, customize, edit and promote a full-featured personal or business blog. | WordPress was initially created as a blogging platform. The set of its plugins meant for blog development is rich and versatile to let you start and post professional blogs. |
| Small Business: | The website builder unveils an opportunity to launch a small business website. Apart from using professional business templates, there is an opportunity to integrate third-party extensions, stats tracking tools and other features that are a must-have for a business website. | WordPress grants access to lots of plugins, which were specially designed for the creation of small business websites. |
| Pricing: | The website builder has a free subscription that comes with a set of restrictions. There are also several groups of paid plans – Site plans (General and eCommerce) and Workspace subscriptions (for In-House Teams and for Freelancers & Agencies). They also fall into smaller groups. The cost of paid subscriptions starts at $14/mo. | The CMS is free, but you should be ready to invest into paid plugins, templates, hosting and domain name to go live with your website. The cheapest Bluehost plan costs $2.95/mo only. |
| SEO: | Webflow provides strong SEO options. It is possible to set up the major SEO parameters here for all the web pages as well as for the website in general. The system grants API access to web developers, while the sitemap is generated automatically. | Websites created with WordPress rank high in the search engines. The CMS lets you choose from multiple SEO plugins, integration of which has a positive effect upon website promotion. |
| Customer Support: | Webflow University, extensive knowledge base, email, blog, video tutorials, forum. | No official customer support, extensive worldwide user community. |
Comparison Conclusion: Which One Is Better?
Both Webflow and WordPress have much to offer web design pros, even though they use somewhat different approaches and techniques to the process of website development.
Having completed the analysis of both platforms, we can conclude that the final choice of the web building service should comply with your individual web design requirements, needs, expectations as well as web design proficiency.
Despite the large number of alternatives, Webflow seems to have a greater potential for web designers willing to come up with a solid website and used to work with SaaS website builders like Squarespace. It has an array of custom development setups and a worthy integrated eCommerce engine. The system is also more flexible and functional due to a combination of its Designer and Editor tools wisely integrated into the CMS.
WordPress requires more time and skills to get started. You will also have to bother about hosting/domain choice, plugin integrations, template set up and customization. On the other hand, the platform reserves much customization freedom for developers. This is a crucial factor when it comes to the creation of unique, personalized and full-featured projects.
