Introduction To What is Webflow

Webflow is a website-building platform based on the digital cloud. What makes it different from WordPress and other CMSs is that anyone can build a website without knowing anything about coding, programming, or data entry. It offers a huge array of customization options. That means the possibilities in terms of design and presentation are limitless.

The customization and ease of setting up a site without any prior knowledge are where Webflow is a true winner. 

Webflow Pros

One of the greatest USPs of Webflow is the creative freedom it gives to create a site that reflects your brand identity, products, and services. All you need is an introductory tutorial familiarizing you with the platform layout. Beyond that, you don’t need anything to understand the customization capabilities of this website design studio.

Here are some of the pros of Webflow –

• Highly responsive page settings, designs, elements, and features
• An intuitive editor that works in real-time to show the changes taking place before hitting publish
• Drag and drop feature for easy page creating and editing
• Uses reusable CSS classes
• Complete access to a wide range of color shades, swatches, color matching, and color-coding
• Direct-to-web publishing
• Fully integrated data collection and marketing tools
• Special integration and customization options
• Supports scroll-based graphics, banners, and animations
• Gives you the ability to stream on laptops, desktops, and handheld devices without any loading issues and minimal downtime.
• Supports SSL certification for top-notch security.

There’s complete control over however you want the pages to look. What’s more, websites set up in Webflow are SEO and search-engine friendly. You get a ton of built-in options for tracking your SEO performance. That means, you’re not sacrificing traffic and performance for customization.

Webflow Cons 

As with most things in life, Webflow isn’t without a few cons. Some of the most common ones of this platform are –

• The interface can feel a bit alienating; especially to the users who have been using other platforms for years and years. The difference in templates can feel like a big deal. 
• There might be some learning curve to understanding Webflow for first-time users. Especially if you haven’t explored things outside of WordPress much.
• Unlike open-source platforms that come with a ton of user-supplied content, it can feel a bit restricting to use Webflow. With that said, the platform has a growing library of tutorials, templates, and training options that other platforms don’t have.

Webflow vs. WordPress

In the Webflow vs WordPress debate, here are the main differences you can expect – 

• There’s complete freedom and control over design in Webflow whereas there are template restrictions in WordPress. Some templates even need coding from scratch.
• Coding in Webflow is clean. In WordPress however, coding can become too cluttered due to the need for multiple plugins.
• On-page editing in Webflow lets you see changes happening in real-time. In WordPress, you have to head to page editors and the dashboard to do any editing.
• In terms of cost, Webflow is more expensive whereas WordPress is mostly free. You only need to pay for hosting.
• The page-builder in Webflow is based around drag and drop features wherein in WordPress, you need to install extensive plugins to enable the page builder.

Picking a platform for your website is a major decision. You want to get things right the first time around to avoid the pain of migrating to another platform at a later date. Both WordPress and Webflow are great website builders with a unique set of features to offer. Both have things to offer that some may prefer over others. 

WordPress Cons

WordPress is relatively easy to work with in terms of templates and themes. However, if you need to customize the design, you would either have to code things yourself or you would need to work with a developer or a web design agency. 

Since you’re the manager of the entire site, everything from maintenance and updates is your responsibility. The only exception to that is if you go with managed WordPress hosting.

Webflow for E-commerce Sites?

Webflow is excellent for informative sites like news, magazines, blogs, etc. You can build highly customizable sites on this platform. However, if you plan on setting up an online store such as an e-commerce site, then this might not be the best option. In that realm, Shopify continues to be the best site-building platform. So, in the Webflow vs Shopify battle, the latter is a clear winner.

Setting up and running an e-commerce store in Webflow can be quite expensive. That’s because many of the key features you need for running an online store are still in the testing phase and not available yet.

For example, Shopify comes with a wide range of payment options and gateways. You can manage the store even while out and about over a mobile app. In comparison, Webflow doesn’t have any such capabilities yet.

In Conclusion

Both WordPress and Webflow are worthy opponents. However, we do have a clear winner – Webflow.

Let’s just say that while we love WordPress, for most beginners today there’s no platform friendlier than Webflow. With cleaner code and endless customizations, even a novice can create stunning websites. 

For beginners who still prefer WordPress, we suggest working with a specialized website design agency or studio like Partywave.

This article is brought to you by Partywave, a brand design, and strategic launch studio. Partywave launches, refreshes, and grows meaningful and dynamic companies.