Webflow and WordPress, the two Ws are taking on the web design industry (the third W of Wix isn’t anywhere close yet). Which one to choose, when and why, are other few questions starting with the letter ‘W’ too. I’ll break it down here, after excessively using the above mentioned platforms.
Firstly to quickly run you though,
Webflow
Provides a combo box for web designers / developers. Which means, you signup on the platform, it has a page builder where you can drag drop and design your website (responsive), it’s already hosted on Webflow platform (backed by Amazon web services AWS) and done. You don’t have to worry about or even know what is hosting, what’s installing a CMS, security, etc. It’s a one stop shop quick and easy.
WordPress
Which powers 43% of the internet, including NASA and other big boys use WordPress as their choice of platform for their website. How does it work? Well not like Webflow.
WordPress is a CMS (Content management system) that you can download for free. THEN you have to buy a monthly web hosting plan (imagine a disk space where you can store your files). On this hosting, you’ll now install the downloaded wordpress. Connect your domain (www.pinkpants.com) to it.
No you’re not done.
Now either you must know PHP, HTML, CSS and create your theme on WordPress. Or you use a page builder which will give you webflow like page builder experience in WordPress. But mind you that’s another installation.
Sounds complex. But really it’s not. Why, because most hosting companies now have a 1 click solution to install any CMS. You get a hosting plan work $10/month, one-click install wordpress for free. Then you either install your wordpress theme or a page builder of your choice.
Pros and Cons of each
Webflow Cons:
- Pricey AF (Between $14 to $39 per month)
- Confusing pricing and tiers
- Limitation to how many visitors can visit in a month
- Limitation to adding more pages, or pay more for more pages
- Your data is on Webflow server
- Limitation of features if you want to build a website with custom features
- If you work in a team managing the site, each member will need their own license.
Webflow Pros:
- You don’t have to worry about, performance, security, backups, installations etc.
- Easier to learn in comparison to other self-hosted (such as WordPress) platforms
- A lot of clone-ables (copy paste themes and customise them)
WordPress Cons:
- Steep AF learning curve if you’re new
- You bring your own, security plugin, backup, hosting, CDN, etc.
- You have to optimise the performance
- You find and install a page builder (if you need one)
- Every feature require a new plugin installation
- Animation is not straight forward, may require plugin or code skills
WordPress Pros:
- No per user pricing, make 100s of accounts for free
- You choose where you host your data
- Customise the website, features as you like
- Offline view of your website is possible, if you want to start development for free without a server or hosting
- Huge eco-system for almost every feature, there’s a solution
- Super affordable, no per site pricing, get a good hosting and you can host a large number of websites with a $10 to $20 per month solution.
What do I use?
Both, but WordPress more often. And I am not even a developer, but I could get the hang of how it all works, and you can too.