February 12, 2023
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5 min read
Today, we're going to take a detailed look at Webflow and WordPress platforms for your business website and compare the two to see which is the better choice. As Edmonton website designers, our boutique creative agency has experience working on both Webflow and WordPress platforms.
That being said, we now exclusively design our client's websites in Webflow — which means we're a little biased. We think when you start to learn more about both platforms, you will come to love Webflow as much as we do.
While there are a lot of differences between Webflow and WordPress, our goal here is to discuss the biggest distinctions and what they mean for your small business website.
Webflow gives designers endless possibilities for no-code customization, putting full freedom in the hands of creatives.
WordPress thinks inside the box and restricts designers from using templates, meaning you will need a developer to custom code any unique visual solutions.
That being said, WordPress has thousands of templates to choose from.
But if you want something totally unique and customized to you, Webflow is the way to go.
Editing or adding content and images on Webflow is easy thanks to its user-friendly CMS system that lets small business owners update their website themselves directly on the page.
Updating a website on WordPress is trickier and needs to be done through page editors and a dashboard, and occasionally requires a basic understanding of coding.
Webflow websites are considered some of the fastest websites online thanks to the custom code it uses. This helps make page loading times faster — and site speed is important for SEO.
WordPress sites are known to be slower due to complex coding and plugins that are often required.
WordPress uses plugins (there are currently more than 60,000 available) to do everything from adding your Instagram feed to your home page to reviewing analytics and more.
With Webflow, there is little need for plugins because you can solve most problems within the platform itself. That doesn’t mean they don’t have any plugins - they're just picky about who they partner with.
This reduces issues such as plugins slowing down site speed, reducing website security, becoming outdated, and potentially breaking and causing serious problems on your website.
To create a customized website within the WordPress platform, you need the ability to code or have the budget to hire a developer.
Webflow, on the other hand, is a visually-organized platform that allows designers and content writers to create and customize themselves with drag-and-drop style containers in order to build website solutions.
WordPress is considered an open-source platform which means anyone can use it for free. However, building websites on the platform comes at a cost. So let’s break it down:
Agencies, or in-house teams, can build you a customized WordPress website from scratch. This typically requires a large team (designer, content writer, project manager, website developers, etc.), which leads to a far bigger financial investment.
Then, there is the templated WordPress solution. Both agencies, in-house teams, and freelancers can offer this route. It typically reduces your design and coding needs and can be done with a smaller team, on a smaller budget. Template costs vary from ($0-$300) and provide a less customized result.
In both scenarios, it’s fairly standard to require website plugins ($0 - $400+ a year) to add everything from animations to video to your website. The more plugins, the more expensive the website. Once your WordPress website is complete, you will then need to choose a hosting provider, which is an additional monthly fee ($5-78).
Webflow’s no-code platform requires smaller team sizes, and in most cases, can be built by the designer directly. This means that you often get more value for your dollar. The time normally spent on more mundane tasks like project management or coding can be spent on creating enticing, visually customized, and strategically branded website solutions.
While Webflow is a subscription-based platform ($18-53 /month), everything is included in one monthly payment. You and your website designer can choose the package most appropriate for your business and pay the ongoing monthly hosting fees.
For both options, most agencies also offer website maintenance packages that can include everything from minor monthly updates to content marketing and beyond.
A great agency will ensure your investment is being protected and will typically combine long-term marketing strategies with your monthly maintenance into one point of payment. This ensures peace of mind that your website is being maintained and cared for with ongoing content support — which Google loves.
Included in each monthly Webflow package is dedicated email customer support from Monday through Friday.
Each request is sent a personal reply within 24-48 business hours.
WordPress doesn’t offer customer support, however, if you have an in-house marketing team that includes a developer, you can troubleshoot problems and maintain your website that way.
If you are a smaller business without an in-house marketing team, then the simplicity of Webflow might be the better option.
While WordPress and Webflow are both platforms that allow you to make websites, they both take different approaches to development. Which route you choose will depend on your business type, budget and priorities.
WordPress is a great option for:
Webflow is a great option for:
While there are a lot of reasons why we love building websites in Webflow, the biggest positives for our clients are complete customization, an easy-to-use CMS, faster site speed, no stressing about outdated plugins breaking their websites, no coding required, all-in-one pricing packages and ongoing customer support.
While Webflow is a recently new website platform (2012) compared to WordPress (2003), we also love that they are constantly innovating and developing new features and products on the platform. We believe the sky is the limit for this website platform and the opportunities it will create for small businesses.
Spark & Pony is a remote creative marketing agency dedicated to making custom marketing solutions for small businesses. We have custom-designed beautiful websites in Webflow for businesses across Alberta. If you are interested in learning more about Webflow or our services, feel free to connect with us via email or social media.
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