Webflow or WordPress: which one to choose for your website?

If you are looking to launch your very own website, there are plenty of options out there to help you get your site up and running. However, picking the right fit for your project can be challenging.

Let's say you are going back and forth between the two major players - Webflow and WordPress - for example; this article will help you determine which platform best suits your needs and make an informed decision.

About WordPress

WordPress is a CMS that has been on the market since 2003 and has quickly become one of the world's most popular website publishing programs. At the time of writing, WordPress powers over 30% of websites on the internet.

It is an open-source platform, meaning the software is distributed with its source code, allowing users to view and modify the code freely.

About Webflow

Webflow is a web development and hosting platform that has been around since 2013. The platform combines a user-friendly visual designer, a CMS in which you can create custom databases for your content, and an editor that allows users to instantly edit, publish and preview their content on the website.

What's interesting about Webflow is that you don't need to know how to code to build your website. Webflow automatically generates HTML, CSS, and JavaScript without you having to lift a finger. However, if you are a skilled developer, you also have the option to customize Webflow's automatically generated code to your liking.

Key differences between Webflow and WordPress

WordPress code can become a little cluttered because you need so many plugins. Webflow's code, on the other hand, is very clean and of good quality.

To make changes to your website in WordPress, you must go through the dashboard and page editors. Webflow allows users to edit directly on the page and publish changes at the click of a button.

Depending on which plan you use, Webflow can be on the more expensive side. WordPress is completely free. You only need to pay for hosting.

Webflow uses an intuitive visual drag-and-drop editor for web design. In WordPress, you would have to install a plugin to enable this.

With Webflow, users have complete design freedom. WordPress uses restrictive templates, or you must code your site from scratch.

Strengths of Webflow

User-friendly editor

When it comes to managing your website's content, Webflow is an absolute breath of fresh air. Unlike WordPress, the Webflow CMS can be entirely customized. This makes it easy for you as a content editor to add, modify or delete items. Webflow even allows you to make changes directly on the page and preview them immediately.

Clean code

Webflow does not rely on external plugins for specific functionalities. Webflow produces clean code that is certainly not inferior to the HTML, CSS, or JavaScript traditionally written from scratch by developers.

Lightning-fast hosting

Fast hosting is essential for a professional website. Webflow hosting runs on the servers of Amazon Web Services and Fastly. Because of their global server infrastructure and CDN, users benefit from optimal loading speeds anywhere in the world.

SEO-proof

Because Webflow websites are technically sound and load quickly, they rank really well in search. In addition, Webflow offers easy access to all the essential SEO settings, allowing users to optimize their website for search engines.

Always up-to-date and secure

Technical maintenance of a Webflow website requires exceptionally little time or effort, as updates are performed automatically. Webflow is not dependent on plugins, so updates pose little risk to the website's functionality, performance, and security.

Drawbacks of using Webflow

Steep learning curve

Webflow's interface is quite complex and can be somewhat intimidating to first-time users. Webflow does provide a lot of information and resources through their Webflow University in the form of videos, articles, and a forum. However, consider that beginners will need to invest some time to get the hang of the platform.

Price

Unlike WordPress, Webflow is not free. They do offer a limited free Starter plan that allows you to create a very basic website. But if you're looking for a more advanced website, you will want to opt for one of Webflow's premium paid subscriptions. Website subscriptions are charged per site. There are four paid plans: Basic, CMS, Business, and Enterprise.

Hosting with Webflow starts at $16 a month. And while that may be on the more expensive side, you will save a lot on maintenance costs. Following from this, Webflow may be the best choice for your wallet in the long run.

Strengths of WordPress

Templates

A WordPress template is a quick and cost-efficient solution to become visible online. WordPress offers an impressive range of customizable templates. Users can adjust the colors and fonts and then fill the website with content.

Wide range plugins

WordPress is an open-source platform allowing users to integrate third-party plugins into their website. WordPress offers a massive range of plugins. Are you looking for a specific functionality for your website? Chances are there's a plugin for that. For example: Do you want to add a form on your website? Use a plugin (WPForms). Want to sell products on your website? Use a plugin (WooCommerce). Would you like to improve the findability of your website? You guessed it; you use a plugin (e.g., Yoast SEO).

Affordability

WordPress is free software with no start-up costs. Designing, developing, and maintaining your website is relatively inexpensive. You can keep costs down by using plugins and templates. Additionally, you can host your website with an external hosting provider at a very reasonable price.

Optimized for blogs

WordPress was originally a blogging platform. Hence, WordPress is an excellent choice if your website is primarily about publishing articles or blogs. WordPress offers a range of handy blogging features by default, such as tags, plugins, widgets, categories, and more.

Drawbacks of using WordPress

Lack of design freedom

A significant disadvantage of WordPress is its lack of flexibility when it comes to design. When working with a WordPress template, you will inevitably run into limitations. And if you want to create a completely custom WordPress website, you will need to invest in a developer to achieve the desired result. Nowadays, there are also several (paid) plugins available, so-called page builders, that offer more design freedom. The drawback is that these can quickly conflict with other plugins.

Continuous updates

When integrating plugins into your WordPress website, you must update them regularly. In addition, WordPress itself also has regular updates. Every time you update WordPress or a plugin, you risk your website will no longer work properly. Sometimes even the smallest update can drastically change the look or functionality of your website. This can result in downtime and a whole lot of headaches.

Messy Code

Because WordPress leans on a variety of plugins, it often produces a lot of redundant code. The plugins are sometimes created by hobbyists or amateurs, and they often contain sloppy pieces of code or are insufficiently optimized. Poor quality code can cause your website to load extremely slowly. This will result in a higher bounce rate and a lower ranking on Google.

Security risks

WordPress is open-source software, with the advantage that you can integrate plugins from third parties and place the website with a host of your choice. However, this is also a weakness of the system. Since you are giving give other parties access to your website, there is a chance that someone with bad intentions can hack into your website. Also, if you don't keep your website up to date, you open it up to many potential security risks. Think of company or customer information data leaks or even crashing your website.

Hire a WordPress or Webflow expert on Codemap.io

In conclusion: Webflow and WordPress are both very powerful web development tools. However, when it comes to deciding what software to use for your next project, the simple - and admittedly a little unsatisfying answer - is: that it depends.

If you are still unsure whether to use Webflow or WordPress for your website, you can leverage the knowledge and the extensive network of Codemap .

How does Codemap work?

The first step is to describe your project using the Codemap smart brief and post it to the platform. Once your project is live, you will begin receiving proposals from Webflow or WordPress experts in a matter of hours. Having a little trouble deciding on the right fit? Our experienced Talent Curators will help you every step of the way.

Once you have been matched with your Webflow of WordPress expert, all that's left to do is accept the offer, and you're ready for kick-off! Upload your project to Codemap and launch your WordPress of Webflow website in as little as a couple of weeks!