WordPress vs Webflow | 2021

WordPress vs Webflow 2021

WordPress or Webflow - which content management system is better for you and your business? Both are popular website builders, each with individual pros and cons. Here we explore the differences between WordPress and Webflow to help you choose the best platform for your new website.

WordPress

WordPress was launched 17 years ago and is currently the most commonly used web publishing software for building websites. More than 40% of all sites are in fact built within this platform. As an open-source content management system, WordPress is available for anyone to use and all for free. This platform can build pretty much any website including online stores, business sites, blogging sites and more.

Webflow

Webflow was launched in 2013 and overtime has grown in popularity as an innovative, no-code, visual website builder. Webflow provides software as a service and also offers a content management system and hosting platform. Web designers can build custom websites using this platform in a completely visual way without the need for any coding.

WordPress Advantages

• There are a huge range of plugins available for WordPress sites so it offers great flexibility
• There are thousands of website templates to choose from
• WordPress is SEO friendly
• Due to popularity WordPress is easy to transfer between designers
• A number of free drag and drop website builders, such as Elementor, that enable you to create comprehensive WordPress websites without having to write a single line of code.

WordPress Disadvantages

• Security can be an issue due to WordPress being an open-source, PHP-based platform with many plugins. If your site is not running the most up to date version as well as up to date plugins, it can affect its security and cause your site to crash
• These plugins can also cause the code to bloat
• Plugins do not always work well together and can cause issues with the websites design
• Creating bespoke designs and animations can be difficult – the design is not as fluid and there can be limits to the design choices
• The bloated code and plugins can cause significant speed issues, which Google punishes in the SERP's
• Using WordPress templates – although they are simple to use, your website will be likely to be using the same template as hundreds of other sites. Google may register this as duplicate content and therefore your site can be downranked for being so similar to another website

Webflow Advantages

• Webflow offers templates or the option to build completely customised sites from scratch. This ensures your website is completely unique to you and your business
• Webflow is great for SEO, using fast clean code. This means your site loads fast and does not suffer from plugin issues
• You can edit your website live on your site with its easy-to-use backend dashboard
• Webflow is great for user experience and offers a whole host of interactive elements which can move to react to actions taken within the site
• Webflow hosts sites on Amazon’s CDN Tier 1 Network. This is the fastest network globally and enables fast load times and low bounce rates

Webflow Disadvantages

• Webflow’s ecommerce functionality is still being developed and perfected
• Adding member areas and other databases can be tricky and requires custom code
• It is not possible to have native multi-lingual sites in Webflow
• New static pages cannot be created via the editor

Webflow or WordPress – Which one should I choose?

There are many things to consider when asking this question. What do you need your website to do? Do you have API’s that need to be integrated? You and your website’s individual needs will often form the answer.

WordPress is a popular choice and therefore it will be easier to find a designer who works in this platform. As Webflow is newer you may need to look further afield for a designer or agency who build within this platform.

Webflow offers you a more modern take on the traditional form of web design, with designers able to build far quicker as no written code is required – Webflow does this for us. This means that Webflow designers are often designers and not coders. Webflow websites are designed with the aesthetics in mind and are usually far more visually pleasing. As the website is built quickly, it can result in reduced costs of the overall build which is always a positive.

The most important thing to remember is to always work with a reputable agency who are experts in their field and the platform they build websites within. At Fountain Digital, we carefully selected our web building platform and found that Webflow outshone every other option due to its level of customisation and versatility. For us, it was an easy decision and with our highly experienced Webflow designers it offered our customers the best of the best!