Wordpress versus Webflow: A Battle of the CMS Platforms

Comparing the pros and cons of WordPress versus Webflow? We’re here to help.

When it comes to CMS platforms, it should come as no surprise to many that WordPress pretty much reigns king. With over 60% of the CMS market share, a whopping 40% of all website currently run on this formidable content management system. WordPress gains much of its appeal from its sleek, powerful, user-friendly functionalities which require little to no coding experience to implement.

Then there’s the new kid on the block. Webflow first came onto the scene in 2013, about  a decade later than WordPress, and has made some serious waves in the CMS world due to their high performing, cost-effective sites which offer a bevy of traditionally premium features for free. If you’re learning more about the differences between these two platforms, this article will provide you with a comparison of pricing, features, and functionalities in order to help guide your decision on which is best for your business.

We have had several clients ask us why we made the move from Wordpress over to Webflow and here are a few of the main reasons why we did that:

1. Webflow generates cleaner code which means the code is logical and easy to understand for our entire team.
2. Webflow creates websites that run FAST. Fast websites mean that users have a better user experience and higher google rankings.
3. Webflow has built in SEO integration which dont require 3rd party addons
4. The capabilities of developing with Webflow are endless and we are able to move faster when developing in webflow.
5. Client handover is easy. Clients are able to make changes easily in the editor screen making it easily adopted.
6. Webflow has automatic backups so there is no need to be concerned about whether your site can be restored.

WordPress Versus Webflow: Pricing

WordPress Plans & Pricing

WordPress offers users the ability to choose from four different pricing plans, along with a renewed option to pay either monthly or annually (at a slightly discounted rate). The plan offerings are as follows:

1. Personal – $7/month
2. Premium – $14/month
3. Business – $33/month
4. eCommerce – $59/month

Personal monthly plans have a rather limited number of features and are primarily geared towards individuals looking to just get a website up in the digital space. Users have the ability to collect payments, gain access to unlimited email support and get a free domain for 1 year.

Those with Premium monthly plans gain the advantage of access to premium themes, unlimited email support, the ability to earn ad revenue, upload video content, and integrate with Google Analytics.

The Business Plan allows users to gain access to over 50,000 plugins, advanced SEO tools, automated site backups, and SFTP and database access. Bear in mind however that many of these plugins are paid and as a result, users will incur additional expenses (including potentially monthly) based on which plugin they choose to integrate into their website.

Users on the Enterprise Plan gain even more, with the ability to collect payments in 60+ countries, integrate with shipping carriers and gain access to premium design options for their online stores.

Furthermore, if you move forward with an annual contract at the Premium level or higher, you can gain access live chat support functions.

Webflow Plans & Pricing

Webflow has a more robust set of plan offerings which are uniquely tailored to the needs of the client. The platform offers two primary categories of plans broken down as follows:

Standard site plans

Site plans

• Basic – $12/month
• CMS – $16/month
• Business – $36/month
• Enterprise – A custom solution with open-ended pricing

eCommerce plans

• Standard – $29/month
• Plus – $74/month
• Advanced – $212/month

Account plans

Individual plans

• Starter – Free
• Lite – $16/month
• Pro – $35/month

Team plans

• Team – $35/person
• Enterprise – A custom solution with open-ended pricing

Users interested in choosing a Standard Site plan will be happy to learn that the platform will allow them to connect any custom domain from any provider free of charge. This basic plan also allows the same number of pages as the enterprise plan (100 in total). For smaller businesses who anticipate receiving 25,000 or less monthly visitors per month, the basic plan is a great option and offers 50GB of CDN bandwidth per month. It also provides you with the ability to collect up to 100 form submissions per month, download those submissions, customize notification emails, and support up to 3 content editors.

Those who garner a bit more traffic will want to upgrade to the CMS plan, which has the capacity to support as many as 100,000 visitors per month and has a CDN bandwidth of 200GB per month. It also boosts form submission capacity to 1,000 per month. Users interested in the business plan get double the form submissions, double the bandwidth, and the ability to support 500,000 monthly visits, and up to 10 content editors.

Enterprise clients furthermore gain access to 400+ GB of bandwidth, a custom number of monthly visits and content editors tailored to your company, unlimited form submissions, enterprise support, and training and onboarding.

Their eCommerce plans also don’t disappoint, with the Standard option offering users the ability to upload up to 500 products. They also offer custom checkout, shopping carts, product fields, unbranded emails, various marketing features, and accept a variety of payments.

Account-based plans are also full of benefits. Whether you choose the Team or Enterprise option, you are able to create an unlimited amount of projects, gain access to client billing (including white labeling), enhanced staging, code exporting capabilities and site password protection. Users also get a team dashboard to facilitate collaboration across multiple individuals and departments.

WordPress Versus Webflow: Standard Features and Functionalities

WordPress

There are a few functionalities which are inherent in any plan you choose. If you’re paying for a plan, then WordPress automatically removes all of those annoying little WordPress.com Ads on your site. Every plan, regardless of level, also offers users with the ability to collect payments and receive access to unlimited email support. You also have the ability to choose from a handful of mobile-friendly themes, and basic SEO tools, social sharing tools, and site statistics.

The major downside with WordPress is that users can’t gain access to live chat support unless they opt in for an annual agreement at the Premium level or higher. Also, even if you do, you aren’t able to gain access to their bevy of premium themes, advanced SEO tools, or their mecca of plugins to extend functionality unless you opt for their annual Business Plan or higher. You can gain access to these benefits through a monthly plan at the Premium level, but live chat is unavailable unless you pay annually.

Webflow

First thing is first. The crowning glory of Webflow is the fact that they actually offer a basic plan which is completely free for users. The platform’s Individual Starter not only doesn’t require you to input a credit cared, but but it also comes with no trial period. Yep — it’s completely free for life. The plan provides you with everything that you need in order to start building your website and allows you to create up to two projects (websites) in total.

However, Webflow really shines when it comes to the standard set of advanced features that they offer, regardless of plan level. For example, users opting in for Standard Site Plans  gain access to backups and versioning so that work is never lost. The platform also offers password protection on the entire site, or even just individual pages, as well as advanced SEO tools such as automatic sitemaps and customizable 301 redirects.

Furthermore, Webflow offers fast page load speeds — the site scales automatically, so it has the ability to handle millions of concurrent visits due to the fact that all site plans serve sites through Amazon Cloudfront CDN and are accelerated with Fastly. Furthermore, they offer 24/7 hosting, monitoring, and SSL certificates for security. Although WordPress is the most popular CMS on the Internet, it is also the most hacked…

In 2021, 1.6 Million WordPress Sites were Hit With 13.7 Million Attacks In 36 Hours From 16,000 IPs, which is  alarming. While no website is completely safe from attacks, Webflow has enterprise-grade website security, putting Advanced DDOS protection measures in place which alleviates more common attacks.

Those opting in for account-based plans also gain a multitude of enviable functionalities regardless of the option chosen. For one, with an account plan, the platform offers you the ability to host an unlimited amount of projects (i.e. websites) which don’t cont against your plan limits. They also offer client billing so that freelancers don’t have to pay out of pocket for expenses incurred.

Users additionally have the ability to create custom interactions and animations regardless of technical abilities as they don’t require any coding whatsoever. Furthermore, users gain access to 100+ responsive templates, flexible layouts, 3D transforms, global swatches and custom fonts which can be uploaded or added for free if using Google Fonts.

Another interesting feature is the platform’s ability to turn any recurring element into a reusable symbol so that you can update it across your entire website in one fell swoop. The platform also offers email support for paid accounts and “prioritized help” for team accounts.

If you’re interested in hosting your website elsewhere, the platform allows you to do so through their Lite, Professional, and Team plans with no attribution necessary. It’s also worth noting that if you have the cash to pay for an annual plan, Webflow will provide you with a 15% discount on your annual subscription.

Conclusion

So — WordPress versus Webflow. The truth of the matter is that when it comes down choosing a content management system, WordPress and Webflow are both solid options regardless of which way you look at it. WordPress is by far an industry darling due to the amount of time it’s been around in the market and the platform’s user-friendliness and ability to expand functionality through the use of plug-ins.

However, those looking to gain a little more bang for their buck may want to consider Webflow due to the fact that the list of standard features and functionalities available at every plan level is quite extensive. This is especially the case for those looking to gain access to modern features and prioritize security and organic growth with the use of advanced SEO tools and techniques. Many of these options aren’t available on the lower tiered plans with WordPress and unfortunately even require the commitment to an annual plan.

Have you tried using WordPress or Webflow for your business needs? What was your experience? We’d love to hear from you!