WordPress and Webflow are two of the most popular website-building platforms in the industry. With their advantages and disadvantages, website builders offer an excellent alternative to coding your website from scratch. However, there has been an ongoing debate on Webflow vs WordPress.

This article demystifies this debate by exploring the differences between WordPress and Webflow.

Design

WordPress uses templates, which are pre-made designs that you can use to create a website. The templates have different styles, like business or magazine-style layouts. You can choose the template that fits your project best and customize it to match your brand and preferences. However, these templates have limitations regarding customizing your site to look exactly how you want. And the only way to get over this is by coding the website from scratch or purchasing theme builders – which are costly.

On the other hand, Webflow gives web designers complete freedom to design their websites as they deem fit – without requiring coding knowledge. You can start the design process with a template or a blank visual canvas and build your design from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The platform uses a “drag and drop” functionality, making design convenient and enjoyable. Thus, the design flexibility with Webflow makes it one of the best alternatives to WordPress. 

Coding

Webflow is one of the WordPress alternatives fastly gaining popularity in the web development industry because of its high-quality code. It doesn’t require third-party integrations for it to function optimally. In contrast, WordPress requires you to add plugins and themes critical for managing your site. Consequently, the WordPress code can become cluttered and messy because of these integrations. Your website is likely to become slow and adversely affect its user experience. A slow website is terrible for search engine optimization (SEO), and your site can drop in rankings. So, it is prudent to look for WordPress alternatives that don’t have bloated code.

Editing

Adding content to a WordPress website is pretty straightforward. The platform uses an intuitive visual editor that makes content and page creation seamless. You can customize your pages and content using a block editor, which is easy to use. You can also add other functionalities using plugins.

Webflow has an on-page editor that makes editing effortless. It allows live editing, and you can preview your content before publishing it. This feature saves you alot of time since you don’t have to flick between the CMS and browser to see how your content displays. However, there is a learning curve because you must study the website to understand how it works. 

Website Security

Security is a crucial factor when choosing a platform to build your website. Security breaches will harm your audience and negatively affect your site rankings.  Your website represents your business, and if it gets hacked, it could cause severe damage to your brand. Although WordPress is the most popular website builder, it has security concerns. It is an open-source platform and requires third-party plugins and themes. As such, it is prone to hacking since hackers can target it using a simple script. 

On the other hand, Webflow offers more website security. The platform boasts enterprise-grade website security that helps prevent common attacks. It has SSL encryption for all pages, so visitors can be confident that their data is safe. This is especially important if you’re collecting sensitive information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers.

Ecommerce Functionality

The eCommerce functionality on WordPress is supported by a plugin. Woocommerce is the most popular plugin used for eCommerce sites because it’s highly customizable. However, you should update it regularly for better site performance. It also has limitations in design since it relies on templates.

 

Webflow makes it easier to design and customize your eCommerce store. It gives you all the freedom to edit pages, such as the product and checkout pages, to meet your needs. Thus, you can design the pages to give your customers an excellent user experience and more sales. Also, you need to pay for the eCommerce plan to enjoy the features.

Webflow vs WordPress Pricing

WordPress is free; you can build your website without paying a dime. Thousands of plugins and themes are also available in the free version. However, you might want to buy premium integrations for the best functionality of your WordPress site. Also, you need to pay for hosting and SSL certificates.

Webflow website development doesn’t require third-party integrations for the site to function optimally. Webflow is a paid website builder that is offered as SaaS. It has plans from which you can choose the one that fits your needs. The site plans on Webflow include starter, basic, CMS, business, and enterprise. And though Webflow is more expensive than WordPress, every buck you spend is worth it. You will get quality hosting and top security for your site. Also, Webflow ensures regular updates for your website in the background without you getting involved.

Final Thoughts

WordPress and Webflow are leading website builders. But choosing between Webflow vs WordPress might be tricky. However, it all melts down to what your want for your site. If you want to build your site with a drag-and-drop function and customize it fully, Webflow is the better option. But if you need something cheap and easy to use, WordPress might be better.

Also Read: 10 Platforms Which Are Here To Replace WordPress