Having a site is non-optional in today’s business world. Just take a look at these two scenarios as examples.
- Scenario one: Someone hears about your business (a WOM referral) and decides to look you up. Then, they try to find you online but fail because you don’t have a site.
- Scenario two: You have a site, but the design is too bad because you didn’t know how to make one and didn’t have the funds to hire a professional.
The truth is that there are no real justifications for any of these two scenarios since web design platforms are often quite intuitive and easy to use. This is especially true for the two biggest web design platforms, WordPress and Webflow. For those interested, let’s see how they stack against one another.
Table of Contents
Which One Is Easier To Use?
The first thing worth mentioning is that Webflow is a drag-and-drop platform. In other words, simplicity heavily lies in its favor. Webflow was designed as a platform allowing you to create a website without coding knowledge. This doesn’t mean that coding doesn’t take place. It happens automatically, behind the scenes, and the user has no idea about it.
WordPress, on the other hand, is more difficult to design. It’s not difficult by any means; it’s just difficult compared to Webflow. You see, WordPress was the biggest web design platform for so long for a good reason. It’s also incredibly user-friendly for managing content and customizing templates. Also, it’s worth pointing out that there are so many templates, themes, and plugins that you’re bound to find something more you like than Webflow.
Which One Offers More Flexibility?
Webflow gives you advanced customizability options without ever having to deal with coding. You get to choose everything, from layout and typography to various animations. A platform was designed so that the results of these drag-and-drop designs are indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts. Since you don’t have to waste time on these technical issues, even some popular Webflow experts prefer this simpler principle. They believe that not engaging in coding gives them more freedom to focus on the creative aspect of their work.
With WordPress, things are not so easy to explain. Sure, you have so many themes and plugins available, which allow you a very high level of customizability. If you engage in advanced customization, you’ll probably have to know some code. The alternative is to call a WordPress developer, which is something you were probably trying to avoid to start with.
Which Platform Has More Integration Options?
Another thing to consider is integrations. While Webflow doesn’t have a perfect ecosystem, it does have built-in features for e-commerce and similar other functions. In other words, if you want something standard and common, you’ll find that Webflow doesn’t lag in any respect. Still, if you want anything out of the ordinary, you’ll find that Webflow still has many limitations.
WordPress, on the other hand, has been here for years. It has a plugin for every feature and function you can imagine, from SEO to analytics, contacts, and everything else you need. The plugin library available on this web design platform is second to none. It goes to the extreme that you’ll face a paradox of choice and have trouble choosing the best among many great alternatives.
Which Has A Better Community?
This is brief and easy to answer – Webflow is a smaller and newer platform. Therefore, WordPress has a community that is much larger and more robust. Sure, you may argue that people who use Webflow are very passionate about it and are likelier to answer if you ask a question. However, just go on Reddit, Quora, or any technical forum and look up WordPress issues. Even though the platform constantly updates, you’ll likely find a solution to your problem on a thread from 9 years ago. In other words, the longer history of WordPress is a huge advantage.
What About Hosting And Maintenance?
WordPress is a self-hosted platform. If you want to host it, you need to find a provider. You also need to organize site maintenance on your own, not to mention that security and updates are your responsibility (although there are some amazing plugins).
With Webflow, hosting, handling, security updates, and maintenance are already included in the service. On the other hand, you can even choose to export the code and host it elsewhere (if you don’t need extra services). For most people, these additional services are the main reason to sign up.
Wrap Up
Finally, while it’s all contextual, Webflow seems to be at a slight advantage. It grants you more freedom to handle creative tasks because it’s so easy to use that you won’t have to worry about the code. It’s also more accessible, and you don’t have to worry about maintenance. On the other hand, WordPress has more plugins and may be more suitable for bit more obscure niches and industries. Also, the WordPress community is both bigger and has a long history. All in all, it’s up to you to decide.
