Webflow VS WordPress - Comprehensive Review (2023)

📘 Free e-book "The Blueprint For Insanely Successful Webflow Designers" 👉 bit.ly/3ViJTRE
So you want to build a website, but you're not sure whether you should use WordPress or Webflow? Well, in today's video, we're going to compare each platform over five core areas. So you can decide which one fits your particular use case.
📽️ CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - The Builder
04:23 - The CMS
06:55 - Hosting
09:28 - E-Commerce
11:20 - Cost
Let us know your thoughts in the comments 💬
📱 Find us on SOCIAL MEDIA
Sam on Twitter: @samharrisonco
Flux Academy's Instagram 👉 / flux.academy
#wordpress #webdesign #webflow #webdesigner

[@KabbaModern03]

Essentially, WordPress are for users who want to control and be cost efficient. Webflow are for users who want creative freedom and who want to save time.

[@Van_____]

Eseentially, you never developed anything in WordPress. Neither, Sam 🙈🤣

[@YR2050]

If you want to save time and save money, wordpress is the way. Webflow is for designers who knows only designing.

[@KabbaModern03]

WP is a nice tool but saving time? I'd disagree. Saving money, I agree. I use WP at work and if it was up to me, I'd trash it. Too much maintenance involved, and I don't like being dependent on plugins to make something. That's just me. Also, there are many Webflow Developers and Designers in the wild that do both design and development. Heck, a lot of custom code goes into most of my builds even though I hate doing it.

[@Van_____]

@@KabbaModern03 Can't disagree more, since I found myself making lot of custom code on Framer and Webflow, when they estate like 'no-code', I can't even say that they are 'low-code'. Notice the huge step WordPress did with the Site Editor. With time, I'm sure WP will arrive to Webflow capabilities in terms of UI mapping to code and creating a coding environment with WordPress is lot of easier than with Webflow. At the end, these 'no-code' tools are really interesting, but they feel like an animation framework more than nothing else.

[@yilmaz.design]

@@YR2050 Wordpress saving time ? Bruh

[@magnusisyomomma]

Very Generally Speaking 😁: Webflow is like the Apple of Web Tools - Closed Ecosystem, lots of things already built in, not easily modifiable (I.e. changing hosts), super slick & cool interface, more expensive. Wordpress is like the Android of Web tools - Super Open Ecosystem, Can be plugged into by anyone, easily modifiable (Free to choose hosting website, Interface can be bare and complicated, cheap (Sometimes free). Feel free to add any other comparisons...

[@ThisDesignLife]

I think that comparison works

[@nileshdumbre7625]

Are you sure wordpress is cheap and webflow is expensive ???? I heard its other way round.

[@akinsanmitaiwo7125]

No, WordPress is actually very cheap when compared to Web flow though there are a few WordPress hosts that might end up being more expensive than webflow@@nileshdumbre7625

[@naamad5517]

You missed something important: the WordPress community. It's huge, knowledgeable, and supportive. Webflow has a nice community, but it doesn't compare by far.

[@dimejiemmanuel5142]

Dey play

[@stahaz1]

Execellent! Thank you for a quality, fair comparison.

[@Rozlan31]

Great video, thank you. I had close to no knowledge about Webflow but want to get into 3D interactive sites and saw that people prefer to use it.

[@joecater894]

I work in a webdev firm as a web developer. We never use page builders and when we have to look after a site that has one its more of a pain than anything else to work around it. Obviously we do it if they have already gone that way or really want it.. only happens now and again.. the customer is always right! But it slows us down and restricts what we can easily do. A developer is normally expected to work with core tools .. html, css (and frameworks) JS and php. These will give you full flexibility to deliver whatever the client wants. And WP makes it easy because of its dynamic nature.. plus ACF. Pages can be made within literally minutes.

[@matthawksworth]

This is what i wanted, thanks. The page builders are severely limited. ‘Landing pages’ look nice but arent actually effective for anything productive

[@mattitswesty]

The main difference is, I can host a Wordpress site even on my Raspberry Pi, or pay a few £ a year. For Webflow as much as I like how it looks, when building say 3 or 4 sites the cost is crazy - how are people working with the monthly costs for clients or for sites you build for friends? Would love to know more

[@weezyf775]

^^^THIS. After messing around with squarespace for a bit, I 'graduated' to webflow. and LOVED it. I used it for a few small client projects but started realizing that every time a client asked for a feature to be added to their website, webflow couldn't do it...or if they could, it'd be another monthly subscription - I flat out refuse to tell my clients they'll need to pay another monthly subscription for innate features. I had an upcoming project build for an online course website. I knew this would be my most complex build yet; so I began considering wordpress. I started by comparing the prices..wordpress was like $120 for a premium template with everything I needed. For webflow, I couldn't even determine a grand total - between the various different webflow memberships, trying to anicipate the app stack needed and the uncertainly of what tier-levels I'd need at every step when considering if I go over I'll have to return to the client and tell them, yeah so we exceeded X memeberships, it's gonna cost another $30/month now...SERIOUSLY!? i realized I couldn't possibly justify webflow. If all you need is a portfolio site to showcase work, webflow is a fine choice but as soon as you want any additional feature, you'll be paying an additional $60, $120, or $240 PER YEAR. it's a joke.

[@sam-harrison]

It depends on what kind of clients you’re working with dude. Mom and pap shop style businesses probably aren’t the right fit for Webflow. But the reality is that most businesses can afford 40 dollars a month. It’s tax deductible too so it’s not really an issue.

[@arvindrana4585]

I and Micahel (from Peazi), couldn't stop appreciating you for your knowledge. Lovely video Sam!

[@sam-harrison]

Hey dude! Thank you very much 😊

[@obvinpro]

I have one hosting account where I manage all my client project using edge technology in case of downtime. I charge them for hosting monthly, or annually😎. WordPress is the best choice for me. Breakdance Builder has solved all the problems I have with Elementor.

[@abirahmed1292]

To me this feel like Webflow is Apple Wordpress is Android

[@CoolIntellect]

Wow Good One!

[@katiadejavu92]

Exactly! 😂

[@silviupopovicci]

No...Framer is Apple.

[@KubaSobecki]

I haven't tried webflow tbh, but setting up hosting for WP is very easy these days. It is also less limited and way cheaper in general, especially when it comes to email hosting, which is usually already included. Plus with WP you own your code.

[@Pensandoci9]

Webflow hosting is actually the prime reason I still can't fully switch. Having the freedom to change where your website actually is, hence having a huge impact on speed, is essential for me. Webflow hosting is decent, but definitely not the best. This also means a lot of chat support, e.g. your hosting provider is usually willing to help make things faster, while Webflow support is lacking in any possible way. They basically refuse to help with anything at all.

[@RichieScottfFx]

so do you think you will switch

[@dorian1370]

Same here. I have a big hosting plan for all my websites and Webflow is more esxpensive for me. I hate when they do that, that you dont have the option to use the programm without the hosting.

[@longbeach225]

Webflow will have access over your website and if you post content they might not like they can shutdown your site. Least with WordPress you own it.

[@ThisDesignLife]

This is really useful thanks

[@FluxAcademy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@NOCTRN_]

I love your waking up app

[@kawaiihikari0]

If your a good UI/UX designer (web designer or web developer) you shouldn’t have issues with either. More beginners I think complain the most 😂

[@cryMoreLoL]

🎯

[@cerealkiller5599]

I'm a pretty good web designer and for the love of God I can't seem to design commerce stores like my designs.

[@anam7735]

Hvala, pozdrav iz Srbije

[@Neverhood.]

Pozdrav i tebi 😊

[@coolestnerdever2128]

Thank you for a great video. You recommended a package for the site plan, but what is your recommended pricing package for agencies?

[@tammiesspark]

Creating my saas website with webflow. Thanks for the direct info

[@sunsetstudioz]

I am actually enjoying the ongoing debate on the comment sections , i think i have answers. BUT BUT, i like how you guys praise WF for its clazy customizations animations ETC. aagh WP is still my go to hahaha

[@JoeyLowery]

I would love a deep dive or even a generic breakdown of the SEO aspect between Webflow vs Wordpress. I have a rather large agency and we do a lot of SEO work and I just came across Webflow with this client and I do truly appreciate your video. Any chance of a breakdown of SEO pros & cons?

[@Neverhood.]

Wordpress wins in SEO😊

[@tem-111]

@@Neverhood. curious why you say that?

[@petethompson3176]

One major plus about wordpress for me is that you can build without even thinking about using a page builder. Not the case in webflow, obviously. And another big point is the theming system of wordpress and lack thereof with webflow. this decouples your website's appearance from your data. want to redesign the site? use or build a new theme. you can't do this in webflow. if you want to start over with the design, you're starting with (and paying for) a whole new site. it's hard to fathom that a tool with extensive focus on CMS would do this as it defeats part of the purpose of having a cms in the first place. the lack of flexibility is crazy to me for how expensive it is as a platform. webflow is an amazing product, though. the page builder is impeccable and im glad it exists, but idk i guess my work over the years has just pulled me to projects with more coding so i never got the hang of it like that. it will be interesting to see how the company evolves with more competition like framer in years to come

[@chanceseverson]

I'm looking into learning how to develop websites with Webflow as a side hustle/skill to have but my main concern is finding clients. I don't see anybody really address this but Wordpress has a significant chunk of the market and I'm wondering if that makes it more difficult to be the guy selling his skills in webflow as opposed to Wordpress. Would it be too niche to start my web building journey with webflow?

[@1080pixel]

Heavily leaned towards Webflow - there's absolutely nothing, Wordpress cant in comparison to Webflow. WordPress gives you full control and various options to choose from, whereas Webflow only lets you use their "limited" tools.

[@sam-harrison]

As I mention in the video dude which one fits your use case will depend on which you choose. If you’re a developer creating custom coded themes/apps you’re not limited in any way whatsoever so Webflow probably isn’t the right fit. The vast majority of sites I create and I suspect this is also true of most freelance designers/devs, are cms driven marketing websites. For that use case I found Webflow to be the perfect fit. No maintenance, no updates to manage, no plugin issues if a client installs something silly and no security worries. If we’re talking page builders, Webflow is more fully featured “natively” than any in WordPress. Even bricks builder which I really like and use doesn’t have a built in animation feature as complex as what you can achieve with Webflow. Again this may not matter, it depends on the use case.

[@YR2050]

Yeah I have global elements in Divi, do they have similar in Webflow? such a time saver. My website has almost a 1000 unique pages.

[@creativemindloveworks]

thanks a lot but are snippets not similar timeconsumers? just like plugins with Wp

[@cmdaltctr]

Also, WordPress can get expensive really fast. These plugins are costly! Fluent forms cost quite a lot yearly, and more so for a lifetime. Some plugins are coded well but not updated - so it caused issues. If you custom code things in WordPress, uses minimal plugins then it can actually be the most cost-effective.

[@user-bw6fb3ld2u]

I've been developing in Webflow for a couple of years now. My issue with them is they don't give a crap about their European customers. Everything is hosted on US servers so if you plan to grab any PII through contact forms or other means, then you are in breach of GDPR rules. They also have recently massively increased their prices for hosting and took away client billing. For me, they should have increased their costs to developers and left hosting costs as they were for our clients. On animations, it all sounds great. But, how many clients want really complex animations? The users of the sites certainly don't, they just want the information they need so they can crack on with their day. Subtle animations are a must these days to give a site a heartbeat, but that's about it for the vast majority of cases.

[@peterf1]

Thank you. Great comment.

[@TheBikeFather]

Sorry, I’m just getting into webflow. I don’t know how it was before. Do you mind expanding on this please? What was the process before compared to what it is now? And what’s that thing about client billing?

[@reneklokkerholm1453]

To be honst you bias a little to much on Webflow i think I have used both and first i was like Webflow was my favorit, now i feel is outdated UI design. Here er some benefits in WordPress: Easliy access all files you No CMS item limits and much more fleksible in the More control and power over you Website speed and server set-up SEO i think WordPress is much better tool And yeah Plugins make problems but very handy if you find the right ones. I also use Webflow but, iam been likeing WP more lately . :) Just some thoughs the best soultion would be a merge.

[@sam-harrison]

Hey René, I think I do mention most of those in the video. You certainly have more control with WordPress at the cost of more technical complexity. Out of interest what builder do you use in WordPress?

[@reneklokkerholm1453]

Bricks. :)

[@sam-harrison]

@@reneklokkerholm1453 Awesome, also my favourite in WordPress 👍🏻

[@hastwper6682]

Elementor!!♥️

[@trigerspring]

Not to mention it's pretty much free.

[@rajdeepbanik9539]

webflow Ui is good but as compared to wordpress , i know wordpress ui is little backdated but ux is also better than webflow . I worked with many clients , some clients learned fast wordpress ui dashboard functionality than webflow .

[@UsmanKhan-tb7ll]

Raj Bhai, Hum Bhi Soch Rahe Hai Website Clients ke Liye Banana On WordPress Abhi Hum EditorX Pe Hai Kya WordPress Koi Problem toh nhi degi ? And Any Idea Konsa Plan Lena Chaheye for Normal local Biz Website

[@edenbenito5222]

Question: If i build a website on Flebflow - basic non-eComm site, do I need a backend developer as well? If so, what do they do? Thanks!!

[@tbocall]

Not necessarily. You can create a CMS using Webflow as well. Let's say for example, you want to build a website that lists different events (location, date, venue,...). With Webflow you can build a dynamic website that grows as more events are added (via a "Collection"). These events can be added without the admin having any knowledge of how Webflow works. You can build that CMS and no backend dev would be needed.

[@TheEndless560]

Webflow does have user logins, you can create memberships and subscriptions.

[@kwamefrancis2912]

The only issue I have with webflow is the cms limitations. If there was a way around it it would be a no brainer for most projects.

[@ErwinBr100]

Dizem que é resolvido com os planos mais caros oque acha?

[@cryMoreLoL]

What are you doing that’s exceeding 10,000 cms items? I did the math: for a blog, 10 cms items, 2 posts a week, would take 9.5 years to reach that limit. Blog website usually don’t last that long. Real estate website, recycles their cms content every couple years tops. E-commerce, that’s easily 800 products, you shouldn’t be using webflow for that many products anyways. Market place like ebay or amazon? That’s definitely not what webflow is for, you need a team of programmers to actually accomplish that.

[@kwamefrancis2912]

​@@cryMoreLoL It is a unique case. The client had a request to create a library of content about Afro-Caribbean Cultural Heritage with media spanning about 80 years. This included: photos, videos, books, newspaper articles and art. The ask was to have each piece of content separate so there could be a paywall for some of the content. The total number of content was over 15k. Then another request was membership. It is simple to build but webflow can't handle it in a cost-effective way that I know of.

[@cryMoreLoL]

@@kwamefrancis2912 Thank you for clarifying. That’s definitely a lot! That type of project should be using a database with a custom backend. It should also have authorization and authentication. Webflows’s cms plan is not setup for these types of projects. I think Webflow is to blame for this because they are marketing their plans incorrectly and creating a lot of confusion.

[@Raghudesign]

Webflow is quite complex as compared to elementor/bricks. No proper optimization options. Elementor is empowered with all similar functionality, grid container, flexbox etc. Only bad thing is animations, it's huge plus for webflow

[@jhonnatanr]

I'm genuinely curious, I've never used Webflow before but I have Elementor Pro where you can add animations. How are animations better in Webflow? Thanks

[@remonmagdy8617]

@@jhonnatanr elementor it self in terms of animations isn't the same lvl as webflow but it's getting better + Wordpress as whole is very good in creating anytype of animations so not a big deal but in webflow it's easier to creat complex animations than word press

[@DMmotionarts]

@@jhonnatanr The animations of elementor pro and webflow are different. But for a website that converts, simple design works best.

[@tentwelvedesign]

Hi, great video. question. Can you build on your own account and then download the site to another clients Webflow account? We build using wordpress on our server and then move the site over to the clients hosting account like WP Engine or Siteground. thanks

[@FluxAcademy]

Yes, Webflow call it transferring.

[@poppingjaz]

Webflow definitely wins on animations as I don't even think Motion Page has as many features yet (not to mention sometimes Motion Page is buggy.) Greenshift is the only other builder that offers complex animations. A word of caution though I've tested many Webflow sites that were heavy in animations and rarely do any of them pass the core web vitals in terms of performance. WP wins on dynamic sites with the amount of functionality you can create with pro versions of ACF, Metabox etc.

[@DMmotionarts]

I have seen majority of webflow website just have too much animations. I don't think having animations which require more scrolling or clicking have good conversions. A simple website that gives your visitors what they want as quick as possible seems to work better.

[@hansmuller4942]

I was asked to build a website for a not profit organization. It's an animal help organization. What would you recommend. Also in regard of pricing?

[@ismailfaturrohman4858]

If you consider about pricing WordPress is the best, because only you need to pay is hosting and domain (even if you buy plan for 1 year you can get free domain)

[@rumorscameras]

Is beter to use figma then webfliw or straight webflow is ok.

[@ThisDesignLife]

Figma is a visualisation tool

[@ankanchakraborty9229]

I always recommend WordPress 🙌

[@cannarabiotech]

How are you not talking about Elementor when speaking of Wordpress builders?

[@niro_berry5792]

welcom to Flux

[@sam-harrison]

Thanks for having me 😊

[@techwithattila]

Hi! You mentioned you use Webflow for client work as well. As far as I understand, Webflow requires a subscription. Do you agree with your clients that they will pay this fee? Or is it included in your maintenance fee? Thank you.

[@doupecan3834]

I’m curious as well

[@sam-harrison]

When you buy Webflow hosting you get the use of the builder with it, so there’s no additional fee other than the hosting fee 👍🏻

[@DMmotionarts]

I don't do webflow but for wordpress, all the plugins, themes and hosting are paid by clients.

[@doupecan3834]

@@sam-harrison When you finish making a website do you charge or offer a monthly maintenance subscription to keep the website healthy?

[@sam-harrison]

@@doupecan3834 I do for when WordPress is being used, but not for Webflow since there’s no maintenance required. It’s all managed for you. That’s unless the client wants ongoing dev/design help 👍🏻

[@shuccle6161]

TL;DR - WordPress is if you want a more "easy" jump-in experience, and Webflow if you are more tech savvy and think that you can handle the more complex stuff (at least that is what I got, but please do watch the entire video to get more in depth details)

[@mastermemer8351]

Animations slow the website. Have you ever seen a big website having animations? for example; Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, Google, Apple

[@sam-harrison]

For e-commerce it’s definitely not appropriate. Apple however has tonnes of animations on every product page on their site. You can still use animations tastefully without slowing down your site.

[@cryMoreLoL]

False. Amazon actually has animations during promotional seasons, aside from that animations serve no purpose for marketplaces. People want to get straight to shopping. Apple? Are you kidding me? The entire website is an animation! If you’re website is slow because of animations you don’t know what you’re doing.

[@dezaku6612]

Wym by big website? E-Commerce is a whole other category of websites which needs to be fast and usable, there are lots who profit from animations

[@lilacDaisy111]

I just discovered Webflow this week after using WordPress for 15 years. It looks like a fantastic tool to make gorgeous effects

[@ytprodata]

How good is Webflow hosting for UK users? Is there a UK-based server presence for example?

[@CallumEaston]

Good question! Did you manage to get an answer on this from somewhere?

[@Raghudesign]

I don't think, webflow is at top

[@urban-pixel]

Great video. Thanks! webflow is my favorite but ecommerce on it is pure shit! Currently im experimenting with headless stores. Can you perhaps do a comparison with webflow headless stores vs woocommerce?

[@ronaldjones1274]

Can I build a website likke youtube with webflow?

[@FluxAcademy]

No

[@austinandriese]

I wish this video was made 3 years ago! I chose WordPress and learned the hard way 😂

[@1080pixel]

Theres absolutely nothing hard about Wordpress - what kind of problems do you experienced?

[@Joe-ss9cr]

I use both, there are positives and negatives to both. Don't be so dramatic, "the hard way". The failing factor was probably you.

[@ismailfaturrohman4858]

@@1080pixel The hard things about WordPress is damn bug because plugins

[@1080pixel]

@@ismailfaturrohman4858 Whilst using stable plugins, I never experienced anthing relevant after any update... Of course there might be problems with no-name-plugins.

[@marckobuendicho3883]

Imagine installing every single to that should be there in default. lmao@@ismailfaturrohman4858

[@ah4598]

I'm worried about using Webflow because the Webflow CMS seems impossible for clients to learn. Wordpress is insanely easy for people to learn and you can set up pages so they can update things in a blog-like fashion. I don't want to set anyone up with Webflow and have them get pissed because they cant figure out how to update simple things or make a blog post. I also don't think Webflow can ever become mainstream as long as it remains self-hosted. Switching hosting and switching to a severely restricted hosting solution like Webflow is impossible for so many businesses with established websites.

[@Mr.G-un7np]

To save your time, Wordpress is the winner in terms of Cost and scalability.

[@christiangrandjean9414]

Still the major issue with webflow remains: Webflow is in its current state not compatible with european privacy law and therefore should not be used by european customers.

[@yilmaz.design]

Please provide sources ?

[@nier3434]

For webflow plugins, most of the time its additional per month cost. Its comical. As bad as tipping

[@ohadcohen136]

Its like all the negatives you said about wordpress is fot people who doesn't know code

[@ohadcohen136]

And you didn't even talk about elementor pro

[@ohadcohen136]

And you didn't even talk about elementor pro

[@MoxetKhanPK]

Thats a comprehensive review of a webflow advocate about wordpress 😂

[@Notmehimorthem]

I just spent a few weeks with web flow. I am a newbie but did code in my lost youth. I swant something blog stykle. I have found Webflow, in it's current state, very hard to use. Here are my reasons. Their tutorial videaos are poor. They are from a different version and era of Webflow and this means I spent hours looking for functions that are not there or placed elsewhere, or even superceded. I did not like the presentation it was too jokey (throwing pens at eachother, flirting, cooking dinner, lame puns) and often the presenter sped past stuff too quickly to even see where his mouse went. I wsas forever replaying tiny sections of the video. The presenter had a habit of saying things like set this to 12, no make that 16, no I kind of like 14. This is irritating when your repeating clips. He would say thing like OK now we discuss topic A and then explain topic B instead. All this meant what should have taken a few days took far loinger to learn. I think they should have an intro video to the interface. I did not find this properly explained in the 101 Course. The interface is strange, for example, if you were looking to for CCS preview, would youb even think of looking under the help icon? That's where you will find it, at least in the design mode, but not in the edit mode. They have something called "Webflow University". Some of the tutorial content is found elsewhere. For some reason teh University and the Webflow product both have home pages called "Dashboard" . The site does not indicate a difference between the two and I found it hard to navigate easily between the two within their pages, I had to save two favorites and work that way. There is a general lack of clarity in their own webdesign. yes it's flashy but the basics have not been covered. I still think the actual product os very good and powerful though. They do warn users that tehy are in some kind ofvtransition phase. I have buttons on the lhs of the designer which I cannot access, they hide when I hover. I also have a known bug, where your pages decide to slowly scroll down, until a reload. In the design panel it took me some days to realise that the little circles were actually vital menus and so were some ordinary looking text items. This held me back - an intro to the interface would have helped. They have a forum but most of my posts were not replied to. I simply do not understand what Webflow means by Rich text. They make a distinction between this and paragraphs. I really could not see myself writing essay style content directly into the site, so yesterday I abandoned webflow and returned to Word. I am looking again at Wordpress. It seems much more sensible in it's layout. I am not having these issues.

[@ervn84]

webflow: genz wordpress: boomer

[@WolverineMKD]

Please say webflow more.

[@sam-harrison]

webflow

[@glovinin]

WordPress is crap

[@yilmaz.design]

Finally someone is telling it. Wordpress has been the first CMS and a decade after they never truly innovated. Webflow, Framer, Editor X and even Bubble are better than this buggy crap relying on outdated plugins

[@charlie-george]

I’ve been a full-time custom theme developer for WordPress agencies for the last 5 years and even I think WP is crap. Backend UI and UX is unintuitive and buggy as hell.

[@JuriBinturong]

It's the webflow church again.

[@JimKernix]

Wow, what a load of BS.

[@fredcopy.com-vl5xv]

This is a great video Sam. As a copywriter I can offer clients an alternative to WordPress. Thank you very much... from sunny Thailand 🙏

[@FluxAcademy]

Fantastic!