Want to build the perfect online presence for your digital business?
It all starts with a CMS that you can rely on. Content Management Systems, like WordPress.com, or Squarespace, are designed to give you everything you need to manage and enhance your website in no time. With the right CMS, you can build everything from an immersive blog, to a range of product pages, and you don’t even need to know a great deal about HTML or CSS.
If you’ve been looking for the best platform for building your website for a while now, then WordPress is probably the solution you’ve heard of most. After all, 34% of all the websites in the world are built with WordPress.
However, just because WordPress.org is popular, doesn’t mean it’s your only option.
In this Webflow vs WordPress.org guide, we’re going to introduce you to a new solution that may just be perfect for your business.
Introducing Webflow vs WordPress
Let’s start simple.
Both WordPress and Webflow are website builders designed to simplify your experience online.
WordPress.org is the most popular open-source and PHP based content management system on the marketplace. It offers the simplicity of a completely flexible back-end and a ton of website design customization features. You can design your WordPress site however you choose, with a ton of plugins for things like SEO, checkout processes, and so much more.
On the other hand, Webflow is a popular SaaS cloud-based platform. The range of in-depth tools that this system offers makes it almost as robust as a CRM as WordPress. With Webflow, you can access a fantastic canvas for building your website. However, you may need a few developer freelancers to help you make the most of the tech.
Let’s take a closer look at what you can do with each option
Webflow vs WordPress: Pricing
Before we start looking into the web design features that you can access with both Webflow and WordPress, it’s important to make sure that your content management system can match your budget. Remember, there are a lot of website builder options out there, from Wix to Drupal, and they all have different prices to consider.
The Webflow CMS comes with two types of pricing plan to choose from. The first option is the website plans which start at a price of $12 per month for anyone who just wants a website without a CMS. However, if you do want CMS functionality, to help you rank higher on Google and other search engines, then you’ll need to upgrade to the $16 per month plan.
The CMS plan includes support for 100,000 monthly visitors, 2000 CMS items, 3 content editors and more. There’s also a more advanced Business plan for $36 per month which comes with even more functionality, including a CMS API.
If you prefer the Ecommerce plans, then you can start with the Standard plan at $29 per month. This comes with all the features of the CMS package, but you can also take up to $50k in sales and create up to 3 staff accounts. This plan does come with 2% transaction fees and Webflow branding, however.
Upgrade to the Plus plan, and you can get rid of that pesky branding, and the fees, but you’ll be paying $74 per year. Additionally, the Advanced plan is available for $212 per year, which comes with the opportunity to make unlimited yearly sales and create 15 staff accounts.
Webflow pricing can be a lot more complicated when it comes to pricing than WordPress. While you can access things like Webflow hosting and free SSL certificate options to keep things simple, it’s hard to know at first which package you need. There’s no free plan, but you can start with a trial.
Alternatively, WordPress is a completely free-to-use open source solution. However, you need to handle a lot of extra costs on your own. For instance, you won’t have a support team unless you go and create one for yourself. You’ll also need to check out your own WordPress hosting options, invest in things like CDN technology, and even get help with website design.
The final cost of building a WordPress website can be expensive. However, it’s all dependent on you. The good thing about WordPress web development is that small businesses can be in complete control of how much they choose to spend.
Webflow vs WordPress: Ease of Use
Building the perfect website takes a lot of time and experimentation.
The best CMS is usually something that’s flexible, customizable, and relatively easy to use.
One good thing about Webflow, is that it’s completely brandable, which means that professional developers and designers can use it to create a white-labelled experience. The software comes with a huge number of expert capabilities, that allow you to get deep into things like JavaScript code.
At first glance, you can already see that the editor is a lot more advanced than most of the drag and drop options that you get from other website builders.
If you’re planning on working on multiple projects at once, Webflow will allow you to switch between them seamlessly using tabs. Additionally, you’ll be able to integrate with things like Adobe Photoshop to make your Webflow site as attractive as possible.
Webflow also comes with its own eCommerce engine that allows users to develop incredible responsive websites that go beyond the functionality of things like Weebly. However, the in-depth functionality of Webflow also means that it comes with a massive learning curve. Unlike with other tools, you’re going to need to take some time to figure out how this whole system works. The plus side is that once you get used to Webflow, you can do a lot with it, including creating parallax effects, animations, and so much more.
WordPress takes a different approach to helping companies built their websites. In the WordPress vs Webflow debate, it’s worth remembering that WordPress started life as a blogging platform. It comes with extra complexities, like forcing you to figure out your own hosting services. Additionally, unlike Shopify, where you don’t need to learn a line of code, you will need some basic coding knowledge to build out your WordPress site.
The good news is that WordPress is a lot easier to use overall than Webflow. It comes with a vast community of experts to help you get started, and there’s plenty of opportunities to build out your site performance using things like WordPress plugins.
In terms of features and functionality, neither WordPress nor Webflow is particularly designed for beginners. However, a lot of developers will probably prefer Webflow, because it comes with a number of integrated elements built-in. On the other hand, with WordPress, you do need to virtually design everything from the ground up.
While Webflow looks familiar to professional designers and developers, particularly if they’re working with things like Adobe Photoshop or Muse, WordPress can seem more complex. On the plus side, the open-source nature of WordPress does make it a great choice for those who want to customize their templates and codes using HTML/PHP insights and plugins
Webflow vs WordPress: Design Tools
Look at any Webflow review by a developer building custom websites, and you’ll see that this ecommerce website builder is one of the most flexible around. Webflow allows you to take complete control of everything from JavaScript to HTML. What’s more, the visual page builder means that you can keep an eye on the front-end of your design.
The drag and drop interface means that you can start with a blank page and build your way to the perfect website in no time. You can also view your website page structure in the navigator and restructure elements one click at a time.
Every element in your pages on the Webflow site will be responsive too, so you don’t have to worry about making things work with your design tool for each device. You can focus on providing an excellent uptime for your customers, whether you’re creating an ecommerce website or a blog.
Webflow also allows you to create custom interactions and animations throughout your site. The great thing about this functionality, is that the builder allows you to build these visual experiences without using a line of code.
From scroll-based animations, to unique elements that link to scroll progress, there’s something for every kind of website. You can also include things like “reveal on click” content that make your pages more engaging and dynamic whenever a customer interacts with them.
Alternatively, designing a website with WordPress is a bit of a different experience. Usually, you start with a theme from either a free or premium provider and build from there. This means that you’re not using a blank canvas – although you do have a lot of customization options. You can also pay for a professional to make a theme for you.
Once your chosen theme is installed, you’ll be able to customize everything from the fonts, to the images and sizes. What’s more, you can use plugins to add additional features that aren’t included with your existing theme.
Developers also have full access to the WordPress code if you want to jump straight into the complex parts of building a WordPress website. However, it’s really only recommended that you take this route if you have plenty of prior experience.
Webflow vs WordPress: Content Management
It’s not just building the basics of your website that matters when you’re designing an incredible web presence. You also need something to help you deliver incredible content to the world.
The good news is that Webflow has a CMS that’s designed to work for everyone from developers and designers to content management. You can design your content right on the page, and watch your website grow as you go. Additionally, there’s the option to add advanced options, like displaying content by filters.
If you want to add a search function into your website, you can do that too. There’s no need to worry about complex dashboards. Editing your content directly on the page makes it much easier to see how everything’s going to work on your front-end.
What’s more, because Webflow integrates with Zapier, you can integrate it with a variety of other tools to make your website and content more appealing.
On the other hand, since WordPress was initially built to be a blogging tool, it makes sense that it would make adding content to your website a lot easier.
The WordPress backend is simple and seamless. You don’t need to know any code for basic publishing, and you can manage the entire experience from your WordPress dashboard – which is highly intuitive and easy to use.
WordPress gives you the flexibility to add as many pages to your site as you choose, so you can build anything from a simple site that only covers a couple of pages, to a complex website with hundreds of different page options. Setting up a great-looking and well-performing website is easy with WordPress. What’s more, adding other authors and users to the mix is simple too.
WordPress.org comes packaged with a range of multi-user capabilities, including different access permissions, and unique components that will come in handy when your business grows. If you’re looking for a CMS system that really makes it easy to get started with publishing content online, WordPress is definitely the best choice.
Webflow vs WordPress: Ecommerce Features
Of course, there’s a good chance that you’re going to want to do a lot more than just publish blogs on your website. If you want to earn money, then you may also want to list products for your customers to buy. Fortunately, both WordPress and Webflow can help with that.
If you’re running an eCommerce business, Webflow can make it easier for you to sell your products and scale your business according to your individual needs. Every page you create is completely customizable, from product page to checkout. Additionally, unlike other website builders, your checkout pages can match the rest of your website completely.
You can even adjust the transactional emails that you send to your clients to confirm purchases. This makes it a lot easier to ensure that every aspect of your messaging and image stays on brand.
On top of that, customers will have the opportunity to pay for their products however they choose, which is always a huge bonus. All consumers prefer to buy from brands that give them complete freedom over how they want to shop. The Webflow dashboard integrates with everything from Apple Pay, to Google Pay, Stripe and PayPal. The order management dashboard is also very easy to use, and you can easily print shipping labels too.
Of course, just because Webflow is simple to use for ecommerce, doesn’t mean that WordPress doesn’t have its benefits too. All you need to do to get started here is install a free solution like the WooCommerce plugin. The WooCommerce plugin is very popular and easy to use.
As well as coming with a minimal learning curve for beginners, WooCommerce is highly customizable, meaning that the sky is really the limit for what you can do with your online store. What’s more, there are hundreds of free and paid extensions to add to WooCommerce too.
You can implement everything you need for shipping and fulfilment requirements, and even build your own dropshipping business with WooCommerce too!
Webflow vs WordPress: Customer Support
Once you’ve fully examined all the features of tools like WordPress and Webflow, and you’ve considered your needs when it comes to budgeting, it’s important to think about how much help you’re going to get.
One good thing about Webflow is that it comes with a huge knowledgebase supported by the Webflow university. Here, you can find all the information you need on how to get started with website building. You can also access insights into everything from integration requirements to hosting. There are plenty of video tutorial guides, and users can keep in touch with customer support through live chat and phone too.
Ultimately, there are more than enough ways for you to connect with your customer service team using Webflow if you need some extra help.
The same can’t necessarily be said of WordPress. Because it’s an open source platform like Flexbox, you’re pretty much on your own. WordPress doesn’t have a customer support team, and you’re stuck to finding the answers to your questions using guidance from other developers instead.
On the plus side, because WordPress is such a popular CMS, there is a lot of content out there to help you. There’s a good chance that you will be able to find at least some blogs and videos that can guide you in the right direction. However, this won’t help much if you need one-on-one support.
The Pros and Cons of Webflow
Webflow, like any website building service, has various pros and cons. For instance, you can get the freedom to create a completely customizable website with this solution. However, you’re also going to have a relatively high learning curve to deal with.
Pros 👍
- Freedom to create the perfect customized website
- Drag and drop page builder for in-depth insights into your page design
- Create interactions and animation with no code
- Make edits to your content pages directly on-page
- SEO friendly website creation
- Invite collaborators and editors to work with you
- Powerful hosting support with limited downtime
- Free SSL certificate
Cons 👎
- Significant learning curve takes a while to get used
- A little more expensive than some alternative options
- Not all features are available on the eCommerce side yet
The Pros and Cons of WordPress
Just because WordPress is the most popular CMS on the market today, doesn’t mean that it’s automatically going to be the right choice for every business owner. Each company has its own unique requirements when it comes to developing a website. On the one hand, WordPress is free to use, but it also means that you need to handle everything from hosting, to sourcing designs on your own.
Pros 👍
- Free to use, if you can find your own hosting
- Completely customizable so that you can have in-depth control over your website
- Thousands of themes, plugins and extensions to help make your site unique
- Easy to use if you don’t have a lot of coding experience
- Not much of a learning curve for people just getting started
- Excellent for building SEO optimized websites and blogs
- Fantastic for content creation
- Already thousands of integrations available for WordPress
- Huge community for assistance and support
Cons 👎
- You will need to hire a developer if you want to go beyond the basics
- You will be responsible for all the updates and maintenance on your website
- There’s no direct customer support available
Furter reading:
- Webflow vs Shopify: Keep reading to learn about how Webflow and Shopify match up.
- The Ultimate Webflow Ecommerce Review: Is Webflow The Best Website Builder for 2020?
- WordPress.org Website Builder Review for 2020
- WordPress.com vs WordPress.org: Which do you need?
- The Best WordPress Alternatives to Consider for 2020
The Bottom Line: Which One Should You Choose?
So, when it comes down to building your own website, which option should you be choosing? As is usually the case with selecting business tools and software, there’s really no one-size-fits-all solution here. Webflow and WordPress are both very popular tools that can have a lot to offer beginners and developer or design pros alike. However, they take a very different approach to the process of web development.
While Webflow is a great tool for creating production-ready sites from the ground up – it’s best for developers and designers. This unique tool is very advanced and uses a complex environment to help you bring your ideas to life. You don’t need a lot of coding knowledge to be an expert with Webflow, but you do need the time to get used to a rather in-depth piece of software. It’s really not the kind of tool that’s going to appeal to first-timers.
WordPress, on the other hand, is a highly reputable and popular content management system. This solution delivers everything from thousands of free templates, to themes that can help you to get started online. It appeals more to newbies who don’t have a lot of developer experience. Although it’s not in-depth as Webflow, it’s a great way to get started online. However, you do have to handle more of your back-end complexity on your own.
So, which one should you choose?
That all depends on you. Pick the CMS that suits your website, your business, and your background knowledge.
The post Webflow vs WordPress: Which Should You Go for? appeared first on Ecommerce Platforms.
from Ecommerce Platforms https://ift.tt/2Q66sXg via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment