Why use Webflow over WordPress?

Why use Webflow over an open source platform like WordPress?

There appears to be a lot of confusion surrounding Webflow and the kinds of websites it's best suited too.

WordPress users cannot fathom the idea of using Webflow and quite often, Webflow users feel the same about WordPress.

Both sides are usually completely ignorant on the benefits of either.

I've been using WordPress personally and professionally on and off for around 10 years. However I made the switch to using Webflow as my primary tool of choice for client work in 2018.
‍

So why would someone like myself do this? Allow me to explain...

‍

WordPress can do more than Webflow

As Webflow users we have to make an initial concession. That concession is that you can do more with the WordPress platform than you can with Webflow.

WordPress allows you to do anything you like as long as you have the technical know-how. Webflow on the other hand, does limit you to what the platform allows you to do.

WordPress still absolutely dominates in terms of usage, the community is larger, you can host your website with any host you like, and ultimately, you own the tool that powers your website.

So if we can admit that WordPress allows you to do more without limitation, why would you use Webflow over WordPress?

Well, for all the benefits of WordPress, there are some undeniable down sides.
‍

Security

WordPress by it's very nature, is less secure than Webflow.

Most WordPress users are using multiple third party plugins. Every time you do this in WordPress you are at the mercy of that developer to make sure their plugin is free from exploits.

It's a complete gamble as you likely have no idea on how the plugin was created.

‍

Also, as recently as February 2024, at least three prominent page builders we know of were hacked relating to an unauthenticated Remote Code Execution.

Some builders such as Bricks builder did a great job of quickly handling the problem in a very professional way.

But the fact remains, it happened and peoples sites were hacked.

In contrast, Webflow has never had a major widespread vulnerability in 10 years. I have never heard of a Webflow website being hacked.

Webflow sites have far less points of failure which is a benefit of a closed-source platform.

Now it's true you don't have to use page builders in WordPress, but the vast majority of people using WordPress are using a theme that has building capabilities or they use a page builder.

Very few in the grand scheme of things are custom coding their own WordPress sites. Agencies may well be, but not the average user.

Maintenance

As an agency owner, I hated maintaining WordPress websites. If you have a large number of WordPress clients and the builder you've used has an issue, every website could potentially be affected.

This can mean 50 or more emails from worried clients asking why they have a critical error message.

Ain't nobody got time for that.

With WordPress you need to worry about, what version of php is compatible with your builder of choice, you have to contend with core WordPress updates, page builder updates and plugin updates.

All of which can throw up an unexpected error.

If you know what you're doing you can test all these updates on a staging site to mitigate these problems.

Guess how much of this you have to with Webflow?

None.

There is no maintenance required your end.

For me this took a little time to get used to. The anxiety of that late night email from a disgruntled client hung around for a few months. But it has never happened once.

I cannot describe how much better Webflow is when it comes to reducing your stress levels. I know I sleep more soundly than the average WordPress user.

Webflow platform risk

Webflow does come with a degree of platform risk. On paper, Webflow can cancel your account whenever they feel like it just for giggles.

But we have to deal in real world scenarios here. They don't randomly and regularly ban accounts for no reason. Otherwise no one would ever use Webflow. If they did, this would be bigger news.

There are terms and conditions to using Webflow and there are certain types of websites you can't make.

Anything illegal is obviously not allowed and anything to do with drugs, gambling, porn or selling weaponry is also prohibited.

So if you like to operate in the naughty niche category, you're out of luck!

But let's be honest here, most agencies do not specialise in these kind of niches. There's plenty of other industry types to choose from.

WordPress platform risk

WordPress as a CMS, carries very little platfrom risk. You own your version of WordPress and no one can take it away from you.

However, that cannot be said for the plugins or page builders that are built on top of it.

Niche builders in particular are at the most risk as you can see below with the Cwicly situation.

Cwicly was an up and coming page builder

‍