Choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) is like picking the perfect foundation for your dream house. A strong foundation sets the stage for everything that comes next, impacting design, functionality, and scalability.

At Pixelmatters, we've helped countless clients navigate the exciting yet sometimes overwhelming world of CMS selection. In a previous blog post, we explored key considerations to guide your decision-making process — you can see it below.

Today, we're diving deeper by putting two popular CMS platforms head-to-head: WordPress and Webflow. We'll break down their functionalities, highlight their strengths and weaknesses based on our experience, and ultimately help you determine which one might be the perfect fit for your digital product. So, grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get started! ☕️

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Overview of the CMS pair

The reigning champion of the CMS world, WordPress, started as a blogging platform and has evolved into a powerhouse capable of handling a wide range of websites. Known for its user-friendly interface and vast plugin ecosystem, WordPress is a popular choice for both beginners and seasoned developers.

As a newer platform compared to WordPress, Webflow took the design world by storm. This all-in-one platform has a visual editor that allows users to design, build, and launch great-looking websites without touching a single line of code. Webflow has become a favorite among designers, marketers and those seeking maximum creative control over their website's look and feel.

Comparing key features 🔑

Beyond the basic functionalities, choosing a CMS boils down to how well it caters to your specific needs. Let’s compare Webflow and WordPress across several key factors that directly impact your website's development, management, and overall success. This includes factors like autonomy, scalability, UX, integrations, security, and more.

1. Autonomy

While both platforms offer user-friendly interfaces, WordPress grants more autonomy to users who are comfortable managing plugins and potentially some code. Webflow's visual editor offers a high degree of creative control within its set parameters. The level of autonomy you require depends on your project's specific needs and your comfort level with managing technical aspects of your website.

2. Cost Efficiency and ROI

WordPress itself is free to use, but ongoing costs include website hosting and potentially premium themes/plugins (prices vary). While Webflow offers a freemium plan, some features are limited. The most cost-efficient option depends on the complexity of your website, anticipated traffic volume, and plugin needs. When evaluating costs, consider not just the initial CMS cost but also the potential cost of additional plugins or developer involvement for complex functionalities.

3. Scalability

Webflow offers built-in scalability with its secure hosting on Amazon Web Services (AWS). WordPress scales well for most websites, but complex sites with high traffic or extensive content might require additional configuration or managed hosting. When considering scalability, think about your website's potential for growth in traffic and content volume over time.

4. User Experience (UX)

Webflow shines in ease of use with its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Those comfortable with design software will find it a breeze to use. WordPress has a bit of a learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with website management. Plugins can add functionality but also introduce complexity.

5. Community

Both platforms boast active user communities with forums, tutorials, and other resources. The WordPress community is vast due to its longer history, while Webflow's community is rapidly growing. The specific community that best suits your needs depends on the platform you choose.

6. Support and documentation

WordPress offers a wide range of support options, including community forums, paid support plans, and extensive documentation. Webflow provides knowledge base articles, video tutorials, and email support with paid plans offering priority support. The best support option depends on your preferred learning style and how quickly you need assistance.

7. Integrations

Both Webflow and WordPress offer a vast selection of integrations with popular marketing tools and analytics platforms, allowing you to connect your website with a wide range of services to enhance functionality. Some commonly integrated tools include Yoast SEO, Hubspot, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Hotjar, and Zapier.

While both platforms offer a wide range of integrations, it's important to ensure the specific tools you rely on integrate seamlessly with your chosen CMS. Before you make your final decision, check the CMS's app marketplace or integrations documentation to verify compatibility with your must-have marketing automation tools, analytics platforms, or any other essential service.

8. Security

Both Webflow and WordPress take security seriously. Webflow uses AWS' robust security infrastructure. WordPress requires users to stay vigilant about plugin updates and choose themes and plugins from reputable sources to minimize security risks.

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Pros and cons based on Pixelmatters' experience

Webflow CMS

Pros 👍

• Design flexibility and visual editing — Webflow offers an intuitive visual interface that allows the creation of highly customized and visually appealing websites without extensive coding skills. This, combined with a built-in CMS for streamlined creation and management of dynamic content, provides full flexibility and enables us to deliver unique and tailored solutions for clients prioritizing maximum adaptability and quick iteration over websites.
• Speed of implementation — The ability to visually develop and see the impact of most of our changes in real time significantly speeds up the development process. Since the implementations are responsive by nature, anything created for desktop cascades for tablets and mobile devices. Despite this, all elements can be adjusted on each breakpoint to ensure it matches the design details. This is particularly beneficial for clients working on tight schedules and reduced Time to Market, such as Glean, where we were able to cut down development when creating their brand new homepage.

Cons 👎

• Restrictive on custom functionalities — While Webflow is a powerful tool for creating fast and smooth user interfaces, it can be restrictive and might require workarounds or additional custom code to implement highly customized functionalities. This limitation can pose challenges for projects needing advanced features and bespoke solutions, as experienced in Pixelmatters’ website.
• Dependency on the platform — Due to Webflow’s closed ecosystem, users have to rely on its platform for both hosting and website management. If the users decide to move their website to another host, the migration process can be complex and time-consuming.
• Webflow can be more expensive — While Webflow offers a comprehensive set of plans, they tend to be more costly when compared to other CMS options, especially for larger websites with numerous CMS items or custom requirements that might require the Enterprise plan. This can be a drawback for budget-conscious clients or those with substantial content needs.

WordPress

Pros 👍

• Gutenberg block editor — The Gutenberg block editor offers a modern and flexible approach to content creation, allowing users to easily and intuitively create rich content. This enhances the user experience, streamlines content management, and provides great flexibility for the UI components used across the website. In our work with Veza, we leveraged the Gutenberg block editor to create reusable blocks, which simplified the content creation process and provided a cohesive, flexible website structure, empowering the client with full autonomy.
• Flexibility and customization — With WordPress, you gain full control over the code, enabling deep customization and the development of highly tailored solutions. This level of flexibility is essential for projects that demand bespoke functionalities and unique designs, allowing us to deliver precisely what our clients envision.
• Extensive plugin ecosystem — WordPress offers a vast library of plugins that allow for “virtually” any functionality to be added to a site. This extensibility has been invaluable in complex projects where specific functionalities were required, providing flexibility and versatility for different types of websites.

Cons 👎

• Customization complexity — While WordPress allows for deep customization, which can be seen as an advantage, it often requires coding knowledge to make significant changes. This complexity can be a barrier and a dependency for users who are not code experts.
• Plugin compatibility issues — With the vast number of plugins available on WordPress, compatibility issues can arise. When conflicts arise between plugins, they can disrupt website functionality, requiring troubleshooting and technical expertise to resolve the issues effectively.
• Security vulnerabilities — Due to its popularity, WordPress is a frequent target for hackers. Vulnerabilities often arise from poorly maintained plugins, themes, or outdated WordPress core versions. To guarantee a website’s security, it’s essential to stay vigilant and regularly update both the WordPress core version and all plugins.

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Best use cases for each CMS

Webflow is particularly suited for design-centric websites or landing pages where visual appeal and rapid customization are essential. Its intuitive visual editor enables the creation of high-quality, custom websites without the need for writing code, making it an excellent choice for startups and small businesses.

At Pixelmatters, we leveraged Webflow’s efficiency to quickly develop Glean’s website, meeting very tight deadlines effortlessly.

Showcasing new AI capabilities

How we brought the new Glean's website featuring its AI capabilities to life in 2 months.

‍WordPress, on the other hand, excels in providing the tools to manage content-rich website platforms that demand extensive customization and integration with other tools. With its robust CMS and the Gutenberg plugin, WordPress facilitates the organization and publication of large volumes of content while providing enough flexibility (and autonomy) to try different things.

For example, in our project with Veza, we used WordPress with Gutenberg to develop their website, enabling Veza’s team to achieve a high level of autonomy in creating and managing content. They can easily reuse custom-designed blocks we created, which are highly customizable to suit their specific needs.

A modular Website, built to scale

How a modular strategy empowered Veza’s new website with autonomy and flexibility for the future.

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Wrapping up 🌯

As you can see, there is no one-size-fits-all. Choosing a Content Management System (CMS) is not about looking for the most popular one, or the one that gets more reviews, because it all depends on your project requirements.

Both WordPress and Webflow have impressive qualities and some downsides, so make sure you know what you need first, so you know what to look for. If you don’t know where to start, take a look at what we consider to be the 9 most important factors to consider when choosing a CMS.

And if you need help throughout this process, you can always reach out to us.