By Michal Krochecki

Wordpress vs Webflow: Pick the best CMS for a startup company

Webflow

Development

Startups

Wordpress vs Webflow: Pick the best CMS for a startup company Logos

If you’re looking for the best CMS for your start-up, you basically have two options: WordPress and Webflow.

While both have some serious pros and cons, if you’re looking for a hassle-free solution that won’t hinder your growth online, there is one choice that outruns the other. Let’s have a look!

If you’re running a start-up company, you surely know that building a start-up business comes with many headaches. Here at Visux, we believe designing a website should NOT be one of them. That’s why we streamline the process of designing and developing websites that check all the right boxes.

At the beginning of the process, there is one significant decision you need to make, and that’s what CMS to pick. This acronym stands for Content Management System, and in short, it’s an online platform that allows you to design, edit, manage, and publish your website along with all its elements.

A good CMS platform makes your website easy to manage and edit, but it also allows you to use all the technologies and features you need in your start-up. For many start-ups, this choice comes down to two contestants:

WordPress
Webflow

And while by no means are we saying that WordPress is a bad choice, we think Webflow is a better bet. Let us tell you why.

Webflow vs WordPress: What should you consider?

There are five essential aspects of your website’s future CMS. The comparison below will help you make an informed decision:

1. Funcionality

In general, both CMS systems enable you to create exactly the website you need. However, you may require more technological expertise to design a perfect WordPress site as WordPress dashboard is quite rigid. Webflow is a no-code platform, which means you can design a great-looking website without the need to write a single line of code. For many beginner users, even installing wordpress on their web hosting can be tricky, as it requires access to your website's server.

Unlike WordPress, Webflow (as well as other SaaS website builders) comes with an easy-to-use and intuitive drag-and-drop editor or visual builder that allows you to place all the elements exactly where you want them to be and make them look exactly the way you want. With WordPress, it’s not always that easy. Of course, there are WP-based builders such as Elementor, but the truth is that they make your website heavier and slower. In the times of core web vitals, where your website’s speed and responsiveness are crucial, slowing your site down is the last thing you should do.

2. The amount of code

When it comes to WordPress, every plugin and every builder adds some code to your website’s codebase. If you put in too many plugins and use a heavy website builder, your WordPress website can work really slowly, and actually many WordPress sites struggle with this issue! Naturally, this affects your SEO and UX. Neither Google bots nor users want to use slow and non-responsive websites!

On the other hand, Webflow comes with a minimal amount of code, so the websites we build for our clients usually have great results in all the speed and responsiveness tests. And because they’re fast, users are keen to use them.

Lastly, because there is an option to add custom HTML/JS/CSS code in a specified place on your website, you can freely use all the tools and tags (e.g., Google tags or Facebook pixels) for your website so that you can promote your start-up business in Google and on social media.

[Webflow site html code editor]

3. Plugins and integrations

Both CMS systems allow plugins and integrations with other tools and technologies (e.g., online payment providers), but when it comes to Webflow, it’s all integrated by default within their system. WordPress plugins come from third-party sources and are developed by hundreds of different companies and sometimes even individuals. On the other hand, WordPress integrates nicely with the large amount of external tools and platforms. Plus, keep in mind that sometimes you'll have to use premium plugins; free WordPress software is now always sufficient.

As a result, you can install a plugin that can crash your website or let malware software in. There’s also the risk that some plugins can adversely affect the way your website works or lack some of the features you need. With Webflow, it’s much easier and safer, and you know that you use tools verified and approved by the Webflow team because they designed them.

Webflow offers 28 categories of different plugins and integrations! The chances you won’t find the solution you’re looking for are bleak.

[Webflow university: Some of the social media integrations available in Webflow]

4. Security

While there’s no official data on this, some estimations show there are over 4 million WordPress data breaches or hacks per year. Of course, you can (and should!) include additional security measures to your website, but still, there is a risk of some sort of malware attack on your website.

On the other hand, all Webflow websites are hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosting, which is known for its security. Moreover, all communication between Webflow users and the Webflow-provided web application is encrypted in transit using TLS while using the application, and all databases and database backups are also encrypted.

So, when it comes to WordPress/Webflow comparison, at least in terms of security, Webflow has the upper hand.

5. Costs

In theory, WordPress is an open-source CMS, which means it’s free to use, and that’s a huge advantage. However, bare WordPress doesn’t have many options, so you need to rely on external tools and plugins. Many of them are paid, so you end up having a website that can cost you hundreds of dollars per year.

On the other hand, Webflow is paid, but you get all the features you need within one per-month price. And we have to admit, the Enterprise offer can be expensive, especially if you’re looking for non-standard solutions. But for the majority of tech and AI start-ups, the medium CMS plan (which costs $23 per month with annual billing) is more than enough.

So even though you need to pay for Webflow's CMS from day one, it can turn out it’s actually cheaper compared to WordPress.

Wrapping up: Let’s design your website in Webflow!

If you run a start-up business, you need a good-looking website that helps you achieve your business and marketing goals. We can say with 100% certainty that Webflow does just that. And because our team specializes in this CMS, we’ll gladly help you design your perfect website from scratch.

Whether you choose to build a WordPress site or a Webflow site, ensure you have a good hosting provider and a custom domain for your business.

We’ll also gladly tweak your branding, too, if that’s something you’d like to discuss as well. We approach each client holistically and support you in branding, UX, web design, and even MVPs.