Webflow vs. WordPress 2024: Which Website Platform Is Better?

WordPress remains the world's most popular content management system (CMS), but it's not without challengers. Webflow is a no-code WordPress alternative that's increasingly popular among developers and designers. So, which is the best option for building a website in 2024?

We took a closer look at both solutions to help you decide which platform is best for your specific project needs.

Both WordPress and Webflow are used to create, publish, and manage digital content. While similar, the two website platforms take slightly different approaches to each of these tasks.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that enables users to create and manage web-based content. Using WordPress, you can develop just about any kind of website, even if you don't have any web design or programming skills.

Calling WordPress a CMS is a bit of an understatement, though — because it's unparalleled in popularity in use, many call it the CMS. According to some estimates, it powers around 40% of the world's ten million biggest websites, with none of its peers coming anywhere near that figure. Among our sample of websites that we could identify a CMS for, more than 75% rely on WordPress.

There are several reasons for WordPress's success: It's open source and free, can be used by anyone, regardless of their level of experience, and has a huge and active user/developer community. WordPress also offers a massive assortment of plugins and themes, which make it possible to customize the look and functionality of your WordPress website to your exact needs.

All of the above makes WordPress a powerful CMS that can power just about any kind of website project, from basic blogs and intricate business websites to online stores, or even discussion boards.

Webflow is a web design and development platform that combines the features of a CMS with the flexible design options offered by website builders. You can visually design entire websites in Webflow's editor without having to write a single line of code.

While Webflow provides a higher degree of flexibility and customization, it also introduces a layer of complexity not found in more straightforward platforms like Wix.

This is because Webflow does not completely abstract away the programming aspect; instead, it visualizes programming processes. Understanding the logic behind coding can be beneficial, as Webflow translates these concepts into visual actions.

Webflow's approach makes it particularly attractive for designers who want greater control over the layout and functionality of their websites, without the risk of getting lost in code. A CMS for managing content, as well as hosting and a domain, are included in Webflow's subscriptions.

Which website platform is better? The answer depends entirely on your requirements, your skills, and what you want to achieve with your website. Let's take a closer look at how the two rivals differ from one another in several key areas:

Both website platforms try to make designing a website as easy and user-friendly as possible. Their approaches, however, are quite different.

WordPress is what you make of it. It's extremely versatile, but to take full advantage of what it has to offer, you'll need to be familiar with coding languages like HTML and CSS.

But if you're happy to stick to the basics and integrate features with plugins and add-ons, instead of building them yourself, you can use much of the platform without such coding knowledge.

Setting up WordPress is slightly more complicated than getting started with Webflow, since WordPress is not a managed service. First, you'll need to sort out your hosting needs and install WordPress on your web space.

Fortunately, many hosting providers offer straightforward software installers that essentially automate the WordPress installation process. Alternatively, you can opt for a dedicated WordPress hosting service, which specializes in managing WordPress projects.

You'll oversee your WordPress projects — managing your domain, backups, SSL protection, website performance, and other aspects — through your hosting provider's admin dashboard.

To work on your WordPress website's content, you'll need to head over to your WordPress admin dashboard, which looks like this:

The WP admin dashboard is your central hub for all the features and tools needed to design and manage your website, including:

Overall, the learning curve with WordPress isn't as steep as with Webflow, since the platform accommodates users of all experience levels and doesn't require programming or coding knowledge. However, having those skills will help you make the most out of WordPress.

From a tech and admin perspective, the initial Webflow setup is simple, since aspects like hosting and a domain are included in the platform subscription. Once you're registered, you can start designing your Webflow website with the platform's editor right away.

Webflow's editor is significantly more complex than those of other website builders like Wix or Squarespace. While you don't necessarily need programming knowledge to use it, its underlying logic is based on web design and coding principles.

This means that you have access to advanced design elements and features that enable precise control over layout, animations, and interactive elements. However, this additional control and flexibility require a deeper understanding of the principles of web design — and it’ll take a while to master these tools.

While undoubtedly complex, Webflow's editor is generally user-friendly. It has a clear, well-structured interface that guides users through every step of the design process.

This makes it an attractive option both for beginners who are ready to invest a bit of time into understanding the platform and more experienced designers.

Webflow offers plenty of freedom and flexibility, but it simply can't compete with WordPress.

With WordPress, the possibilities are endless: If you can dream it, you can do it, so long as you have the necessary skills or can find a suitable plugin, theme, or add-on.

There are more than 11,000 free and installable themes in the WordPress repository. Moreover, there are many more premium themes and others offered by third parties you can install manually.

The assortment of plugins is just as large and diverse, with options for SEO, social media, contact forms, backups, caching, and even full-fledged website builders.

And if the pre-installed or ready-made tools aren't enough, you can customize your web pages with CSS or HTML (or pay a professional programmer to do it for you). As such, WordPress offers nearly total flexibility.

Webflow also offers an impressive selection of design templates, 2,000 to be exact. There are options for blogs, portfolios, ecommerce websites, and everything in between — you'll have to pay for most of them, though. In addition, unlike with WordPress, it isn't possible to simply switch between templates.

You can integrate other services into Webflow by adding custom code (Webflow University maintains a list of supported plugins and integrations), but there's no equivalent to WordPress's extensive plugin library.

Webflow has a powerful editor, which gives you plenty of tools to adjust and customize any theme to your liking. However, Webflow doesn't match the breadth of features and options WordPress provides right out of the box.

Want to create an online store? You can go with either solution — but once again, WordPress has a slight edge.

You can add ecommerce features to WordPress via a plugin, the most popular being WooCommerce. It's easy to set up and well-suited for both small and larger store projects. All important features, from payment gateways to delivery options, can be easily configured in the WooCommerce backend.

WooCommerce is free, just like WordPress, but you'll need to pay for your WordPress hosting and your shop's domain (on top of other ecommerce costs, such as payment fees). To make things easier, you can choose a WooCommerce hosting package that's specifically tailored to the plugin's needs.

Of course, WooCommerce isn't the only option: There are plenty of other WordPress ecommerce plugins, making WordPress a great choice for any kind of ecommerce project.

Ecommerce features are natively integrated into Webflow — as long as you select one of its three ecommerce subscription plans (more on these below). You can create shops with up to 15,000 products.

Webflow provides all the tools you'll need to set up a basic shop, from product management features and a shopping cart to marketing tools and integrations for Mailchimp or Google Shopping. Compared with WordPress and WooCommerce, however, the options are relatively limited.

The different pricing models of WordPress and Webflow make a side-by-side comparison difficult. Let's look at the costs of each platform:

As mentioned above, the WordPress software itself is free. Getting a WordPress website online, however, isn't. The main cost is hosting, with prices differing across providers. Among the nine WordPress hosting services we evaluated, the most affordable subscriptions span from $5 to $40 per month. Standard hosting services, which are not specifically tailored for WordPress, tend to be a bit cheaper.

Keep in mind that these are the cheapest options, which often limit server space, performance, or other features. Depending on the size of your website project and the resources it requires, you might want or have to pay quite a bit more.

And hosting isn't the only source of cost, either. With a WordPress website, you'll also want to budget for:

WordPress offers options for every budget: You can create a simple website with a minimal investment, or to launch a large and resource-intensive project at a much higher cost.

Costs are easier to determine with Webflow, since its subscription packages include specific features and resources. Simply make a list of what you need for your website and purchase the subscription that best suits your requirements.

There are five basic subscriptions:

In addition, there are also three ecommerce subscriptions:

With its fixed subscriptions, Webflow makes it somewhat easier to set aside a budget for your web project. At the same time, since they're all-in-one, you do pay slightly more for the added convenience.

Need help with your web project? Here's what you can expect from WordPress and Webflow:

There is no direct support from WordPress, as it is a free, open-source platform. So, initially, you're on your own.

However, it shouldn't be too difficult to find answers to your questions. There's support from your hosting provider, who can assist with hosting-related queries. The support staff of Managed WordPress Hosting solutions are particularly knowledgeable about WordPress and may also offer help with other WordPress-related issues.

But the most support doesn't come from any provider, but from the WordPress community itself – which is huge. Due to the global popularity of the platform, there are countless tutorials, video guides, forum discussions, or FAQs.

Answers to any WordPress question can be found online in just a few clicks. At the same time, this is only appealing to do-it-yourself types, and there isn't any "personal" WordPress support.

In contrast, Webflow offers traditional support channels: You can submit a ticket and receive a direct response from the Webflow team, which is active 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday. In our test, we received a detailed and personalized response tailored to our questions in our inbox after about 7 hours, which is perfectly acceptable.

However, Webflow's most valuable support resource is Webflow University. It contains hundreds of courses and videos that explain most of Webflow's features, as well as the basic principles of web design and programming. Beginners wanting to learn how to use Webflow will find everything they need here.

While the Webflow community is smaller than WordPress's and there are fewer tutorials scattered across the internet, you don't need to search the web for these resources: Webflow provides all the support and documentation you need.

So, which is better – WordPress or Webflow? The (admittedly somewhat boring) answer: it depends. The two platforms have different strengths and weaknesses and cater to different target groups.

WordPress is the better choice if you're looking for a user-friendly website platform that offers maximum flexibility and customizability. Users of all experience levels can create all kinds of websites with it, from small blogs to large corporate websites and online stores. The selection of themes and plugins is vast, and there's likely a suitable integration for just about any service.

For beginners, there's certainly a learning curve, but it's not as steep as Webflow's – especially for users with no web design or programming skills. With a wide range of hosting services, WordPress is also suitable for nearly any budget.

Webflow, on the other hand, is ideal for users seeking a more intuitive, design-oriented platform. Its primary audience includes designers and creatives who value visual design and want precise control over their website's layout.

Unlike WordPress, Webflow also has the advantage of being an “all-in-one” solution, with hosting and technical management included in the package. The platform is optimal for medium to large projects where design is a priority and less technical background is available.

Do you want to create a website and don't know whether WordPress or Webflow is the better platform for you? Both solutions offer unique strengths but cater to slightly different target groups.

WordPress is probably the most versatile solution on the market and a good choice for users of all experience levels and projects of different budgets. Even beginners without design and programming knowledge can quickly start working on their first websites, while advanced users benefit from almost limitless customization. However, keep in mind that you'll have to take care of aspects like hosting yourself.

Webflow, on the other hand, is a suitable alternative for users who already have some web design experience and prefer a visual and design-oriented approach for their web projects. Because hosting, technical management, and support are integrated, you don't have to worry about anything else.

Both WordPress and Webflow are a bit too complicated for what you're trying to do? In that case, a simple website builder might do the job. We reviewed 12 of the most popular website builders on the market to help you find the right platform for your needs.