Why I use and love Webflow to build websites

Intro

What makes a website amazing?

Is it…

• How well it works on all types of devices?
• Its scalability?
• How well it converts customers?
• How it looks visually?
• How easy it is to edit?

This is pretty obvious - it’s all of these things. But now ask yourself: based on these criteria, is your website truly amazing?

Most of my clients have some of these aspects covered, but they’re always lacking a few others. Whether it’s a page that breaks on mobile, or an outdated visual style that needs some love, or even just a CMS that requires developer assistance for the smallest of changes…

These problems can really add up, and can quickly turn your website from a useful tool into a headache.

But Webflow addresses all of these issues! With it, I can build complex and fully custom websites with visual code, giving me full control over the designs while also providing my clients with a user-friendly content management system.

My clients aren’t locked into modules and templates, and they don’t need a dedicated web developer to update their content. They can spend their valuable time using a website that works for them, instead of being difficult to manage.

If you’ve never heard of or used Webflow, I hope this post can convince you that it’s an incredible platform worth evaluating. So let’s dive a bit deeper into why Webflow is so wonderful.

Custom everything

If you can dream it, you can do it in Webflow.

Most content management systems use a drag-and-drop editor, which can work great depending on your needs. But they still limit you to working within constraints that may lead to issues in the future.

Say you want to…

• Add a custom interaction, like an animation, on-hover effect, or autoplay video
• Use an uncommon layout, perhaps with multiple columns or odd spacing
• Have zero discrepancies between the design and the finished product

If you didn’t account for these when creating modules, adding any of these would require either a plug-in or a completely new module to get the desired result.

But with Webflow, I can build any custom design exactly how it was meant to be, with the full power of HTML, CSS, and Javascript at my fingertips.

And if you need a new section, layout, or animation, you can just create it!

As a designer, working with a visual code platform like Webflow is an absolute game-changer. I’m able to play the role of both designer and developer, without having to actually write code myself (and worry about forgetting a semicolon here and there).

Faster build times

Compared to writing code, Webflow is so fast to use, part of that is due to its visual code nature.

What is visual code? Well, instead of manually writing code for every element of your website, you can drag HTML elements and style them right in the canvas. Webflow does the heavy lifting by generating clean and semantic code for you.

Of course, if needed, I can always add custom code to Webflow, giving me immense flexibility that drag-and-drop editors can’t provide.

Because of this, Webflow offers you the best of both worlds, the speed of drag-and-drop with the customization of writing code from scratch.

But speed is not just important for me as a developer, it is also crucial in marketing, especially for growing startups. So you need a tool that allows you to react quickly: create new pages, test new call to actions and create new content. With the Webflow editor and CMS, your team can quickly make content changes on Webflow, press “publish”, and it’s live!

Websites are tools, so why would you use a tool that slows you down? Webflow helps you create a smooth website for both your customers AND your team.

Responsive design

54.4% of internet traffic comes on mobile, on average. So you’re missing out on more than half of all website traffic if you don’t have a proper mobile site.

Luckily, Webflow is perfect for creating websites that give amazing experiences, whether your visitors come on desktop, tablet or mobile.

Thanks to the multiple breakpoints, I can modify the design and layout based on different device width ranges. So instead of making concessions for mobile or desktop, I can adapt the core sections of your website for any device your visitors come from.

Not to mention, keeping your site responsive plays a huge role in helping your site rank better on Google!

Fast and secure

Your website conversion rate drops by 4.42% with each second of load time. When there are so many sites that load instantly, we just don’t have the patience anymore.

However, you don’t have to worry about that with Webflow. Once you hit publish, the generated code is clean and lean, so there isn’t bloat messing up your load times.

And Webflow also has enterprise-grade security that will keep your site secure. So no need to worry about that either!

No plug-ins needed

Nothing against plug-ins! They can easily add a ton of options to your website if you lack coding experience. However, the problem comes when something breaks.

With plug-ins, you are reliant on the developer to help fix bugs and troubleshoot, not your website hosting service. There’s no guarantee of receiving a fix, and if a plug-in is abandoned, then you’re in tough waters.

However, since Webflow has their functionalities built in, that means they also update and maintain those functions. They’re ready to support whenever anything breaks. So you can feel confident that you’re using reliable features in your site.

Outro

I could go on about the benefits of Webflow, but it’s really one of the best solutions for any company looking to either get started with their first website or scale their growth with a robust solution.

I see so many companies and startups working with patchwork solutions, where developers need to make even minor changes to the marketing website, where the sales team is annoyed at the poor conversion rate, and where marketers are frustrated that they can’t update the site themselves.

Webflow solves so many of these issues. And as a designer, it’s an absolute dream to work with.

Of course Webflow also has some limitations like any platform, but those small limitations are easy for me to accept when everything works so well and the product is still growing constantly.

If you’d like to hear more, would like to migrate from WordPress to Webflow, or simply build your first website on Webflow, I’d love to help you. Reach out to me here and let’s talk!