Webflow vs Wordpress for Your Startup Blog

As the founder of a startup in 2024, you need to set up your company website. A big part of that website will be your blog. You're torn between Webflow and WordPress but haven't had the time to dig into the benefits of each.

Which one are you going with?

WordPress — it's been around a long time, and it'll be low-lift for the marketing team to use. Seems good.

Webflow, on the other hand, is the flashy new alternative. If WordPress is the Toyota Camry, Webflow is the Tesla. The Camry is reliable and gets the job done, but the Tesla is the more modern and powerful alternative. Your customization freedom is unprecedented with Webflow, but its CMS might be too much for the marketing team to handle.

Let's look at the differences between WordPress and Webflow and talk about how Letterdrop can help you choose.

Knowing Your Blog-Building Options

WordPress: The Classic for Blogging

WordPress is an open-source, no-code web-building tool and content management system (CMS) that's been around since 2003. Anyone can use it, and it has plenty of plugins and themes to choose from when designing your blog.

It's the safe choice — after all, WordPress powers about 43% of the websites out there, so there are plenty of helpful resources for it.

But it's pretty dated — and it shows.

WordPress is Aging

Some may see WordPress as the go-to, but it isn't as well-oiled a machine as it could be — or should be, given its longevity.

You'll be paying to host your own server for starters, so upkeep can become overwhelming, especially as you scale.

Is that really where you want your engineering time going?

Its number of available plugins, not all as well-developed as they could be, can clutter your code and slow webpage loading times. This could lead to Google downgrading your site on the SERP.

TLDR: WordPress can be slow, vulnerable to security risks, expensive in the long run, and can become technically overwhelming with the extensive plugins required to customize your blog.

Webflow: The Robust Modern Alternative

That's where Webflow comes in. It's a fast, secure, and powerful alternative to WordPress. Webflow is currently used by 3.5 million businesses, teams, and designers. It's a cloud-based, no-code website editor that lets you design, build, and launch responsive websites.

It is highly configurable, giving you complete stylistic control with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop designer. It's also free to use up until your website goes live.

However, Webflow has a learning curve and lacks truly intuitive SEO tools, collaboration, or a version history for blog posts. Its smooth performance and in-depth customization options still make it an excellent blog-building choice, though, so let's take a closer look at how it compares to WordPress.

Ease of Use and CMS

How beginner-friendly is the software regarding setup and use, and what about its CMS?

WordPress

• WordPress must be downloaded and installed manually, although most web hosts offer installer tools specific to the software.
• You'll need to purchase web hosting, but the host resource demands are minimal
• As established software, there's a large user community and ample resources available to help you
• It offers a setup wizard
• You manage your site's content, settings, users, comments, and more using dedicated screens within the WordPress dashboard. There are also many plugins like Yoast to help with SEO
• You can select a theme for overall design and style
• It offers the WordPress Gutenberg Editor, a built-in, block-based system that makes writing and organizing your blog easy

Webflow

• To get set up with Webflow, all you need to do is create a free account on their website and answer a few questions
• Paying customers have direct customer support
• Webflow University is a comprehensive resource developed by Webflow creators that offers help on anything from design tips to web development skills. The best part? It's free!
• Webflow uses a powerful and easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor
• Webflow offers thousands of templates for your blog
• The CMS allows multiple layers of content organization with its "Collections" feature
• It features live on-page editing so you can see how changes would look to a user in real-time

So what?

You can get started on Webflow right away by signing up for a free account online, with access to Webflow University, templates, and on-page editing. WordPress needs to be manually installed, and it offers a setup wizard and the Gutenberg Editor.

Functionality

Is the software "ready to go" in terms of basic core functions?

WordPress

• Plugins are required to execute many basic blog functions in WordPress, such as creating a more user-friendly interface and being able to view YouTube videos properly
• As you'll be hosting your own server, you need to handle server setup, security, and maintenance yourself

Webflow

• Webflow has everything you need for an operational site in its core package: web hosting, updates, and security are included.
• Additional features, such as a custom domain and the comprehensive CMS for your blog, need to be purchased in a site plan

So what?

Webflow takes care of everything for you in terms of built-in features, but it can be challenging and complex. WordPress requires a more hands-on approach as you build your functionality piecemeal.

Customization

How much customization freedom does the software offer?

WordPress

• It's highly extensible and adaptable, offering a plethora of themes and plugins to suit your style, function, and design choices. The WordPress.org directory has almost 59,000 free plugins!
• There are also independent and premium plugins available

Webflow

• You have full visual control over HTML, CSS, and JavaScript elements. You can add, remove, and stylize as you wish right down to typography, and you can even create interactive animations
• The Assets section allows you to add and manage elements such as images, documents and logos

So what?

Webflow offers complete creative freedom in terms of UI with its full visual control of HTML, CSS and JavaScript elements, while WordPress offers various plugins and themes for you to modify both design and functionality.

Performance

Is the software optimized for fast loading times?

WordPress

• The thousands of different themes, plugins, and features WordPress offers can slow your site down, with possible negative implications for the SERP. This has as much to do with how the plugins were developed as well as how many may be loading on your site
• Independent server hosting quality and speed also varies

Webflow

Webflow is hosted on fast CDNs, with a reported greater than 99% uptime.

So what?

Webflow offers fast and secure CDN hosting for optimized performance, while on WordPress, performance is highly variable according to hosting reliability and the quality and number of plugins.

Integration

Does the software integrate easily with third-party applications?

WordPress

• Most web hosts allow you to add WordPress to their hosting account with one click, with various third-party applications integrating well with WordPress for non-native features. These include Zapier and ZenDesk

Webflow

• Webflow has an app marketplace and an API to allow integrations with third-party software

So what?

Webflow has a flexible API and a burgeoning app marketplace for non-native features, while WordPress integrates with various third-party services.

Cost

How much does the software cost, and what do I get for that price?

WordPress

• Bluehost is a compatible hosting site for WordPress, with a basic site plan containing a single website with standard features, 50GB website space, and a free domain for one year for $9.99 per month.

Webflow

• Webflow's CMS package is specifically designed for blog creation and includes a custom domain name. This package comes with 1,000 monthly form submissions, 200 GB bandwidth, 2,000 CMS items, three content editors, and a custom domain for $23 per month.

So what?

Those are the basic costs, but they don't tell you much. As you scale, WordPress and Webflow get more expensive. (Both can cost six figures at the enterprise level).

What's more important is the engineering and development time you're sinking into each. Both have their drawbacks — with all its plugins, WordPress isn't as robust as you scale, while Webflow's CMS, despite being no code, is really built for engineers and designers. Both will soak resources you'd rather use somewhere else.

With Webflow, there's a solution to that problem...

We Think Webflow is the Future of Blogging

WordPress is a trusted everyday solution for blog hosting — the sheer number of available plugins makes it a delight to design, and it has established a name for itself in the online world.

But for the modern startup blog, we think Webflow is the better choice. Choosing the more modern approach avoids technical debt. It's much more robust for a B2B SaaS company because you're not stuck piecing together a "Frankenstein monster" of open-source plugins.

Webflow is also gaining market share, with 4.1 billion page views monthly — and it's clear why. Webflow does everything for you regarding your blog's functionality, allowing total creative freedom through visual access and control of underlying code. This, combined with its speed and the resources on Webflow University, make it an excellent choice for a B2B blog

That doesn't make Webflow perfect, however — which is why you may want to consider an alternative CMS.

What to Consider When Choosing Webflow

While very powerful and customizable, the Webflow CMS is complicated and not as comprehensive as it may seem — inviting collaborators requires obtaining permissions, you can't view a version history when reviewing content, and the SEO tool is basic.

Letterdrop integrates with Webflow, offering a clean CMS alternative that allows you to publish your blog with one click, further offering built-in content optimization tools. That means less engineering time spent helping Marketing publish the blog — a lot less.

Letterdrop features include:

• Grammarly Business built-in
• SEO optimization
• Plagiarism detection
• Readability checks
• No-code embeds and forms
• Syntax highlighting for code blocks and markdown
• Advanced roles and permissions for writers, editors, and marketers
• One-click social and email distribution
• AI assistance
• Preview blog before publishing to a live site
• Easy collaboration with revision history
• Real-time content calendar and project board

All these features lighten the load on the Marketing team.

Webflow's CMS requires some effort to learn and is a little clunky — Letterdrop's intuitive suite of tools integrates well with Webflow as an excellent CMS alternative.

Webflow is the Better Choice for Modern Blogging

WordPress used to be the go-to for web-building and blogging, but its shortcomings in terms of security vulnerabilities, expensive long-term customization, and slower performance make it a less optimal choice for your modern startup.

With its limitless customization options, on-page editing, and performance efficiency, Webflow is a great choice for your B2B blog. The best part? It's specifically designed for blog building with its affordable CMS site plan. Letterdrop's CMS fills in all of Webflow's blog publishing gaps so your Marketing team can make the best use of Webflow, and your Engineering team can build something else besides a blog.

Try Letterdrop's 14-day free trial today!