Webflow vs. WordPress: Choosing Your No-Code/Low-Code Website Builder

Originally published: June 14th, 2023. Updated on: April 29th, 2025.

The rise of "No-Code" website builders like Webflow has certainly taken the world by storm. These tools have gained significant popularity over the last few years, aiming to empower non-technical users.

Add Value Without Sacrificing Time

No-code platforms sprang from the need for designers and others without deep technical skills to gain more control over website layout and appearance.

A (Very) Brief History of No-Code

The core idea behind the no-code website movement isn't entirely new; it's been evolving for decades. As far back as 1982, James Martin, in his book “Application Development without Programmers,” predicted a future where computers would handle many tasks without direct programmer assistance. While programmers remain vital, obviously, we now have tools allowing designers, artists, and business owners to craft stylish websites without needing extensive coding knowledge. The no-code market is booming, expected to be worth billions.

Wix.com – One of the First No-Code Solutions

I first noticed the no-code trend around 2015 with adverts for Wix.com, founded back in 2006. Wix allows non-technical users to create visual layouts and add complex features that would otherwise require significant development effort. It grew rapidly, hitting 1 million users by 2009 and 200 million by 2021 with its Editor X release.

Personally, I've always coded website templates in editors like VS Code or Sublime Text, often using WordPress to create solutions for clients. To be honest, I wasn't overly impressed by Wix back then, but newer no-code solutions have definitely shown their value. For much of no-code's history, tools like Wix were powerful for those with limited tech skills but couldn't match the flexibility of WordPress, especially for content management.

Newer No Code Website Solutions

Today, there's a much wider range of tools. Some modern players include:

• Webflow: Founded in 2012, this platform is used by over 3.5 million designers and teams to build scalable websites without requiring coding knowledge.
• Bubble: Also founded in 2012, Bubble focuses on building web applications without coding, boasting over a million users as of 2021.
• Zapier: Launched in 2011, Zapier enables workflow automation between different web apps, connecting over 5,000 apps to create powerful, interconnected systems.

Comparisons Between Webflow and Wix

A key difference lies in access to the underlying code structure. Wix offers basic surface-level editing, whereas Webflow goes deeper, leveraging a designer's understanding of CSS and HTML fundamentals. Webflow allows direct manipulation of CSS properties like position (absolute, relative, fixed), padding/margins, transforms/animations, and opacity.

CSS and HTML are Fundamental Building Blocks

These technologies underpin every single page on the internet. CSS is incredibly powerful for controlling layout and appearance down to the pixel—font sizes, letter spacing, paragraph margins, you name it. HTML provides the structure and meaning.

Webflow Builds Upon The Internet

Webflow cleverly replicates the precision of CSS and HTML within its visual editor interface. This brings the power of technical development to a drag-and-drop environment. In many ways, you could consider Webflow development a "low-code" solution, as experienced developers can inject custom code to add functionality beyond the standard interface.

The Pros and Cons Of No-Code

Like anything, no-code tools have their upsides and downsides.

Benefits of using no code website solutions:

• Efficiency: Webflow allows creative individuals to build complex layouts easily, bypassing the traditionally code-heavy process. For designers, this is a huge plus.
• Cost-effectiveness: Less technical expertise potentially means lower upfront build costs compared to custom solutions.
• Design-to-development process: Webflow generates clean, semantic code automatically, bridging the gap between design and development.

Drawbacks of no code website development:

• Limited Control: Developers used to writing code might find Webflow restrictive compared to hand-crafting every detail. Ultimately, the visual interface imposes some limitations.
• Potentially Chaotic Project Structure: Without direct code access, managing complex projects can become tricky if not planned meticulously. Naming conventions and element organization require care to avoid clutter.
• Platform Risk: Relying entirely on a single platform like Webflow carries inherent risks. Business model changes, price hikes, or shutdowns could cause major disruptions. While Webflow offers site export, recreating the structure elsewhere involves extra overhead.
• Complex Databases: Webflow's CMS capabilities are decent for basic needs but can struggle with complex data relationships or very large datasets.
• User Management: Webflow has limitations regarding managing user accounts and setting fine-grained permissions.

WordPress – The Alternative

WordPress has been a dominant force for much longer. Launched in 2003 as a simple blogging platform, it has evolved into a powerful CMS powering hundreds of millions of websites.

WordPress > Webflow?

WordPress offers significant advantages, particularly being free and open-source. This gives you complete freedom over files, hosting, and costs, avoiding vendor lock-in. However, compared to Webflow, WordPress can be:

• Prone to performance/security issues: That being said, these are often mitigated with careful plugin selection and standard security practices. Hardening a WordPress site is usually straightforward.
• More difficult to develop/design for: Naturally, a traditional CMS requires more technical skill than a drag-and-drop tool. But this complexity allows for absolute freedom in building powerful, data-driven solutions with no real limits on data types or display. Plus, you have access to an enormous plugin ecosystem (thousands available!), including powerhouses like Gravity Forms and WooCommerce.
• More expensive to develop for: The ease of access and speed of Webflow can make it more affordable initially. However, many clients still turn to professionals to get the best results from Webflow.

There's no single perfect solution; both Webflow and WordPress are good choices with their own pros and cons.

Everything In Its Right Place

Personally, I'd lean towards Webflow for simpler sites, like brochure sites with limited pages. For more data-intensive projects, WordPress is often unmatched due to its potential for powerful features (and even more complex systems like Laravel offer enterprise-scale capabilities).

A WordPress Webflow Competitor – Elementor

WordPress's native Gutenberg editor is block-based and powerful, but doesn't replicate Webflow's visual front-end editing experience.

Elementor, Dear Watson

Enter Elementor: an extremely powerful page builder plugin for WordPress, available in free and licensed versions. The free version is feature-rich, but the paid version offers significantly more. I actually used Elementor to build the site you're reading now (Solarise.dev). It's fantastic for rapid creative decisions and content management. Yes, I still find it a bit restrictive compared to hand-coding (old habits!), but I love the creative freedom it offers without extensive coding time.

A Lot Of Flexibility

Crucially, WordPress's structure still allows for extensive custom coding and styling via its template hierarchy. For example, this page uses Elementor for layout but Gutenberg for content (it's a nicer writing environment), with additional CSS flourishes applied via the theme. A site could be built entirely with Elementor, making it a strong contender against Webflow, offering clients and developers a wealth of choice.

Components Built Using Webflow Examples

• Legowerk: An attractive set of responsive wireframes by Dario Stefanutto, great for prototyping directly in Webflow without needing separate design tools first.
• Ultimate Webflow Forms UI Kit: Memberstack offers an engaging collection of form inputs to add style to the often plain process of data submission.
• #97 Full Grid on Mouse Movement: Bookmark created an appealing interactive grid where images follow the mouse smoothly, showcasing the power of integrating custom code into Webflow.