Before the popular programming languages were invented, websites were mostly text-based. Remember those long paragraphs, the almost non-existent design, the illogical navigation, and the confusing search bars?
Yes, before the clean code wave and modern versions of programming languages became part of our website creation, websites were clunky, slow, and unattractive.
Today, we have many options when we want to create a website, and website builder platforms allow us to put our creative skills to the test when building these exceptional digital creations. In the world of website builder platforms, Webflow is undoubtedly the leader.
Find out what is Webflow, what its capabilities are, and how you can use it without any coding knowledge.
How Does Webflow Work?
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Webflow is a cloud-based CMS website-building platform that is used for building modern, functional, and aesthetically attractive websites. Webflow allows you to create websites even if you don't know how to write a single line of code.
Although code isn't a decisive reason for a web designer to build a website in Webflow, code is still present during the website-building process. In other words, when you build in Webflow every element you put on a visual canvas leaves a mark on the code.
The good thing is that these coding operations are happening in the background, leaving you space for creative work without bothering about the code. However, even if this seems as an ideal environment for building a website, it has some limitations that can become important only if you aim for a more complex project.
Let's say that you will use a Webflow template as a core of your website, but you want to customize it according to your specific needs. In this case, some HTML, JS, and CSS knowledge is necessary to upgrade your website. At first, this may seem like an obstacle that isn't easy to overcome, but trust us - you learn about coding while you build websites in Webflow!
Everything you create in the Webflow has its code, so you can always explore it, test it, and learn it to get the desired results. Webflow is built from 2 working environments - Webflow Designer, and Webflow Editor, which you can use combined according to your website's needs.
Also, Webflow has one of the best additions in terms of marketing, which makes it a website-building tool for producing remarkable digital success. Let's explore Webflow in more detail!
#1 Webflow Designer
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Webflow Designer is where design magic happens, thanks to the drag-and-drop system we have a clear space to work on. Building websites with Webflow gives us two options:
- designing websites directly in the Webflow
- designing websites in other designing programs, and exporting them to Webflow (here we have a great Webflow addition in the plugin section - Figma to Webflow plugin)
Both options will give you pretty much the same result, and your choice will be only a matter of your experience, as well as design habits. But when we talk about Webflow Designer, we must praise its very intuitive design space in which you can find your path even if you haven't moved from Paint.
This is where Webflow stands out as a good website-building tool for beginners who want to try their creative skills and become a part of the fast-growing Webflow industry.
Other important aspects of Webflow Designer are the collaborative designing option in which you can invite team members to design a website with joined forces or give a space to the client to be involved in the process of creation in real-time.
In both ways, a collaborative type of design makes the website building curve streamlined, with much more efficiency than ever. Another feature of Webflow Designer worth mentioning is a code exporting option, which allows you to export what you've designed and save it for future reuse.
#2 Webflow Editor
Once you've set up and published your Webflow website, the following phase of content updating, editing, and managing happens within the Webflow Editor with in-built CMS.
If Webflow Designer is the body, Webflow Editor is the brain so the key feature of Webflow editors is controlling what has been previously designed.
Like Webflow Designer, Webflow Editor is easy to use and navigate, which makes it perfect for the marketing team to get involved in the post-publishing phase.
Webflow Editor is also made for collaborative work, so all of the team members can get access to manage, and control live content on the website.
But be careful! Webflow Designer's purpose is only about dealing with content, so if the need for design change occurs, that should be handled by the Webflow Designer.
Webflow Editor's CMS
Webflow Editors use CMS - Content Management System, an in-built software made to modify and manage content on the website. On the top of the Webflow CMS's structure, we have collections that are made from items, made from fields.
Having a layered structure, Webflow CMS offers a great reusable option where you can save your collections as a template. For example, if you create a blog template on your website, once you want to publish a new blog you won't have to make a structure from scratch because you already have it in your CMS.
Webflow for Marketing Operations
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Once you've designed and created your website, you don't want to see dust falling over it, and naturally, you will undertake some actions to attract customers to it.
This process can be extremely hassle if you don't have good marketing support from the website building platform you've chosen. But this won't be the case with Webflow. Webflow is a great option if you plan to put marketing efforts into your website, from UX to SEO.
With Webflow's possibilities, you can create exceptional websites that will be very pleasant to your visitors.
Having in mind that a good user experience is one of the critical reasons that can turn visitors into paying customers, we've highlighted 2 main reasons why Webflow is good for marketing:
SEO-friendliness
Having a healthy SEO score is important if you want to save your website's vitality, and with Webflow you can sleep peacefully because you are covered on both the off and on-page side. 301 redirects, meta elements, structured data, and an internal linking system within the Webflow make this a perfect SEO toolbox.
UX-friendliness
Webflow's responsive design that automatically adapts to all screen sizes is one of the best things you can offer to your website's visitors. We also have to mention the fast page loading speed of Webflow websites that could be one of the decisive indicators whether someone will stay on your website or not.
Webflow Plugins and Integrations
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Webflow's impact on the website's marketing is expanding its reach with some of the most popular marketing tools, apps, and software.
The secret is in Webflow's in-built integrations of diverse plugins and apps that impact the marketing outcomes of the website. Integrating tools within the Webflow website, you make a perfect environment that blends a designed structure with the best we can get from the marketing world.
Those tools can help you cut down the time of some automatic tasks, and connect your website to catch leads, and traffic, analyze user behavior, track your SEO score, etc.
Some of the most popular Webflow integrations and plugins are HubSpot, Zapier, Unsplash, Google Analytics, Slater, Finsweet, Semflow for SEO, and more.
Webflow for E-commerce
Besides standard websites that you can build in Webflow such as portfolios, blogs, business websites, and more, you can build an e-commerce website as well.
When we build an e-commerce website in Webflow we experience the beauty of flawless code combined with appealing design - custom or template-based.
Webflow offers standard e-commerce options such as creating multiple pages for your online store, adding description and interactive buttons, posting products (the product posting limitation depends on the plan you choose, but read more about it in the Webflow pricing section), and updating everything when you want.
Once again, we witness a seamless design process with drag and drop interface, and extensive webshop features that we can use for our e-commerce website.
Like standard Webflow websites, e-commerce websites are SEO-friendly, can integrate with marketing tools for leveling up sales, and have scalable options, supporting your e-commerce website to grow.
Webflow Pricing
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Webflow offers 5 standard website pricing that you choose based on the needs of your website, let's explore all of them:
- Starter plan – Starter plan is a free Webflow plan that you can use to explore the Webflow environment, trying some of the available Webflow functionalities.
- Basic plan – This plan is a good option if you want to build a website that doesn't have CMS or e-commerce requirements. Basic plan pricing is $18/mo billed monthly, or $14/mo billed yearly.
- CMS plan – CMS plan is suitable for websites with regular content updates, and edits, such as blog websites. The CMS plan pricing is going from $29/mo billed monthly, and $23/mo billed yearly.
- Business plan – A Business plan is recommended for websites that expect higher traffic (from 200,000 to 1,000,000), and the pricing is going from $49/mo billed monthly, and $39/mo billed yearly.
- Enterprise plan – Enterprise plan that goes along with advanced Webflow options, enterprise website solutions, and great Webflow support. For Webflow Enterprise plan pricing Webflow has to be contacted directly.
When it comes to Webflow E-commerce website pricing, Webflow offers 3 plans:
- Standard - Basic plan for e-commerce websites, with 500 items limit and CMS plan features, with pricing going from $42/mo billed monthly, and $29/mo billed yearly.
- Plus - E-commerce plan for higher volume businesses, 5000 e-commerce items, and Business plan features, with pricing going from $84/mo billed monthly, and $74/mo billed yearly.
- Advanced - Plan that is suitable for larger businesses with 15k e-commerce items and Business plan features, with pricing going from $235/mo billed monthly, and $212/mo billed yearly.
Final Thoughts
Having a stable platform to build your website on is what will make a difference to your Dubai business. If you can rely on it, it will unlock numerous options to design, edit, update, and scale your digital creation to desired digital success.
Integration with different marketing tools is a bonus addition that wraps around the story of Webflow, proving once again why this website builder is the number 1 choice for your business - small or enterprise.
Along with this, SEO friendliness, and phenomenal options that can help your website be visible in the search ranking makes a Webflow unique solution for a powerful online presence that is simply a must.
The coding skills aren't a barrier anymore, so you can be free to dive into the website creation journey and leave a mark on the digital scene.
Author
Frontend Developer/Webflow Expert as a versatile person who is in love with digital development, I have integrated various skills that help me to be successful in my job. I have been involved in Web Development for more than 4 years and until today I worked on over 70 projects. Through my work, i integrated my knowledge from creating custom code pages using programming languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to creating advanced Webflow websites. Experience in the digital field has also given me advanced use of design tools such as Figma and Adobe programs. I'm motivated and always seeking personal and professional growth. Good organization and respect for deadlines and processes give me the fuel to always be on top of all tasks. To take my knowledge to a higher level, I have perfected research for clients and websites, as well as site map creation. Being well-organized, working in a professional and dynamic environment, having good energy, and pushing the limits motivate me to be the best in my job.
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