Blog, Tools, 7 min read
Webflow vs Framer vs Shopify vs WordPress: which to pick
Four website platforms, four different jobs. Who each one fits, what it costs you in time and upkeep, and when a custom Next.js build makes more sense.
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Choosing a website platform feels like a technical decision, but it is mostly a business one. The right platform depends on what the site has to do, who will update it after launch and how much upkeep you are willing to take on. Pick well and the site is easy to run for years. Pick badly and every small change needs a developer.
We build on all of these, plus custom code in Next.js, so we have no reason to push one over another. Here is how we think about them.
Start with four questions
Before comparing features, answer these honestly.
- What is the site for? A marketing site, a shop, a blog, a portfolio, a product with logins and data?
- Who will edit it? Your marketing team every week, or a developer twice a year?
- What has to connect to it? Payments, a CRM, booking, email tools, your own app?
- How much do you want to manage? Hosting, updates, backups and security, or none of that?
Keep your answers next to you as you read. Each platform below is a good answer to some of them and a poor answer to others.
Webflow: for marketing sites your team will run
Webflow is a visual builder that produces clean, fast sites without hand coding, with hosting included. Its CMS is strong for blogs, case studies, team pages and anything with repeating content. Designers like it because it gives real control over layout and interactions, and marketing teams like it because they can edit content without touching the design.
It suits companies whose website is a marketing tool: service businesses, B2B companies, startups after their first round, agencies. It is less suited to complex shops or web apps with user accounts and custom logic. Plans are priced by site and by workspace, so check current pricing for the features you need, especially CMS limits and hosting tiers.
Framer: for fast, design led sites
Framer started as a design tool and still feels like one. You can go from a design to a live site very quickly, with smooth animation, a built in CMS and hosting included. For a startup landing page, a product launch, a portfolio or a small company site, it is often the quickest route to something that looks polished.
It is a great fit when design and speed matter most and the site is not too complex. For large sites with lots of structured content, many editors or complex integrations, Webflow or a custom build usually holds up better over time. As with any platform, check current pricing and plan limits before you commit.
Shopify: for selling things online
If the main job of the site is to sell products, Shopify is usually the answer. Payments, checkout, inventory, shipping, taxes and order management are all built in, and there is a large app store for everything else, from reviews to subscriptions. You do not have to worry about hosting or security patches.
Where Shopify takes care, it also takes control. Checkout customisation has limits, many features come from paid apps, and the theme system has its own way of doing things. For most shops that is a fair trade. For a shop with very unusual needs, a headless setup with Shopify behind a custom front end can make sense, but that is a bigger build.
WordPress: flexible, if you look after it
WordPress runs a huge share of the web, and for good reason. It is open source, it has a plugin for almost anything, and you own the site completely. It is a strong choice for content heavy sites, publishers and blogs, and for teams that already know it.
The trade off is upkeep. WordPress itself, your theme and every plugin need regular updates. You need hosting, backups and some care with security. Sites that are left alone for a year or two tend to slow down or break. If you go this route, choose good hosting and keep the plugin list short.
For hosting, Hostinger offers managed WordPress plans that take care of much of the setup, such as installation, SSL and backups, which suits small businesses and personal sites. Compare plans and check current pricing, including renewal prices, before you sign up.
Next.js: when the site is really a product
Sometimes none of the platforms fit. If your site needs user accounts, dashboards, complex search, your own database or deep integration with a product, a custom build in Next.js is usually the right call. It is what we use for web apps and for marketing sites that need to do more than a builder allows.
A custom build gives you full control and no platform limits, and it can be very fast. The cost is that changes need a developer, unless we add a content editor for your team. For most marketing sites a builder is the better choice. For products, custom code wins.
A quick way to decide
If you only remember one thing from this post, make it this:
- Mostly marketing, edited often by your team: Webflow.
- Small, design led site that needs to launch fast: Framer.
- Selling products: Shopify.
- Content heavy, you want full ownership and are happy to maintain it: WordPress on good hosting.
- A product, an app or anything with logins and data: Next.js.
There are good sites on every platform and bad sites on every platform. The design, the copy and how fast the site loads matter more to your visitors than what is underneath.
Moving platforms later
No choice is forever, but moving is never free. Content has to be exported and cleaned up, designs rebuilt, and every old address redirected to the new one so you keep your search rankings and links from other sites. Shops also have customer accounts, orders and product data to carry over.
So choose for the next two or three years, not just for launch day. If you expect to add a shop, several languages or user accounts soon, pick a platform that can grow into that, or plan the move from the start rather than in a hurry later.
When to do it yourself
You can build your own site well when:
- It is a simple site of a few pages, such as a portfolio or a local business.
- You are happy to start from a good template and change it a little.
- You have time to learn the platform and keep it updated.
- The site is not your main source of leads or sales yet.
Framer and Webflow both have templates that look good out of the box, and Shopify themes will get a small shop running quickly. If you go that way, keep it simple, write clear copy and make sure it loads fast on a phone.
When to hire a studio
It makes sense to bring in a team when:
- The website is how you win clients or sell, so every percentage point of conversion matters.
- You need a custom design that matches your brand, not a template everyone else uses.
- The site needs integrations, a shop with special rules, multiple languages or user accounts.
- You are moving from one platform to another and do not want to lose search rankings.
- Nobody on your team has the time to do it properly.
We design and build on Webflow, Framer, Shopify and Next.js, and we will tell you honestly which one fits before we start.
Check what you have now
If you already have a site, run it through our free site check. It looks at the basics, from speed and mobile setup to whether AI search tools can read your pages. Then, if you want help choosing or building, see our web development, Shopify development and web design pages, or our Figma to website package if you already have a design.