Comparing Webflow vs Framer Capabilities For Website Development

Web design is no walk in the park. Even if you find the right template, customizing it to fit your needs can be tedious and time-consuming. If you’ve been researching design tools to help create a website, you’ve probably come across Webflow and Framer. While both enable you to build a fully functioning site, they do so in different ways and cater to different users. In this article, we’ll thoroughly compare Webflow and Framer for web design to help you determine the best fit for your next project.

If you’re looking for a more interactive way to design your website, NUMI’s Framer design might be the perfect tool to help you achieve your web design goals.

Webflow vs Framer At a Glance

Webflow powers over 720,000 websites and has a large user base. Framer is smaller, with about 17,000+ sites, but is growing in popularity. Webflow is established and widely used, especially by designers and developers who want design freedom and control over the development process. In contrast, Framer is gaining traction, particularly among designers who want a clean, modern interface and robust design capabilities.

Pricing: Framer vs. Webflow

Webflow offers more pricing options, with seven plans split between general websites and eCommerce. This gives users more flexibility based on the size and purpose of the site. Framer keeps its pricing more straightforward, with just three site plans, focusing on straightforward pricing, but it may need more extensive flexibility Webflow offers.

Resources: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow has an extensive learning ecosystem, including Webflow University, a marketplace, and a large community. This makes it easier to find tutorials and support for complex projects. Framer has learning resources and a supportive community, but Webflow’s resources are more comprehensive, making it a better option for users who want thorough documentation and support.

AI Features: Framer vs. Webflow

Framer has integrated AI into its platform, giving users an edge in modern, cutting-edge functionality. Webflow has announced AI features but is still rolling them out, so while it’s behind Framer in this area, this is expected to change soon.

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What is Webflow?

Webflow is an all-in-one platform, commonly referred to as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), for creating and hosting websites. It’s a more user-friendly website builder because it’s incredibly fast and simple to set up a website. Webflow includes all the necessary features, so you don’t have to fret about finding a hosting service or adding extra plugins for things like:

• SEO
• Security
• eCommerce

Webflow is a more modern platform for website development. It’s a closed-source system, meaning the source code isn’t publicly available.  

Licensing offers access, which is provided on a tiered subscription model. Since its establishment in 2012, the platform has earned widespread acclaim for its highly intuitive interface, creative freedom, and design-first approach. What does it all mean? Well, this innovative methodology has essentially streamlined the build and design, allowing users to craft high-performing websites quickly and without limitations. Among its diverse user base, Webflow is primarily embraced by designers, agencies, and enterprises, showcasing its universal appeal.

Building and Hosting Websites with Webflow: Code-Free Design and Flexible Hosting Options

Webflow also offers a CMS option for blogging and content creation, although it’s not essential for basic websites. One of the significant advantages of Webflow is that you can visually design your site without needing to write a single line of code. 

As a SaaS application, Webflow is mostly self-contained. You can add features to your site by embedding code, but the core Webflow platform is all you need to build your site, or hire a Webflow agency to do that for you. Once you finish building your site with Webflow, you can either. Export the code of your finished site and host it on any hosting provider if you have a static site. Pay Webflow to host the site for you, which is required if you want to use Webflow's CMS for dynamic content.     

What is Framer?

Framer is a design and site-building platform that aims to bridge the gap between designers and developers. It lets designers create top-tier websites without any coding skills. Designers no longer rely on developers to turn their visions into reality. Suppose you've been a designer for a while. In that case, you might actually remember it being called Framer X. Framer originally started as a prototyping tool, but much like other prototyping platforms lost its appeal as Figma continued to flex its muscles. 

Solution for Web Design and Development

Instead of resting on its foundation, Framer has transformed into a comprehensive solution for designing, building, and publishing websites. Because of its familiar interface and easy-to-use features, Framer is quickly gaining traction as a go-to tool for creatives who want to build websites without thinking about code. 

Benefits of Using Framer

The tool garners positive reviews for its design systems that facilitate web development. Its sites ensure stakeholders maintain a consistent brand presence across all social media and search engine platforms. Users appreciate the custom domain support and the streamlined mini-editor for quick edits, tackling common pain points such as the need for an all-in-one solution and stakeholder collaboration. Noteworthy is the competitive pricing plans, with a pro plan catering to those who demand the most from their website-building experience.

Your One-Stop Shop for Startup Design Needs

NUMI is a framer web design agency that world-class framer developers and product designers power. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles all of your startup's sourcing/vetting/hiring needs for design. 

Our fabuolous design team ensures all your design work is done well. NUMI helps with:

• Product design
• Web design
• Framer development
• Webflow development
• Mobile design
• Prototyping
• UX design
• All of your startup's design needs! 

Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more!

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Webflow vs Framer: Key Features & Functionality Comparison

Design Flexibility: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow is well-known for its drag-and-drop visual editor, making it easy to create pixel-perfect designs without writing code. It’s ideal for users who want full design control without needing to touch JavaScript, offering a balance of ease and creative freedom. 

Framer excels at creating complex animations and interactions. It provides a code editor with full flexibility with JavaScript for intricate design work. While Webflow is well-suited for visually rich, professional websites, Framer is ideal for highly interactive prototypes.

Template Availability: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow has its official template pages, where highly customizable templates for various industries and niches are available. Although there are a few free options, most templates are paid and not for those on a budget, with some priced at $100+. 

There are currently 2,000+ templates for Webflow, and the number keeps growing. Framer features a range of highly customizable free and premium templates. You couldn’t find the exact number, but hundreds of options are available.

Scalability: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow is built for scalability. It handles large projects with robust hosting, performance optimization, and the ability to accommodate heavy traffic. Its infrastructure ensures that websites can grow without compromising performance. 

Framer focuses more on managing complex interactive designs, perfect for prototypes but may not handle large-scale sites as efficiently as Webflow.

Performance Optimization: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow prioritizes speed and performance, ensuring fast loading times and smooth user experiences. Its built-in hosting and optimization features are designed for live sites, making it a great choice for those focused on user experience and SEO. 

Framer is primarily a prototyping tool, emphasizing micro-interactions and animation rather than performance optimization. While Framer can create beautiful interactions, it’s less focused on speed for production websites.

User Interface and Learning Curve: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow is known for its beginner-friendly interface, making it easy for new users to create websites with little coding knowledge. Its clean design and intuitive layout make learning the platform straightforward. 

Though offering advanced features, Framer has a steeper learning curve due to its focus on animation and coding, which may require more design and development expertise to unlock its full potential.

Development Tools: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow's visual editor removes the need for coding, empowering designers to create fully responsive websites without ever touching code. This makes it a go-to tool for non-developers. 

Framer allows you to write custom code, providing full control over animations, interactions, and behavior. It is a powerful tool for designers who enjoy coding and need more advanced project control.

Integrations: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow offers seamless integrations with various popular tools and services, including marketing platforms like:

• Google Analytics
• Mailchimp
• HubSpot

Making it ideal for businesses that need to streamline their workflow. Framer integrates well with design tools like Figma and Sketch but has fewer integrations than Webflow. For complex projects requiring e-commerce or extensive marketing tools, Webflow has the edge.

CMS Capabilities: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow and Framer take a similar approach to CMS. For example, in Webflow, you just need to create a new collection, such as a blog, and add items. Some standard options are: 

• Title
• Slug
• Content

You can customize your collection further by adding more fields. This process is similar to building CMS collections in Webflow. The number of collection fields is slightly bigger, giving you more options. 

Besides the standard options listed above, Webflow offers more complex fields, such as reference and multi-reference, allowing you to reference other collections. Cross-reference requires thinking through your design and having a Webflow developer to make it all work. The result is more powerful CMS collections, improved user experience, and better website functionality.

Available Resources: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow features the popular Webflow University, which is free of charge and can help you master this tool. It takes time and effort, as Webflow isn’t easy to learn. The University features many great videos, fantastic teachers, and many useful pages to help you become a Webflow expert. Webflow actively works on building a community around the globe, which is much larger than Framer. 

Webflow even features official exams where you can get certificates. Of course, a vast blog section covers various topics, including:

• Design
• Development
• Freelancing
• Entrepreneurship
• Many topics related 

To Webflow. Webflow has launched Marketplace where you can find various libraries, apps, experts, templates, and even showcases of works made in Webflow. As for Framer, most of the content you can find is in the Community section. Even though its community isn’t as big as Webflow’s, it’s rapidly growing. The community section offers various lessons, tutorials, a forum, and more. A separate Resources section also explores available experts, partners, and more. You can also explore educational content, of which there’s plenty.

Use of AI in Framer vs. Webflow

Framer released its AI tool that lets you build websites faster, and many developers are capitalizing on this opportunity. You just need to enter a prompt, and Framer will do the rest. Framer allows you to customize the resulting site further, which is a nice touch. You won’t be able to avoid engaging designers, devs, copywriters, and more if you’re building anything bigger than a single-page portfolio site. 

Webflow has been riding the AI train, but products must be released. Some functionalities will become available by the next Webflow Conference. I’ll update this part accordingly if anything new is released after the conference.

Support: Webflow vs. Framer

Webflow and Framer offer comprehensive support resources, including documentation, tutorials, and community forums. However, Webflow's support team is known for its responsiveness and dedication to customer satisfaction. 

Framer's support may have a different reputation for responsiveness, but the available resources are still valuable in helping designers make the most of the platform.

Webflow vs Framer Pricing Comparison

Webflow and Framer offer various pricing plans tailored to accommodate diverse needs and budgets. Webflow provides a free plan and several paid plans that include additional features. Framer offers a free tier with limitations and three paid tiers with varying costs and features. 

How Does Webflow’s Pricing Work?

Webflow isn’t free, to be clear, but everything you need to pay for is included in a monthly package. The cost of a Webflow site will depend on the level of tiered package you go for, but you’ll know upfront exactly how much it will put you back.

Billing is Split Into Two Categories

Your “site plan” and your “workspace” (in other words, building your website and then managing it). You need both to run your website, but a free workspace should be sufficient for running a single site. Paid workspace plans are just for situations where you’re working on multiple website projects simultaneously with others. Workspace plans are also billed per seat, so they can be costly.

A Webflow site plan includes everything you need to build and host your website. Plans range from $14/month (Basic package, billed annually) to $39/month (Business package, billed annually) or higher if you need a custom, enterprise-level package. If you’re building an eCommerce website, this range goes up from $29 (Standard package, billed annually) to $212 (Advanced package, billed annually). Some users criticize Webflow’s pricing for its complexity and include important features only with top-level subscriptions.

How Does Framer’s Pricing Work?

Framer offers different pricing plans for its users: 

• Free plan: allows usage with their domain. 
• Mini plan: costs $10 per month, includes custom domains and up to 5,000 monthly visitors. 
• Basic plan: priced at $15 per month, features up to 10,000 monthly visitors. 

The Pro plan, costing $25 per month, offers up to 25,000 monthly visitors and advanced analytics, making it suitable for more demanding projects.

Webflow vs Framer For SEO

Webflow offers a robust set of built-in SEO tools, making it a top choice for designers and developers who need control over SEO without relying on third-party plugins. 

Redirects

Webflow allows easy creation of 301 redirects through a simple dashboard, which is critical for managing broken links and ensuring a smooth user experience. 

Global Canonicals

You can set global canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues, which helps search engines understand which page should rank when there’s similar content.
Sitemap Generation: Webflow automatically generates a sitemap, ensuring that search engines like Google can easily crawl and index your site. 

Custom Code for SEO

Webflow allows you to add custom code to the head section of each page, giving you the flexibility to include custom canonical tags, schema markup, and pagination. This level of customization is beneficial for advanced SEO needs. 

Clean Code & Optimization

Webflow automatically generates clean, semantic HTML code, which is beneficial for SEO. You can also minify:

• JavaScript
• CSS
• HTML

This reduces page load times, which is an important ranking factor. 

Analytics Integration 

While Webflow doesn’t have a built-in analytics platform, it integrates well with tools like:

• Google Analytics
• Google Tag Manager
• Third-party tracking tools

Apps exist to bridge this gap by providing advanced analytics tracking directly within Webflow Designer. 

Framer's SEO Features and Tools 

Like Webflow, Framer provides essential SEO tools, including:

• Redirects: You can easily set up 301 redirects. 
• Canonicals: Framer allows canonical tag management, but more advanced control is only available on higher-tier plans (like the Business Custom plan). 
• Sitemap Generation: Framer can also automatically generate a sitemap to improve crawlability by search engines. 
• Custom Code Integration: Framer allows you to add custom code to optimize your site further. However, it doesn’t offer the same level of detailed customization that Webflow provides for advanced SEO tactics, especially regarding HTML and CSS control.
• Built-in GDPR-Compliant Analytics: Framer offers GDPR-compliant built-in analytics that rely on Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This feature simplifies tracking user behavior without needing to set up external tools, making it a convenient option for users concerned with privacy and compliance. 
• Limited SEO Flexibility: While Framer includes basic SEO tools, its customization is more restricted than Webflow. For example, more advanced SEO features like custom canonicals are only available in higher-tier plans, limiting flexibility for users on lower plans. 

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Webflow vs Framer

Webflow shines in many areas, making it a go-to choice for web designers and developers. 

Pros of Webflow

• Visual CSS Grid: Webflow provides a powerful, visual CSS grid system that allows users to create complex, responsive layouts without writing code. It’s perfect for users who want full control over design but lack coding skills. 
• Templates and Pre-built Components: With a large selection of templates and pre-built components, Webflow makes it easy to build websites quickly. Users can choose from hundreds of designs to fit any industry, which reduces the time spent on the initial design process. 
• Library of Integrations: Webflow offers various integrations for marketing, eCommerce, and analytics, making it flexible for businesses that need to connect different tools. Whether you need to integrate with CRM systems, email marketing platforms, or other tools, Webflow has you covered. 
• Animations and Interactive Features: Webflow is known for its robust animations and interaction capabilities. It allows you to create highly engaging, interactive websites without writing JavaScript, making it ideal for creating modern, dynamic websites. 

Cons of Webflow

• Steeper Learning Curve: Webflow’s powerful features have a steeper learning curve, especially for beginners unfamiliar with web design principles. It can take time to understand the platform’s potential fully. 
• Customization Can Be Time-Consuming: While Webflow offers many customization options, fine-tuning every detail can sometimes be time-consuming, especially if you're building a large or complex site. Advanced customizations also require some coding knowledge. 

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Framer 

Framer has some standout features, making it a formidable choice for website design and development, especially for teams. 

Pros of Framer

• Import Designs and Assets from Figma/Sketch: Framer allows users to import designs directly from Figma or Sketch, making it easy for designers to bring their prototypes and designs into the platform for development. This feature ensures seamless collaboration between design and development. 
• Collaboration Features: Framer is designed for collaboration, allowing teams to work together in real time. Designers and developers can make adjustments and iterate quickly, which is great for teams prioritizing speed and efficiency. 

Cons of Framer

• Limited Integrations: Compared to Webflow, Framer has fewer built-in integrations. If your project requires complex integrations with third-party tools, Framer may need to be more flexible in meeting those needs. 
• Limited Control Over HTML and CSS: Framer prioritizes a visual, design-first approach, which means you might have limited control over the underlying HTML and CSS. This can be restrictive for developers who want more customization or need fine control over code for optimization. 
• Limited Customer Support: Framer’s customer support is less robust than other platforms. If you run into issues, fewer resources and less timely assistance may be available, especially compared to Webflow’s extensive support options. 
• Custom Canonical Only Available on "Business Custom" Plan: For users who care about SEO optimization, the ability to set custom canonical tags, which help avoid duplicate content issues, is only available on Framer’s highest-tier plan, making it less accessible for smaller users. 

When To Choose Webflow vs Framer

Landing Pages: Which Tool is Best for Creating Great-Looking and High-Converting Landing Pages?  

If you're looking to create visually stunning and high-converting landing pages with ease, Webflow's drag-and-drop interface and CMS capabilities make it an excellent choice. You can create a fully responsive landing page without touching a line of code, and you can easily connect the various elements of your page to a database to create dynamic content that can be filtered and sorted to increase conversion rates. What's more, if you don't want to start from scratch, you can choose from hundreds of Webflow landing page templates to get started. 

E-commerce: Which Tool is Best for Building Online Stores?  

For complex e-commerce websites that require robust content management and scalability, Webflow provides the necessary tools and features to bring your vision to life. With Webflow's e-commerce capabilities, you can create an online store that looks great and functions well. 

The platform allows you to design custom product pages and templates that fit your store’s unique style, giving you complete design control. You can also create dynamic content to help you manage your store more efficiently, such as automated product listings that pull data from CMS collections to ensure your pages are organized and visually appealing.  

Real Estate Websites: Which Tool is Best for Creating Real Estate Websites?  

With its focus on interactivity and advanced animations, Framer can be the perfect tool for creating engaging real estate websites that allow users to explore properties dynamically. These websites can benefit from various interactive elements such as animations, hover effects, and multimedia content to create a more engaging user experience. Framer makes it easy to get creative with your designs and produce stunning real estate websites that captivate visitors.  

Portfolio Websites: Which Tool is Best for Creating a Portfolio Website?  

Webflow's extensive template library and design flexibility make it an ideal choice for showcasing your portfolio visually, stunningly and professionally. Whether you’re an 

artist, designer, photographer, or developer, you’ll find plenty of customizable portfolio website templates on Webflow that will help you make a great first impression. 

You can also easily create dynamic content to help you organize your work and improve the user experience. For example, you can create project pages that pull data from CMS collections so that your portfolio can easily adapt to any size and look great.   

Blogs: Which Tool is Best for Building a Blog?  

If you want to create a content-rich blog with advanced interaction design, Framer's prototyping capabilities can help you bring your blog to life with unique and engaging features. While both Framer and Webflow allow you to create blogs, Framer's focus on interactivity and unique design makes it the better choice for those looking to create something out of the ordinary.

Which is Better, Webflow or Framer?

Webflow and Framer are powerful tools that stand out for their unique features and capabilities. The choice between Webflow and Framer ultimately depends on user requirements and preferences. While both tools can help designers and developers create stunning websites, each platform has strengths. 

Webflow provides a robust all-in-one solution with many resources. Framer is a forward-thinking platform with AI capabilities. Thus, evaluating your specific project requirements, design preferences, skill set, and budget is crucial to choosing to deliver projects efficiently. 

Popularity Contest: Webflow vs Framer

While both platforms are powerful, Webflow has established itself as a leader in the industry. It 

is widely regarded as the more popular choice among designers and developers. Its extensive user base, intuitive interface, and comprehensive features have contributed to widespread adoption.

Webflow’s emphasis on user-friendly design tools and vast educational resources has helped solidify its reputation as a go-to platform for creating professional-grade websites. As a result, many developers, individuals, and businesses alike turn to Webflow for its reliability, versatility, and proven track record in delivering high-quality web experiences. From this Reddit thread, most developers think Webflow is the safer bet.

Who You Gonna Call? Framer or Webflow?

Both Webflow and Framer can help designers and developers build stunning websites. They each have strengths. When choosing a platform, evaluate your project requirements to determine the best solution. 

If you need to create a simple website quickly and easily, Webflow might be your best bet. On the other hand, if you want to build highly interactive prototypes or web applications, Framer could be your best option. 

Subscribe To a Guild of World Class Framer Developers with Our Framer Web Design Agency Today

Framer design is a powerful tool for building stunning, highly interactive websites and apps. NUMI is a dedicated framer design agency that can help your startup harness the full power of a framer for your next project. 

With our talented team of framer specialists, we can help you build a gorgeous, functional website or app that your users will love. We can also help you with ongoing needs or future iterations to ensure your site or app stays fresh and up-to-date. 

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