Landing page builders are multiplying. Nowadays, creating a website is extremely easy.
However, creating a unique, professional-looking site, it’s a bit more difficult, and an aspect not every website builder focuses on.
Today, in this post, we will talk about two platforms that put design at the center of the matter: Webflow and Framer. We’ll see their main features, pros and cons and find out which one is better for you.
Webflow vs. framer
Webflow
Webflow was founded in 2013 and currently has more than 3.5 million users. It’s such a renowned platform that companies like NASA, Dell and Rakuten choose it to design their websites.
This no-code tool allows complete design freedom in an easy-to-use visual canvas. It goes even further and can handle hosting, security and website performance itself.
Framer
Framer launched in 2015 as a single tool for design, prototyping and developer handoff, on which teams — from designers to engineers — could collaborate and build digital products.
Since then, it has grown and evolved to become a platform where you can build websites with a professional design.
It integrates with tools like Photoshop or Figma, so you can easily import your projects and turn your design into code.
Key features
Designing your website
Webflow’s motto is “Build with the power of code —without writing any”. You quickly understand its meaning when you start designing your site.
With its drag-and-drop builder, you take control of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript in a completely visual canvas. Then you let Webflow translate your design into clean, semantic code that’s ready to be published.
You can start from scratch or use a pre-made Webflow template and customize it.
Framer, on the other hand, allows you to copy and paste web designs from Figma to Framer. When it first started, it was just a prototype builder, but now your output is an actual functional website.
It also has built-in forms so you can find your favorite fonts from Google Fonts and Fontshare.
Another cool feature is you can establish a color style with light and dark themes and let your computer adapt to your computer’s native Appearance setting.
Animation
Both platforms offer animation features to create engaging and interactive website experiences.
Webflow allows you to easily create scroll-based parallax animations. By linking your animations and motion to scroll progress, you achieve effects such as precise reveal animations and a progress bar.
You can also reveal content by clicking or hovering.
Framer, however, has more advanced animation features. Not only there are dynamic animations that can be triggered as users scroll through your page, but also there is Framer Motion.
Framer Motion is a special React library that can be used to create your own animation style.
Development tools
Although you don’t need to know how to code to use these platforms, they do give you the option to extend their capabilities with code.
While Webflow allows you to export your site’s HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and assets directly from the designer, Framer lets you use only standard React and JavaScript.
SEO
Another thing that Webflow and Framer handle great is SEO.
Webflow lets you add and edit schema markup. It also has simple alt-tag editing to ensure your images are screen reader accessible.
But Framer goes the extra mile here. Framer will generate a sitemap based on your site structure for search bots. It will also make sure you get a great Google Lighthouse score by default. And it lets you use semantic tags on your websites for better structure.
Accessibility
Accessibility is often overlooked, however, it’s a key aspect of a great website, and it’s closely linked to SEO.
Webflow and Framer pay close attention to things such as the contrast ratio of your site and image ALT texts, as well as other important elements.
Webflow also provides a useful accessibility checklist so you can understand how to make your site inclusive of, and accessible to, as many people as possible.
Hosting
Although Webflow spends more time talking about hosting, the truth is that both tools offer cool hosting features. From great security and password protection options to 99.99% uptime SLAs, you’ll get everything you need to host your site.
The main difference might be the bandwidth and monthly visitors you get. While Webflow offers up to 400 GB bandwidth, along with up to 300,000 monthly visitors, Framer’s plan is limited to 100 GB bandwidth and 200,000 visitors.
Integrations
Webflow has a large list of integrations. In the email marketing department, you can choose between popular platforms like AWeber, Get Response, ActiveCampaign, SendPulse and Buttondown. They also integrate with calendars, content marketing tools and Google Analytics.
Framer, on the other hand, has more limited integrations. They have 8 integrations: Mailchimp, Hubspot, YouTube and more.
If you wish to integrate with other third parties, you’ll have to add the tracking code to the Custom Code section of your project.
Website translation and localization
Both Webflow and Framer have localization add-ons. The main difference is that you can try localization for free with Framer, but not with Webflow.
Both platforms offer machine-powered and manual translation, so you can easily localize everything on your site and then have more granular control.
Collaboration tools
Webflow and Framer let you add editors if you subscribe to their premium plans.
Webflow allows you to add up to 3 content editors in the CMS plan and 10 content editors in the Business plan.
You get advanced collaboration on the Enterprise plan, where you get to track changes and control publishing access.
Framer, on the other hand, gives you up to 5 editor seats right from their Basic plan. You then get up to 10 editors on the Pro plan. The Enterprise plan gives you unlimited workspaces and custom editors.
Moreover, unlike Webflow, Framer gives the possibility for multiple designers to work collaboratively on a design simultaneously.
Artificial technology
Framer has a set of AI tools to elevate your website’s impact. Among them, you’ll find AI Translation, Text Rewrite and AI Style. They are mainly AI writing assistants.
As to Webflow, they are working on AI capabilities within the Webflow Designer that will immediately offer personalized assistance whenever you need it.
Other things to consider
While Webflow is browser-based, users choosing Framer have two options: use it on their browser or install it as an app on their computer. The app is available for Mac and Windows.
Support and resources
Webflow has free web design courses, an active YouTube channel, a glossary and a forum.
They also have a great community with more than 85,000 members. Within the community, you can access live streams, podcasts, and even in-person events. They host multiple events across the globe where you can spend the day coworking and eating great food.
You can contact support via email at [email protected].
As to Framer, it has an Academy with tons of video tutorials, a Help Center and, like Webflow, a community. They host multiple meetups within the same day and in different locations, so no matter where you live, there will be one you can attend.
To get in touch with support, you can create a ticket.
Pricing
Webflow offers 2 main types of plans: Workspace plans for collaboration and unhosted site staging, and Site plans for hosting your site with Webflow. When you first sign up for Webflow, you’ll start with a free Starter Workspace.
Here are the five Site plans it offers:
- Starter: free. It includes two static pages and 50 form subscriptions.
- Basic: $14 per month. It includes 150 static pages and 500 form subscriptions per month.
- CMS: $23 per month. Get a content-rich site with a custom search engine and collaboration tools.
- Business: $39 per month. Collect files from site visitors and invite up to 10 editors to work with you.
- Enterprise: custom. Add as many users as you need into your Enterprise workspace.
Webflow also offers a localization add-on to fully customize your site for your target locals. It costs $9 per month.
Framer also has five plans:
- Free: access the image optimization feature and instant publish.
- Mini. Custom code and 1 GB of bandwidth hosting.
- Basic. Publish unlimited web pages and protect your site with a password.
- Pro: It includes analytics, cookie banner, add-ons and more.
- Enterprise: custom. Get dedicated support and extra training.
Webflow Pros and Cons
Pros
- More development options.
- A library of over 250 integrations.
Cons
- Limited collaboration tools.
Framer Pros and Cons
Pros
- Advanced animation features.
- Available online and as a desktop app.
- AI writing tools.
Cons
- Limited hosting.
Verdict
Webflow and Framer are two website design tools that give you the power to build your site with and without code. The battle between these two giants is real because they are so good at what they do.
There once was a time when the choice was obvious: Webflow. But now, Framer has really grown and developed to the point that it’s the most modern and easy to use.
So unless Webflow works out something nice with AI, I would go with Framer.
Have you used any of these platforms before?
Tell us in the comments!
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