WordPress is the most popular CMS out there, powering over 40% of the internet. And it's easy to figure out why. WordPress' versatility and beginner-friendly learning curve made it a great option for small businesses, content creators, and publishers worldwide.
But, in the last few years, new low-code alternatives emerged, such as Webflow and Framer. These new platforms provide better performance and more versatility than WordPress, while truly empowering non-technical teams to take charge of their platform.
If you're planning to make the switch from WordPress to Webflow, this post is for you. We’ll share:
- A brief introduction to Webflow vs. WordPress
- The benefits of migrating from WordPress to Webflow
- How to migrate from WordPress to Webflow, step-by-step
- Common migration issues and how to solve them
- How to maintain your SEO rankings after migration
- A brief cost comparison - can you save by moving to Webflow?
Let’s get started.
An Introduction to Webflow: What Is It and How Does It Compare to WordPress?
Webflow is a cloud-based web development platform that offers a fully visual design interface. But Webflow isn't just another basic drag-and-drop website builder.
Instead, Webflow is great for designers and developers that want to speed up their process by getting basic layouts out of the way quickly. After designing a website in Webflow, designers can use custom code and integrations to fine-tune their platform's look and feel and expand its functionality.
Another key step that Webflow streamlines is deployment. Webflow can manage SSL certificates, CDN set-up, and exploit prevention for you. So you can get a highly performant and secure website, faster than ever.
We're just scratching the surface here. In the next section, we'll dive deeper into the benefits of switching from WordPress to Webflow.
The Benefits of Migrating to Webflow: Why You Should Consider Switching
Migrating to Webflow can be a time-consuming process. So, it’s worth exploring the benefits you could perceive from making the switch.
Webflow allows you to structure pages, create content, and keep your platform optimized without ever writing a single line of code. Therefore, Webflow will offer you:
- True autonomy from your dev team
- Better SEO (and a smoother SEO workflow)
- Simpler maintenance
- Ease of use
- Expandability
- True Autonomy for Non-Technical Stakeholders
So, it’s a uniquely powerful solution for startup marketers who need to maintain control over their website without relying on developers.
Aside from encouraging marketers to take a proactive approach to their website.
Better SEO (& SEO Workflow)
Webflow comes with powerful SEO features, out of the box. It makes it easy to stay in control of your technical SEO, and its versatile CMS collections system empowers you to build basic optimization into your content workflow.
Curious? Check out our guide to Webflow SEO.
Simpler Maintenance
According to a Sucuri survey, over 95% of websites that suffered CMS infections in 2021 ran on WordPress. To keep your WordPress website secure and performant, you need to:
- Keep your server’s version of PHP updated
- Keep WordPress updated
- Make sure your plugins and themes are updated
- Check that no update breaks your site
Webflow site maintenance is far simpler. You just pay for your Webflow plan every month or year and these affairs will be taken care of.
Ease of Use
Both WordPress and Webflow can be very easy to use for content editors. But, let’s say your marketing team wants to add a knowledge base, online course, or any other special content type to your website.
On WordPress, that would require the help of a PHP-savvy developer. Or you can also try to pull it off through performance-destroying plugins, or by copy-pasting PHP strings into your theme’s custom code - which we don’t recommend at all.
But, on Webflow, creating a new content type is as simple as:
- Going to your CMS collections
- Creating a new content collection
- Designing the single item’s page template, using the visual editor
Need to change an image, copy, or even how a collection is sorted? You can do it with just a couple of clicks, no coding needed.
Expandability
WordPress started out as a blogging platform. And, at its core, it still is. You can use WordPress to set up an online store or a Wiki. But, you’re likely to encounter roadblocks. Building a complex website on WordPress can feel like going against the grain.
Especially if you want to enhance your platform while:
- Protecting your performance
- Preventing recurring costs
- Keeping your dashboard easy to use
- Coding as little as possible
Webflow, on the other hand, is pretty much a blank slate. Thanks to its eCommerce plans and new features like memberships and logic, you can use Webflow to build pretty much any type of website, without code, while remaining performant.
Webflow’s Main Disadvantage: Vendor Lock-In
Webflow’s biggest shortcoming is the fact that, in most cases, you can’t host a fully functioning Webflow website outside of Webflow. Sure, you can export your website’s HTML code. And you can also use the Webflow CMS via API. But the full Webflow experience is only available through Webflow’s servers - not your own.
A couple of months ago, there were some platforms that allowed you to regularly scrape your entire Webflow website and host it anywhere. But they were discontinued due to being incompatible with Webflow’s terms of service.
Nevertheless, this limitation can actually be beneficial for certain teams.
Webflow may be a great option if:
- You don’t want to do regular maintenance for your commercial website
- You have a dev team that’s completely dedicated to a cloud-based tool,
- You need your server to be fully dedicated to that platform and optimized for it
WordPress, on the other hand, offers both a cloud-based option (WordPress.com) and a self-hosted option (WordPress.org). Plus, WordPress itself is free and open-source.
Preparing for Migration: What You Need to Know Before You Begin
Before you begin the migration process, there are several things you need to keep in mind. First, you'll want to make sure that your current website is backed up, just in case something unexpectedly goes wrong. You'll also need to ensure that your current domain registrar has the necessary settings to point to your new Webflow site.
Another important consideration is website content. If you have lots of pages, blog posts, or any other types of content, you'll need to migrate all of it to Webflow. Depending on the size of your site, this could be a time-consuming process, so be sure to allocate sufficient resources.
Go out of your way to minimize downtime. Don’t make site-breaking changes to your public WordPress site. During the website design process, you’ll be able to access your Webflow site through a webflow.io subdomain. So, there’s no need to point your domain to Webflow until your new site’s ready to launch.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Migrate Your WordPress Site to Webflow
At this point, you may be wondering what actual migration looks like. No two processes are exactly the same. Your migration workflow will depend on several factors, including the size of your website and your technical expertise.
But, let’s assume you’re a non-technical user planning to export a mid-size website to Webflow. And for simplicity’s sake, let’s say you’re starting your Webflow website from scratch. How would you go about it?
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to migrate your WordPress site to Webflow:
- Export WordPress content
- Create a new Webflow website
- Set up your CMS collections
- Import your content
Export Your WordPress Content
To get started, visit your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New. Look for “WP All Export”.
Download the plugin titled "Export any WordPress data to XML/CSV", developed by Soflyy. You can also get it from the developer’s website and upload it to your WordPress instance manually.
Don’t leave this page. You’ll see the Install Now button now reads Activate. Click on it again to activate the plugin.
Next, you’ll find a new item on your dashboard’s sidebar, named All Export. Hover on it and go to New Export.
Follow the assistant to export your content as a CSV file.
If you’re just running a WordPress blog, you’ll want your file to include your posts’:
- Title
- Content
- Publishing date
- Featured image URL (Webflow will take care of this field for you)
- Slug
- Meta title
- Meta description
- Categories
- Tags
Create a New Webflow Website
Now, let’s create a new Webflow website.
- Go to your Webflow dashboard and click on the purple button that reads New Website.
- Choose a template and pick a name for your website.
- Then, click Create Project.
You’re now ready to go. Webflow will redirect you to your new website.
Set up Your CMS Collections
You’ll have to import your content to a collection. It doesn’t have to be fully ready, it just has to be created. You can create any necessary fields after uploading your CSV file.
- Click on the CMS Collections icon of your Weblow designer.
- Click Create New Collection.
- Fill in your Collection Name and Collection URL fields.
- Click Create Collection.
Pro-tip: You may also want to create a collection for your categories or tags and connect them with each other.
Import WordPress Content
Now, you’ll find yourself on your collection’s index. Click Import and drag in your CSV file. Then, use Webflow’s intuitive dropdowns to create new fields for every item.
Finally, press the Import button. This button will be tailored to your collection and import file size, showing something along the lines of Import 100 blog posts.
That’s it!
Common Issues and How to Resolve Them During the Migration Process
Like any site-wide project, migrating from WordPress to Webflow can involve a few hiccups along the way. In this section, we’ll explore some common issues you might encounter, along with tips on how to resolve them.
We’ll explore what to do if you encounter:
- Missing content
- Broken links
- Design inconsistencies
Missing Content
If you’re not seeing your content on Webflow, it may be due to:
- CMS limitations (especially if you have a free plan)
- Missing fields on your CSV export file
Check your collection size and the CMS limits on your current Webflow plan. If that doesn’t seem to be the problem, try re-exporting your blog posts.
Pro-tip: If you’re not seeing your post content in the proper format, it may be due to the type of field you’re using. Your blog content shouldn’t be in a text field. It should be rich text instead.
Broken Llinks
If you change the structure of your website during the migration process, you may need to update any internal or external links to ensure they still work.
You can set permanent redirects on the Publishing tab of your Webflow site’s settings.
Design Inconsistencies
Migrating your content will be very easy if you haven’t built your platform with Elementor, Divi, or another website builder. Otherwise, you may need to do some extra work. Namely, you may need to clean up the code so you don’t export elements that Webflow doesn’t know how to interpret.
We’d usually recommend exporting blog posts and long-form, high-volume content using the method we described in this post, and importing non-collection, landing page content manually.
Best Practices for Maintaining SEO Rankings After Migrating to Webflow
As you may already know, maintaining your SEO rankings after a site migration is key. And it’s not as simple as it may seem.
Remember to:
- Redirect old URLs
- Optimize your content
- Submit a new sitemap
- Audit your site
Redirect URLs
301 redirects are ideal to redirect outdated URLs to the new ones on your Webflow site. This way, you will ensure that any backlinks to your old site are preserved, and that search engines can still find your content.
Optimize Your Content
Webflow's built-in SEO tools can be a great ally to optimize your content for search engines. This includes adding meta tags, writing descriptive titles and descriptions, and using header tags correctly.
Submit a New Sitemap
We suggest you submit a new XML sitemap of your Webflow site to Google Search Console. This will help Google crawl and index your new site quickly.
Audit Your Website
You can use a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs to audit your site's SEO performance and identify any areas that need improvement. However, it’s fair to note that this is a good practice to do periodically, not just after a migration.
Additionally, just after migration, we recommend using a website crawler or monitoring tool to check for technical SEO issues.
Cost Comparison: Is Webflow More Expensive Than WordPress?
If you’re considering migrating from WordPress to Webflow, you’re probably considering costs. Which one of the two platforms is more convenient in the long run? Here's a breakdown of the costs involved:
WordPress Pricing
WordPress is free to use, but you'll need to pay for hosting, themes, plugins, and any additional functionality you need. Depending on the size and complexity of your site, this can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per year. Additionally, adding new features to your WordPress platform can come with extra costs, since it will require paying for a PHP developer’s time.
Webflow Pricing
Webflow offers several pricing tiers, ranging from a free plan to enterprise-grade plans. Webflow’s CMS plan starts at $14/month when billed annually. It's important to remember that Webflow includes hosting, design tools, and a CMS in one package. And that the ability for non-technical users to edit your Webflow-powered website can save you tons of time and money.
Final Thoughts: Is Migrating from WordPress to Webflow Right for You?
Migrating from WordPress to Webflow is not a decision to be taken lightly, but it can provide many benefits for teams who are looking for more flexibility, control, and ease of use.
If you're considering making the switch, be sure to weigh the benefits and drawbacks, and allocate sufficient resources for the migration process. With the right planning and execution, migrating from WordPress to Webflow can result in a more powerful and effective website that better serves your business and your customers.
Migrating your website to a low-code platform is a great opportunity to rethink its look and feel Looking for a Webflow agency with experience in conversion-oriented web design? You’re in the right place. Book a free consulting call today.