With the Low-Code Industry growing increasingly fast, more and more competitors are entering the arena. As a few previous posts mentioned, Webflow is one of the best options for building and hosting responsive websites without development knowledge. It has become popular due to its high-customizable capabilities and intuitive responsive design workflow.
Yet, many UI/UX and Product Designers have recently fallen in love with another powerful tool. Framer presents itself as a Webflow alternative. This other tool has an entire section explaining why people are switching from Webflow to Framer. So, you may be wondering, is Framer better than Webflow? What tool should I choose for my project? This blog post will give you some meaningful insights to help you decide which is best for you.
What is Webflow?
Webflow is a leading and highly customizable built-in Content Management System (CMS), that aims to bring to designers the development superpowers. Its robust range of tools allows design teams to build modern websites with pixel-perfect designs and elements easily. Unlike WordPress, Webflow lets you make stunning sites, writing little to no code. Plus, it generates clean code and allows you to start with a blank canvas to edit and customize every little section of your site.
Webflow also lets you implement web design best practices to boost performance. That's why it has become the perfect platform of choice among designers, marketers, and entrepreneurs. On top of that, it lets you export the code of the designs you make, which explains why front-end developers also love Webflow. Unsurprisingly, some large companies like DELL, Dropbox, Greenhouse, Philips, PWC, and TED already use it.
What is Framer?
Now, let's talk about Webflow's most recent competitor. Framer started as a JavaScript Library in 2015. It's a next-generation no-code website builder well-suited for designers and marketers. It involves even less code than Webflow and seamlessly integrates with design platforms like Figma and Sketch. Framer websites have a similar design experience to Webflow, including beautiful templates, CMS capabilities, effects, powerful animations, hosting, SEO, and navigation. Its most popular tool is probably the AI design generator, allowing you to get started with a single prompt.
Like Webflow, Framer also comes with a library of templates that will help you build a modern site in a heartbeat. They cover various fields like blogs, photography, podcasts, landing pages, portfolios, personal sites, e-Commerce solutions, membership, and entertainment websites.
Framer vs Webflow
Webflow vs Framer Performance
Webflow and Framer allow for amazing loading times using modern tools under the hood, like React.js, with server-side rendering (SSR). Framer claims its performance can surpass Webflow's thanks to its efficient SSR with React.js. Yet, you have to consider that people normally use Webflow to create sites with complex and powerful features. Following the right practices, Webflow sites can load in half a second.
As a result, there shouldn't be major differences between the speed you can get using them. Framer admits that Weblow's loading times are definitely above the industry average. It's also worth noting that Framer compresses and caches content to send it to your visitors blazingly fast.
Webflow vs Framer Learning Curve
Simply put, it may be easier for beginners to learn to use Framer. The experience of making a website using Framer is almost identical to working with Figma or Sketch. That's why Framer can potentially be easier to learn for UI/UX designers. Webflow requires learning and understanding (you can use Webflow University to learn more about it) basic web design concepts like HTML and CSS, which translates into becoming a better web designer.
This way, you can apply design best practices and optimize performance. Also, Webflow will allow you to go the extra mile regarding customization. Another thing to notice is that it's easier to handle integrations in Framer. Moreover, its AI design tool makes things simpler for beginner
Webflow vs Framer Flexibility
As mentioned, Webflow allows you to go above and beyond with the designs and features you can add to your site. That includes integrations, pixel-perfect design elements, and design best practices. However, that will likely involve some code handling, and not all products need that extra level of customization.
Thus, Framer is more flexible regarding the people who can use it. But it isn't as flexible as Webflow regarding how far you can go with your designs. Both platforms have a wide range of templates and pre-built components that you can easily edit and customize. Like Framer, Webflow has a Figma plugin that translates Designs from Figma to Webflow.
Webflow vs Framer Adoption
Webflow has experienced a significant increase in popularity over the past few years. It's the 18th most popular website builder in the USA and the 19th most popular worldwide. It currently powers over 200,000 businesses of all sizes and has a large, supportive community of experts. Its users include small businesses and individuals and big names like Upwork, Discord, NCR, Monday, TED, Dropbox, and so on.
On the flip side, Framer has become really popular recently. Despite not having as many users as Webflow, many businesses of all sizes have adopted it. That includes popular brands such as Lottiefiles, Dribble, Lark, and Sivi.
Webflow vs Framer Scalability
Webflow has a wider number of features, functionalities, and a higher level of customization. It also has a larger team, improving existing tools, security, reliability, and maintenance. Another impressive fact about Webflow is how quickly its team develops and launches new customizable features. In fact, they've already announced their own AI design generator, which should be available soon. Framer's native integrations and ease of use make it easy for small businesses to scale to some degree. However, Framer doesn't stand a chance when it comes to scalability. Webflow recently improved its development solutions by releasing Devlink, a robust tool that generates React.js components.
Webflow vs Framer Pricing
The good news is that both platforms have free options new users can play around with as they learn to use them. As for their pricing plans, Framer's options are currently cheaper than Webflow's. That's understandable since, as mentioned, Framer targets simpler sites with less logic, complexity, and functionalities. As a larger brand, Webflow can offer better security, reliability, and support for larger products. Thus, it's okay to say that their prices are fair and balanced.
Conclusion
Webflow and Framer are excellent low-code/no-code development tools for building modern, jaw-dropping interactive websites aimed to generate the best User Experience possible. They're both well-suited for modern web designers and marketers who don't want to worry about complex web design concepts. However, Webflow leans more towards the technical side of web design. It may have a steep learning curve, but its intuitive interface helps designers learn all the necessary concepts along the way. Its higher levels of customization and freedom allow for web apps with relatively complex functionalities, advanced features, and integrations.
Framer may be ideal for Design-Driven teams or individuals focusing on basic web products. If you're a beginner or a designer wanting to build a personal site, a portfolio, or a landing page, Framer might be your go-to. Small or medium-sized businesses that require more customization, features, dynamic content, and integrations may do better with Webflow! That's why we highly recommend Webflow for simple web design projects and even use it to host our website.
