Which is the Best CMS for My E-Commerce Store? (Part III: Webflow)
Part 3: Webflow CMS
Webflow CMS (www.webflow.com) is a young CMS contender in the block. It’s still very young, about 5 years in the game, and it has yet to develop its e-commerce features. Webflow CMS the biggest feature, which really makes it unique from other CMS, is its design to eliminate developers and empower designers to visually customize the CMS as they see fit. If you’ve used Photoshop before, which is a graphic program, think of building a CMS using a visual interface from the ground up just by dragging objects and other elements on the screen to build exactly how your website is going to look. No coding is necessary. Webflow CMS is still very young business, so it lacks the basic features you’ve come to expect in most e-commerce websites like product carousels, product variations, coupons, etc. This may have changed since I publish it, but it’s still young and so lacks basic features that are common to most CMS businesses out there to date.
Ease of Use (8/10):
Webflow CMS really gives graphic designers the power to create and customize an e-commerce website from the ground up using a visual editor. Want to customize your product page layout, landing pages, shopping cart, checkout, etc. exactly as you want it to look down to detail? Now you can by simply dragging objects that perform features of a general e-commerce website. The only drawback so far about Webflow, since it’s very young, is it still lacks many features that most CMS already have. Last I checked, there’s no coupon discount support or an easy way to create product carousels. In time, I really think Webflow will become a very popular CMS for graphic designers to build brands, and to perform very customized marketing campaigns because of its ability to create custom landing pages to increase conversions and build product branding.
Design (9/10):
Webflow’s design is superb. It’s very easy to use and it uses a WYSIWYG interface. To create and customize your website is a simple as drag and drop elements on stage, but there’s a steep learning page and I don’t recommend non technical people to use this. However, if you’re a graphic designer, you should be good to go. It’s interface is much like using Photoshop, so you’d need to setup time to learn the platform and the tools and its capabilities. It’s still too early to tell how it will support plugin features for flexibility, but right now, it’s still building key basic features in its CMS.
Features (8/10):
Again, it’s main feature is having the ability to create and customize your website from it’s look and layout UX on a very pixel creative level. It also has an added client feature where work can be handed off to clients, and it will be up to them to pay for monthly hosting with Webflow, but you'll be able to include and charge clients a commission from that monthly upkeep under maintenance or development if you so choose. A really great platform thinking about graphics designers and freelancers in mind. It’s got an amazing and helpful community to help you with any issues or questions you have. Currently, it’s not that well established as Shopify so there’s currently no support for a call in number or online chat. Having a real person to talk to for issues is at the top of my CMS list. I'm sure this is a key feature Webflow will implement down the road.
Scalability (7/10):
Currently, there’s really no scalability in Webflow CMS as plugins are currently not supported. The whole point of Webflow is it’s supposed to provide all the elements you’ll need to create an e-commerce website through a drag and drop creative graphics design process. Scalability only comes really through it’s pricing plan where different tiers will give you access to additional CMS features. Again, no plugins exist at this moment that will allow you to do pretty much anything in the same way plugins are utilized in WordPress/ Woocommerce or Shopify.
Support (7/10):
Support really is amazing through its community. Many are most knowledgeable and helpful. Simply post your issue and concern and someone will respond to you. But that’s about it, you currently don’t have the same phone and online chat support like you get from Shopify. So if you’re someone who may need help, you’ll need to send an email to Webflow or make a post in the community and you’ll need to wait for a reply. In comparison to Shopify, their online and call number is available 24/7.
Pricing (7/10):
Pricing is standard and webflow tries to make their price and feature offerings as competitive as possible. However, I find that the higher tier leap is pricey for what it currently lacks in comparison to Shopify. It just needs more basic features added for that kind of pricing level. It’s all in the works, so at their early stage of development, I’m going to wait until more features are released before I recommend anyone making the switch to Webflow’s e-commerce platform.
FINAL SCORE: 76%
Webflow
Webflow’s top feature is it’s ability to give designers the ability to create websites down to pixel detail. If you can use a software like Photoshop, then you can create a website just as easily by dragging and dropping objects onto stage. Most of all, you’ll have full control of how your website will look down to pixel detail. Still in it’s early stages, it’s yet to have a list of apps created by the community and other features you’ve come to expect from most e-commerce CMS out today (e.g. discounts, gift cards, etc.). This platform has a lot of potential so it’s definitely worth following to see how it changes and grows.
About the Author:
Allen Ray Sales is an e-commerce consultant for E-Com Fashion (www.e-comfashion.com). He brings in over 7 years of e-commerce experience working in the fashion, accessories, and luxury industry. He brings in e-commerce and technology experience from working for large brands like Nautica, Kipling, and Club Monaco. Additionally, his multi-disciplines in fine arts, graphic design, evolving internet technologies, and digital marketing, gives him a unique creative edge and talent for building businesses and luxury brands in the e-commerce space.
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