Webflow is not a No-Code tool. It is much more than that.
Founded over 10 years ago now, in 2013, the tool for creating responsive websites with a visual interface has significantly evolved. And contrary to popular belief, stemming from its "back in the day" marketing, Webflow is no longer just a no-code tool.
In today's article, I will:
- Introduce Webflow: the Low-Code and No-Code web development tool
- Analyze the three major cycles of the company's marketing strategy
- Share my analysis and opinions on the recent positioning choices of the tool
This entire publication is based on data extracted from interviews with over 500 SMBs, statistics on the use of various web technologies, and our experience in the web industry.
Introduction
Before we begin, let me quickly introduce ourselves.
We are Digidop, a web agency specialized in Webflow. We advise and support businesses of all sizes from design to the development of their websites.
In parallel, we have developed a French-speaking media platform where we document, train, and advise a growing community.
As pioneers in the French-speaking market, our work is recognized internationally with multiple distinctions: Webflow Professional Partner Award '23, French Ambassador of the Client-First Framework, Webflow Global Leader, and many others.
Over the past three years, we have supported over 100 companies at different digital maturity levels in their transition to the Webflow platform.
And today, I am going to explain why Webflow is not just a "simple" no-code tool.
1. Webflow: A Comprehensive Web Development Platform
In reality, Webflow is much more than a no-code tool. Webflow is a collaborative and visual web development platform offering several usage options. It is an all-in-one tool broken down into three modes:
- Low-Code mode: Development from scratch with custom code integration,
- No-Code mode: Creation from component libraries through drag-and-drop and visually developing "JavaScript" interactions,
- Editor mode: Editing interface for making modifications (text/images) without any risk or improving the website's daily operation via the CMS,
This combination allows the tool to meet the needs of different profiles within the same organization.
1.1 The Low-Code Development Platform
From the Designer mode of Webflow, you can develop the front-end of your website (showcase site, e-commerce site) or even a web application from a single visual interface by combining:
- HTML and CSS "from scratch"
- Adding custom code
- Integrated E-Commerce and Membership options
All of this is built with the best web practices.
- Access to all SEO markup (Read the Complete SEO Guide with Webflow)
- Accessibility: HTML semantics and Alt text markup,
- Automatic sitemap generation
But that's not all. Because Webflow also has a CMS (like WordPress or Drupal), allowing you to connect the entire design and elements of your Front-End to dynamically sourced data in a "back-end" without needing to connect to a headless CMS via API.
1.2 The Editing Interface and the "No-Code" Mode
The editing interface allows teams to easily and risk-free:
- Modify existing content,
- Edit dynamic content through the CMS
And Webflow also has a "no-code" mode, which allows teams (such as marketing) to quickly evolve the site by:
- Adding new pages
- Using components to create from "blocks"
- Visually using JavaScript (Animations and interactions)
- Localization by country and multilingual translation of your website
All this, without any risk of "breaking" anything.
1.3 Two Different Needs: Experience it!
Doubt it? I invite you to try replicating this simple experience, which I have had the opportunity to experience several times.
For the experiment, we will refer to the Designer interface as Product A and the Editor mode as Product B.
Try to "sell" Webflow as a solution to two different personas:
- Front-End Developer
- Marketing and communication manager of a company with no coding knowledge
Persona 1 will immediately understand the operational - technical advantages of Product A, and you will spend more time presenting this product than Product B, which they will quickly skim and dismiss, understanding that this part will be reserved for the marketing team.
Persona 2 will be more "scared" than admiring of Product A. However, they will be much more receptive to Product B, and excited about the idea of being able to add new content, pages, or easily and independently update existing content.
The tool addresses two different challenges within the same company.
1.4 All without having to worry about the "technical" side.
- Impeccable security standards (Read the documentation on security implemented on the platform ↗)
- Integrated hosting whose performance speaks for itself. (Read the documentation on hosting with Webflow ↗)
1.5 A product for developers and marketing teams
"81% of marketing managers say they feel limited by developers or other teams." (Source: The 2024 State of the Website)
A dual life, without any necessary compromise? The promise may seem beautiful, yet it is true. By combining the features of these two interfaces, once integrated into a company, Webflow becomes the collaborative platform allowing for:
- Completely customizable design websites,
- Clean code,
- No security issues (solid infrastructure managed by Webflow)
- Independence in development for marketing teams
- Faster development (thus reducing the costs related to development for companies)
But then, if Webflow is not just a simple no-code tool, why does everyone refer to it as a tool for creating websites in no-code?
2. A Marketing Masterclass Delivered by the Startup
Let's look back at its history....
Webflow is a Californian startup founded by Bryant Chou, Sergie Magdalin, and Vlad Magdalin. Always supported by Y Combinator (Batch S13), Accel, Silversmith, and other renowned investors, Webflow has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Since the launch of its MVP (Beta) in 2013, the startup's marketing/product strategy has been nothing short of...perfect.
2.1 The Early Years - A Tool with Few Features (0 to 5 Years)
In its first version, Webflow was at the time "just a simple page builder" without a CMS. The tool only allowed the creation of landing pages through a block drag-and-drop system. And it was at this point that the no-code positioning played a role as an accelerator for the firm.
Because the promise of being able to easily and quickly create a quality website without any coding knowledge allowed them to:
- Acquire their first users,
- Test their product at real scale,
- Gather use cases
At the same time, the tool was able to develop:
- An academy to train users on its tool
- Build a community
This helped create a complete ecosystem (professionals, champions, ambassadors, third-party tools, etc.).
And all while generating cash flow! While for most companies, this "phase" of life often consumes cash.
2.2 The In-Between (5 to 10 Years)
From 2017 to 2022, there was a transitional phase where the tool found itself in between with:
- The release of numerous features and innovations making the tool increasingly complex for beginners,
- The No-Code Conf becoming the Webflow Conf,
- An ambiguous positioning and an unwarranted comparison with Framer
So it was time to make a decision.
2.3 The Future of Website Creation: (10 Years and Beyond)
On October 5, 2023, during the annual Webflow Conference, Webflow made a clear repositioning.
Illustrated notably by a rebranding, Webflow officially embraces its identity as a professional web development tool. The "Startup" is gradually shedding the no-code label and proudly highlighting its product's advanced features (HTML & CSS, JavaScript, API, 3D,...).
A change that is also felt at the C-Level: new leadership
BUT, without ever forgetting the collaboration between Marketing & Tech: A Low-Code + No-Code tool
Because although the tool now speaks to developers, it is important to facilitate website management and operation for marketing teams. Webflow also announced Webflow apps, a system comparable to the Apple Store that allows for the easy native integration of third-party tools like Hubspot, TypeForm, or Unsplash into your site.
But then, although it is difficult to predict the future, as technology evolves quickly (AI, tools, usage, etc.), what do we think of this strategic choice? Did the Webflow teams make the right decision at the risk of losing the "no-code wave"?
3. My Analysis and Opinion on Webflow's Strategy in 2024
In this final part, I will take the time to share my thoughts on Webflow's latest choices. My reflection is based on an analysis of the numbers from:
- Interviews with over 500 companies,
- Statistics on different web technologies,
- And our experience in the industry
3.1 Findings from the Figures
The most striking figures from these two reports:
- $547,168, Estimated software expenses related to their website over the past year (per company)
- $1,091,152 Estimated staff expenses for website development and design over the past year (per company).
- 91% report that their marketing team could collaborate better with technical teams.
- 35% About a third of companies take two weeks or more to make even simple changes like text editing.
- Websites without a CMS (hard-coded): from 43.1% to 31.6% (-26.6%) from 2020 to 2023
- 2% 77% have internal developers dedicated to their website - that is their sole role, and the 21% remaining have internal developers who devote part of their time to the website.
But then... one might think that at this price, under these conditions, at least we can be sure of the security of their site? Well... NO!
55% believe that their current website is both fragile and likely to break."
Figures that speak for themselves and highlight two significant market opportunities.
3.2 Webflow's Strategic Repositioning
Although it has received some criticism, Webflow's decision to accelerate its focus on the in-house enterprise developer market is excellent news. Given the substantial annual costs that companies face for website management (averaging over $1.5M per year) — often yielding disappointing performance — this is a significantly valued market where Webflow proves to be highly competitive. It’s clear that the entire ecosystem will soon benefit from Webflow's vision and strategy.
Key figures impacted by integrating Webflow:
- Webflow Enterprise Plan: ranging between $20K and $100K/year for an all-in-one solution vs. an industry average of $500K.
- Reduced personnel costs related to development: (currently $1M/year on average) due to Webflow.
And, lower costs do not mean lower quality because...
"50% of marketing teams that have implemented no-code or low-code tools are already seeing improved performance."
- Enhanced collaboration and, consequently, the company's overall performance
Moreover...Agencies and freelancers are not highly active in this space. With only 2% of large companies seeking external services, there’s definitely an opportunity for us, web professionals.
3.3 How can agencies and freelancers benefit?
Webflow is already well-established in the SME (small and medium enterprises) sector, especially among startups, which are typically quicker to adopt new technologies than larger corporations. However, as Webflow positions itself for integration into large enterprises, opportunities for growth emerge in two directions:
Enterprise Offering
Different service packages are possible for agencies and freelancers specializing in Webflow to tap into the large enterprise market:
- Setting up a preliminary web infrastructure on Webflow as a proof of concept
- Implementing best practices and scalability processes
- Training internal teams
- Handing over: allowing in-house teams to benefit from:
- No-code editor interface for marketing teams
- Low-code interface for development teams
SMB Offering
Let’s not forget Webflow’s core value since "those who can do more can do less." Webflow remains an excellent tool with an attractive quality-to-price ratio for building:
- Landing pages
- Showcasing websites
- Small e-commerce sites
- Blogs
- And more…
And furthermore, with new revenue streams from Enterprise accounts, we can expect feature developments within the platform that benefit everyone.
💡 Reminder - We’re all ambassadors
Webflow's long-term success lies in end-user satisfaction. Successful integrations will inspire others to migrate. Conversely, the opposite can also happen.
Thus, each of us is responsible as an ambassador for the brand.
Conclusion: Webflow is the premier web creation tool in 2024.
Webflow is no longer just a no-code tool; it’s a comprehensive low-code web development tool that can be used in "no-code" mode or as an editor via its "Editor" mode. Over its first ten years, Webflow has grown significantly, boasting a solid user base and a strong community. Recently, at the end of 2023, the platform repositioned itself, stating its ambition to become "the best web development platform in the world," embracing the technicality of its interface and its professional positioning.
The next challenges for Webflow will involve integrating and bringing together developers from companies of all sizes around this solution, which significantly enhances corporate performance by improving collaboration between Tech & Marketing teams.
Article sources
- Webflow, Still Trending in 2023? (Digidop)
- The 2024 State of the Website (Webflow)
- Meet the New Webflow by Vlad, CEO of Webflow
- Webflow YCombinator
- And our experience within the industry
